I have a British National Trust membership and am planning to visit Scotland this Spring. Has anyone had experience adding an Historic Scotland Membership to the National Trust. I plan to visit sites ranging from Neolithic Orkney to Edinburgh Castle. Looking forward to a wonderful trip.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
They are 2 completely separate organisations. The English/Welsh NT membership gets you free access to the NT for Scotland properties. Historic Scotland is the sister organisation to English Heritage and Cadw in Wales.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
1834 posts
Properties belonging to National Trust are very different to those belonging to Historic Scotland. Historic Scotland membership gets you free into Edinburgh Castle and all the neolithic sites in Orkney which National Trust Membership won't. You can see a list of properties where you will get free admission with your Historic Scotland membership here.
https://members.historic-scotland.gov.uk/places
I have membership of both and it gives me free access to nearly every property that I want to visit.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
It is a separate organization. I have been a member in the past. I even got their quarterly magazine. It can help you jump the queue. So if you are visiting enough properties it is worth doing. Here's the link to the map where you can see what properties they manage.
Pam
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
605 posts
I computed the savings for the visits on our next trip and it saves us almost 50%. I actually joined a few days ago for our June trip.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1819 posts
Does anyone know if the "concessions" membership price is available to anyone over 65 or does one have to be a UK citizen to be eligible for the "concessions" price? I looked in the Historic Scotland HELP section of their website but that question is not answered. Thank you.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32752 posts
Copying (unformatted) from a random property, I picked Stirling Castle, you can see under prices:
Category Reduced admission price Normal admission price
Adult (16-64yrs) £14.00 £16.00
Concession (65yrs+ and unemployed) £11.20 £12.80
Child (5-15yrs) £8.40 £9.60
Family (1 adult, 2 children) £28.00
Family (2 adults, 2 children) £40.00
Family (2 adults, 3 children) £48.00
I would not have expected the concession to mention any nationality, and indeed it does not. The £3.20 discount is yours if you are 65 or older, or unemployed. Have at it,
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32752 posts
further, from the FAQ:
What is a concession?
All visitors aged 65 and over and UK visitors who are unemployed are
eligible for Concession tickets. You will be asked to show proof of
eligibility on arrival.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
Have to say that it was wonderful to qualify for the concession pricing. :)
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
1834 posts
If you buy the full year membership, it also qualifies you for a 20% disclount in their shops and 10% off in their cafes too!
https://members.historic-scotland.gov.uk/benefits
Just as a matter of interest - do you have yearly membership to either English Heritage or CADW? If so, either gives you 50% reduction off entry to Historic Scotland properties in the first year and free entry in subsequent years.