Does anyone know the status of the Scottish Explorer Pass? I've been checking it for a couple months waiting for October to become available to purchase and the month is still greyed out. I didn't know whether or not they release availability in blocks and perhaps they'll open up in September, or if something else is going on with them.
Posted by
la la land...
832 posts
You can purchase a pass at the first site you visit. Online purchases are for groups, only.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Jojo According to their FAQ, they encourage you to buy online:
:Can I buy tickets on site?
We can accommodate some walk-ups but these are subject to availability. When tickets are sold out online there will be no further walk-up tickets available at sites, we therefore recommend booking online in advance to guarantee entry.
And this is the site where you can purchase individual tickets, https://tickets.historic-scotland.gov.uk/webstore/shop/viewItems.aspx?cg=XPLR&c=EXP#1629607
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
1828 posts
It may be the pass isn't available in October??? Try contacting them to ask.
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/contact-us/
Alternatively, if the Explorer Pass isn't available, you might want to consider annual membership. It is more expensive but as well as getting free admission to all their properties, you also get 20% reduction in their gift shops and 10% reduction in their cafes. (You also get half price admision to any English Heritage or CADW properties.)
Details of benefits here.
Prices here
Sign up here.
Remember, even if you do have a pass, it is still recommended to prebook properties.
Posted by
la la land...
832 posts
I clicked on the link to purchase the passes, and it appears that from October 1 onward, the site has not updated yet. Otherwise, passes are available from Aug 20 onward through September.
If you can't get someone to respond to an inquiry, my best guess is to keep checking the website, particularly around Sept 1...
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6508 posts
I recently contacted the Historic Environment Scotland/ Historic Scotland about its pass and here is its response:
“You can purchase a Historic Scotland Membership at any of our staffed sites, including Edinburgh Castle. You can also purchase it online at Historic Scotland Membership - Home (historic-scotland.gov.uk)
If you purchase a membership online you will receive a confirmation email that you can use as proof of membership to visit our sites if your cards don’t arrive in time.”
It isn’t the explorer pass but is good for a year, and about the same price. If I recall correctly the Explorer Pass is only good for a specific period of time from its first use. Pretty much everyplace recommends reserving a time online. Once you have purchased a membership you can reserve times.
For us, since we don’t know which day and time we’ll be visiting any particular site, we’re most likely going to reserve times a day or two before our visit.