English Heritage Guidebooks

I would say it depends on the site.

Some English Heritage sites are just a pile of stones now so there’s nothing there except a sign post.

If you go to a larger site like Stonehenge then there are full facilities. You won’t get a free guide book but there is a visitor centre and lots of information available.

The national park leaflets that I've received haven't been too detailed but are usually sufficient to gain an overview of the park. The English Heritage guidebooks are very detailed and contain a lot more information than you need just to gain an overview of the site. Of course it depends how much information you're after but on the whole you don't need them to understand the site.

Personally I very rarely buy the guidebooks as they are often too detailed to be reading as you go round and I no longer keep these kind of things as souvenirs. Depending on the site there may be audio tours either by dedicated device or via your own phone which I find more useful. Even more basic wayfinding leaflets ("free" or nominal charge) are becoming less ubiquitous to save on paper, but still quite common.

I find the signage at EH properties is usually pretty good, and some offer audio guides.

The books are usually quite glossy and I find them to be more of a souvenir to read afterwards than a guide to carry around with me.

Staffed properties may give you a free leaflet with basic information about the site and a plan. Some sites have an exhibition and short video about the site with information about what to see and some history. It is worth visiting this before going round the site and them going back to check you did see and find everything...

Some sites may also have audio guides. There are information boards at all properties, but I've found they do vary from site to site on the amount of detail they give. Some are very good, other places can be very superficial.

I've also found guide books can vary - some are better than others and well worth the cost. The shop will have a display copy so have a look at that before buying. Many of them do have a lot of good photographs as well as plans of the site and some history. However you may not want to try and use them going round the site...

Also check out the internet before visiting. Many of the larger and more important sites have a lot of information about them on the web. You can get most of the basic information you need before a visit and this also helps make the visit more meaningful, especially if you can find a plan of the site which you can use as you walk round.

The odds of looking at the brochures after leaving the site is probably slim, so like so many things, they’ll just sit around taking up space and collecting dust. Just my opinion, but your money would be better spent elsewhere. For my wife and I the signage has been adequate. If we want to know something specific that’s not on a sign we’ll search for the information online.

The odds of looking at the brochures after leaving the site is probably slim

The English Heritage guides are more of a book than a brochure and very detailed. As such they're quite a good read for those interested in history however they're a bit cumbersome to use as a reference whilst touring a site.

You are correct JC. They are more books than brochures and are detailed. My main point remains the same; that after the trip they won’t, or will seldom, get looked at. It’s like all the photographs people take. After a trip they get put onto a computer or hard drive and seldom get looked at; especially after the next trip.

Thank you very much to all for the advice