After reading several posts here about the cost-effectiveness of Royal Oak Foundation membership versus National Trust membership, I bought dual memberships in the Royal Oak Foundation at a cost of $125 for my husband and I. We will be traveling throughout England, Scotland and Wales in October 2026. Our membership cards and parking pass arrived in today’s mail, five weeks after I bought them through the Royal Oak website. Now I’m wondering how to use these to book timed entries to several National Trust sites. Do I select the National Trust member option? Then will these Royal Oak passes be accepted when we arrive at the sites?
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
3154 posts
AI is your answer here...
Choose the "National Trust Member" ticket option for each visitor
Because the online ticketing portal expects a standard UK National Trust member number, select the pay-on-arrival or manual processing option at checkout if your Royal Oak Foundation ID is not accepted by the digital form.
Present your valid, physical Royal Oak Foundation membership card at the property entrance so staff can scan or override the admission fee.
NOTE: Your Royal Oak membership may not include parking fees
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you! This is very helpful! We chose to buy our passes through Royal Oak because the National Trust Explorer passes were either 4, 8 or 14 days. We plan to be there for a month. We did receive a parking permit that will work at all National Trust sites except for car parks that are operated by the local municipality. Again, thanks for your reply!
Posted by
Duluth🌲
12972 posts
Hi, tcjake84—I bought a membership from Royal Oak before I went on my six-week trip to the UK in 2024, and it was super easy. And yes, you just select the National Trust member option, and those Royal Oak passes will definitely be accepted when you're there. I never had the slightest problem when I was purchasing tickets online. It always went very easily, and I was there for six weeks, so I went to a lot of places. 😊
The parking passes are great! I had a car when I was there for most of my trip, and it was so nice to be able to just park without worrying about it. All you do is show your pass or leave it on the dashboard, depending.
By the way, you will probably get a lot of thank you's from staff for getting a membership. That helps them, even though it's a US organization, because of its connection with the National Trust. They are always appreciative of anyone who purchases a membership. In fact, here is a quote from my blog that I wrote when I was on Holy Island in Northumberland:
After that, it was time to walk to Lindisfarne Castle, which was about a mile away. It was a beautiful walk along the coast, and once I got there, I walked up a very steep path to get to the castle. I went inside and showed them my Royal Oak card, since it’s a National Trust property. Everyone gets very excited when they see one, as I don’t think they’re that common. But they always appreciate it when Americans buy one.
Posted by
Tennessee
506 posts
I have been a Royal Oak member for 30 years and love accessing the National Trust sites free. I am currently in the far northeastern county of Northumberland and have used my membership 4 times in the past 3 days at Lindesfarne Castle, Housesteads Fort at Hadrians Wall, cragside, and Wallington. Not many Americans visit this part of England. National Trust employees/volunteers are very appreciative of Royal Oak members visis… and the admission to sites always goes smoothly.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thanks, Mardee, for the assurance that National Trust staff will welcome American ROF passholders. Elizabeth, all four of those places are on our list. I spent several hours today leafing through the National Trust 2026 Handbook that came in the same packet as our Royal Oak Foundation passes. So many places to see! A month will not be long enough.