If you like visiting National Trust properties but are put off by the cost, they do an annual free weekend to encourage people to come along and see their places. It is TOMORROW AND SUNDAY only. Fill in your details on their website and download your voucher. My husband and I and two friends have taken advantage of this for the past two years and is a really good genuinely free offer. Not all properties participate so look carefully at the list. You can visit more than one property providing you have a separate voucher (which admits 4 people) for each, so download plenty! Then pray for some good weather (joke - this weekend!:( Enjoy!
https://join.national...g.uk/voucher/register
Boo - it doesn't hold you to anything to register as you can opt out of receiving emails etc. When you download the free voucher it tells you the (long) liost of those properties NOT participating (but there are loads left to choose from - just google National Trust in your area) :)
Do not know if it is free this weekend, but if you are within striking distance Kingston Lacy (not far from Bournemouth), is well worth a visit. House or gardens or both! Child friendly.
Ladybirder - we would dearly love to join but its £80ish per couple which we just cannot afford, so we are very grateful for these free opportunities when they come along. Besides there are not really many properties local to us in Leicestershire, so we have to drive further afield.
Because you need to take out a second mortgage to join the National Trust ladybirder. Go for nothing one weekend a year and close your ears to the recruitment brigade at the entrance.
They are not really too pushy when you walk in - we just smile sweetly at them and say we will think about it ......... its a very worthwhile cause to pay into if you live in an area where there are lots of properties within easy reach.
I've been a member for years and years and whenever I travel around the UK, if I get the chance, I will drop into a National Trust property for a few hours. As a pensioner I get a discount, so it doesn't cost me that much and if I was hard up I think the cat and my NT membership would be the last things to go.
Thanks for the tip Ann. I`m going to visit either Ham House or Osterley House. As it happens, I went to Frederic Leighton`s house yesterday (in Kensington). It was very pleasant (apart from the fact that we got absolutely drenched when we left)