Free Entry

Unusually, this  year we have spent our main holiday in the UK, driving down to Devon to be precise. Whilst the weather may not have been perfect every day, one bonus was that it gave us an opportunity to make good use of our various memberships.

Powderham Castle 

We have membership cards for the National Trust, EnglishHeritage, the Historic Houses Association Friends scheme, the Royal Horticultural Society, the British Museum Friends scheme, the Royal Shakespeare Company and a National Art Pass.  Sometimes places we visit are in more than one scheme so there is a shuffling of cards at the entrance as we try to work out which card gives us the best deal. 

In a 9 day holiday in Devon we visited seven historic houses, two ruined castles, two museums (one of them twice), two zoos, a model village and some caves. Of these, we had free entry to the all the houses, the castles and the museums. Our National Trust (NT), English Heritage (EH), Historic Houses Association (HHA) and Art Pass  (AP) cards all came into their own.

Garden At Overbeck's

Great Chalfield Manor

Historic Houses

Great Chalfield Manor (NT) 

Greenway (NT)

Coleton Fishacre (NT)

Overbeck’s (NT)

A La Ronde (NT)

Powderham Castle (HHA)

Cadhay (HHA)

Castles

Berry Pomeroy Castle (EH)

Totnes Castle (EH)

Museums

Torquay Museum (AP)

Torre Abbey (AP)

Torre Abbey

Totnes Castle

A La Ronde

Greenway

Sci-Fi Exhibition, Torquay Museum

Coleton Fishacre

This is a win-win situation. The organisations benefit from our membership subscription and feel good about helping a good cause, we get free entry to lots of interesting places, and we can spend the money we save on admission in the tea room and shop.

A more detailed account of the trip can be found on the TravelSIG blog here.