National Trust Membership, is it worth it?

In short yes. In long, here's the lowdown, including a spreadsheet I made, detailing our most recent year of National Trust adventures…

When did we use it?

We mostly used it for days out from home, driving anything from 20 minutes to an hour and a quarter to get to our destination of the day. 

Another great way we used our National Trust membership is for low cost days out when holidaying in the UK. Use the NT app or guidebook to find properties and locations close to where you are staying.

Free car parking is another great bonus of National Trust membership. There are so many beautiful walks to follow on National Trust land. Baggy Point is a favourite of ours down in Devon, we also love Sandymouth.

Finally, who needs a service station when you can stop and picnic in a stunning garden or treat the family to homemade cake in an NT cafe? Free parking  and entry by scanning your card and you can stay as long as you like (especially useful if you have a later check in).

Westbury Court NT

How much did it cost?

Well, technically it didn’t cost us anything, as the membership was a family Christmas gift from my parents, but a 2 parent family membership costs £133 per year (£11.99 per month). There are also options for 1 parent families, as well as individual memberships. Costings can be found on the National Trust website.

Coughton Court NT

How much would we have spent if we had to pay at each location?

£498.05, which is £364.25 more than our family membership cost! Sometimes, my husband was at work, so I have worked with the cost of a 1 adult family in those instances.

Are there lots of extra costs?

The main extra cost is eating and drinking. The majority of the time, we took our own food and refillable bottles then ate on the laws or at picnic tables. Lots of properties have covered picnic facilities for rainy days too. All the cafes have a water point, where you can fill up your bottles free of charge. 

During the summer, we sometimes bought an ice cream from an on-site vendor and the times we did eat in one of the cafes, the food was delicious and not extortionate.

The other time you may want to spend, is in the gift shop. There are always beautiful books, fabulous cards and lots of locally sourced arts and crafts available. They’re usually situated near the exit, but it’s often possible to bypass them if you have magpies!

Croome NT

Your NT checklist:

✅Join online to save time when you arrive at your first property.

✅Don’t forget your card so you can scan it for free parking at many places.

✅A fully charged phone or camera do capture your team enjoying the stunning surroundings.

✅Weather appropriate clothing.

✅A picnic and snacks

✅Reusable water bottles.

✅A bag for dirty outerwear (the big, blue Ikea ones are great).

✅Clean shoes for the car.

✅Start your own hashtag or photo book so you can look back on your adventures, ours is #teamgoresnationaltrustadventures

Conwy Suspension Bridge

I'm sure we will buy National Trust membership again in the future, although we're taking a break this year so we can explore some of the venues on offer through Historic Houses membership (which was a Christmas gift from my Mother in Law). A top tip I have come across recently, is to join the Scottish National Trust as their membership options are cheaper, yet you can still visit sites cared for by the National Trust worldwide (including England). 

5 Free (or cheap) Days Out in Gloucestershire...

A big thank you to Jamie from savvyjamie.co.uk, who has written a guest post about her favourite budget friendly, Gloucestershire days out. We haven't been to the sculpture trail yet, but can vouch for how much fun the other options are for families!

Entertaining little ones can get pricey, so here are my 5 favourite things to do in Gloucestershire for free.

1. Head to The Jet Age Museum

Your little budding pilots will LOVE a visit to The Jet Age Museum. With lots of aviation history from around Gloucestershire, full-sized planes in their warehouse-style museum, and small single-pilot planes that can be sat in. There is also a Hawker Siddeley Trident airliner that you can book a free tour of (older children here as there is a height restriction). The museum is free but does ask for a donation. There is also an onsite café and a small gift shop full of reasonably-priced plane memorabilia. 

2. Visit Museum in the Park

This eclectic museum sits right in the heart of Stratford Park in Stroud. The museum also has a traditional “walled garden” which is perfect for playing Peter Rabbit! The museum also has a small giftshop and a coffee shop. Once you are done browsing the museum, talk a walk around Stratford Park and take in the Sensory Garden, dance in the bandstand, or feed the ducks (food is available at the museum).

3. Explore the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail

Download your free trail map and get ready for adventure. There are 16 sculptures to find and explore. The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail is 4.5 miles long, but there are shorter routes too. Car parking is £3 and the trail is free.

4. Wander around Gloucester Docks

With the guarantee of seeing boats, who wouldn’t love a visit to the docks. With added excitement like watching the bridge go up, or seeing boats being repaired out of the water – the docks can be a great day out. It’s home to award-winning National Waterways Museum and the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum. There are also plenty of coffee shops and it’s located right next to the outlet shopping centre, Gloucester Quays. 

5. Check out St James City Farm

Who would believe that right in the centre of Gloucester is a sweet little farm?! Well, you better believe it. St James City Farm is home to rabbits, pigs, sheep, chickens, horses and more. Get up close and hands-on at this charity farm where entry is free!

One Enchanted Board Game...

 AD|Enchanted Forest Game Gifted by Ravensburger

Whether it's your Dad always winning at snap, your Granny cheating at chess or your little brother sending the counters flying, most of us have memories of playing board games as a child.

Here are 5 reasons why playing board games as a family still stands the rest of time…

1. Playing board games like Enchanted Forest allows little ones to practise taking turns. The rule book helps here, in this case, stating that the youngest player starts first (this cut cries of "it's not fair, I wanted to go first"). Playing games with your child affords you the opportunity to model how to wait your turn, teach your child how to know when it’s their turn (eg it’s your turn after Mummy) and also lead by example with encouraging words and praise for others while you wait for a go. 

2. Board games come in many different shapes, sizes and guises and most board help to teach life skills in some way. Enchanted Forest uses two dice, which encourages counting and number recognition. It also focusses on strategy, problem solving, matching and honing memory skills.

3. As well as the inevitable frustrations, playing games together can also lead to so many different conversations and much fun and laughter. Playing games is a great way to spend quality time together.

4. Board games are available based on so many different themes, which makes them ideal to explore a favourite topic or interest. Honey and Ace are huge storybook fans and they love spending time in the woods, so I knew Enchanted Forest would pique their interest. The game has 3D pieces, as well as a colourfully illustrated board and I can imagine them playing it 'in real life' and hunting for the King's treasure next time we go out for a walk! 

5. Nobody is left out, you can find a game for any size of group and most can be adapted to suit a range of ages, even if it’s simply teaming a young child up with an older child or adult. 

If you fancy getting the family together and competing to rule the kingdom, Enchanted Forest is available from Smyths Toys Superstores (RRP £15.99).

You can never have too many books...

 Disclosure: Honey and Ace have been gifted three Tales by Mail boxes in exchange for honest reviews and social media content.

It's safe to say, we are big readers in our house. If we aren't out and about, enjoying the fresh air, you can usually find one or more of us curled up with a book.

As a primary school teacher, I am acutely aware of the benefits that reading affords children. From the moment they're born, reading is a brilliant way to bond with your child. Bedtime stories are an obvious place to start, the book doesn't even need to have any words, babies love black and white pictures and they also love the sound of your voice, so you can make up any story you like or just read to them from whatever you're reading at the time! 

Photo Credit: Oobaloos Photography

Toddlers love books, the colours and pictures are obviously most attractive at this age, but seeing words written down on the page and learning to turn pages by themselves are valuable lessons in becoming a reader. From an early age, we introduced half an hour of book time for Honey and Ace, once all the toys were tidied away for the day. Often, we would be reading the same couple of books on repeat (depending on their current favourites), but eventually this turned into them joining in with the stories or reciting facts and asking questions if it was a non fiction book. 

On the subject of non fiction books, don't dismiss them or forget about them! Toddlers and pre school children develop their own interests - often bordering on being obsessions - and finding out about them is a great way to bond and spend time together. Libraries are your friend here, we are lucky enough to live in a large town, with multiple libraries, so we are spoilt for choice and can visit different venues depending on their book stock. Not only can we spend time reading in a comfortable environment, we can also take books home to borrow for free (having to return them is a lesson in itself and often resulted in us renewing favourites for another stint).

As children get older and learn to read by themselves, the flood gates open and they can travel to far off lands without even leaving the house. Sometimes, children hit a stumbling block here, as things can get tricky, but with time and patience they can learn to love reading once again. During this time, don't stop reading to your child, even if they're playing and you don't think they're really listening, or they're tired and can't stay awake for a whole story, reading to them will pay off in terms of the vocabulary they are exposed to and the ideas they can develop based on stories and information they hear. You can also encourage them to make up stories using pictures or objects as stimuli.

If your child becomes disheartened on their reading journey, find a new way in. If they don't want to read their school reading books, what do they want to read? Information signs, comics, leaflets, books from their own bookshelves and even websites all contain words that your child can begin to use their phonic knowledge to decode. Encourage your child to ask and answer questions about their reading matter, this will really help them develop their comprehension skills too. 

Online stories, eBooks and virtual book clubs may be another way you can motivate your child to find something they enjoy reading. Or perhaps giving them a book shop voucher as a birthday gift may inspire them to pick up a book they don't want to put down.

Recently, we have been working with Tales by Mail, an award winning company who supply book subscription boxes for children. There are two age groups available, 5-8 years and 8-12 years. Each box contains 2 newly released books (so it's unlikely you'll already have them sitting on your bookshelf), collectible activity pages, exclusive author content and unique gifts and surprises. You can even request a sibling box, which contains double the activities and gifts. As well as the subscription option, you can also check out past boxes and purchase those if you like the look of them! This is such a great way to ignite a passion for reading or to encourage your children to try reading something new.

Oh and a warning from me, kids books are addictive. We keep having to buy more bookshelves because I find it impossible to let many children's books go and whenever we hand books down or sell any, we inevitably buy more books! As I'm always telling my children, you can never have too many books ;-)

Honey wears... Butterfly dress (preloved H&M)

Honey reads... The Borrowers