National Trust Reviews 1,493

National trust Arlington
Visited today for the first time. The grounds are beautiful. We were lucky to do a tour with Graham and he was very knowledgeable and really good with our children. We learned a lot and would definately recommend the tour.
The house is very interesting too. June was super patient with our son who kept asking her questions. Not sure how she managed to keep up with him for so long 😀

Visited Cliveden House today in 34c, a very enjoyable day with a lot to see and 2 very pleasant staff members in the Gift Shop where we purchased a Robin on a fork, now known as ‘Clive’.

Two points:

1) lack of refuse bins around the site although in fairness the grounds were pretty spotless but I held an ice cream wrapper for ages.

2) Toilets down by the river boats, you’re selling food and drinks and it’s a picnic spot. Maybe just from May to September, realise it’s a cost but it is 2026.

Three adult family members visited Belton House today. Welcome staff on pay kiosk need to have more manners. I passed her our 3 membership cards through the fully open car window. She proceeded to ask me whether I had anyone else 'hiding' in the back.... and she wasn't joking! What an insulting accusation! I then asked her where the nearest accessible parking was as one of our party was disabled. The Blue Badge was clearly on display. Rather than simply directing me, she questioned our need for accessible parking and we had to convince her it was for disability! Yet more blatant unacceptable discrimination. Other NT properties offer a genuinely amazing welcome, with no 3rd degree intrusive and accusatory questioning. She spoilt our entire visit. Won't be going back there again. Shockingly unpleasant!

Very little is done to prevent this.

The cost of restoration is astronomical and, as the years go by, fewer and fewer artisans are even capable of such work.

Their journeymen and apprentices certainly aren’t.

There isn’t the money, or anything like it, to do the job, nor is it realistic to believe there ever could be. The sources of funding are irrelevant; It is the amount required that is a simple impossibility.

So when National Trust executives engage in pet projects like educating the public about the usual fashionable topics they aren’t wasting money that might have been spent on mending a roof, rescuing a dilapidated castle or revitalising ornamental gardens.

They know very well their job is impossible.

Which makes it all the more contemptible that they accept the job, the pay and everything that comes with it, knowing full well, at the outset, that it’s all entirely pointless and that there’s no plan to sort it all out.

It would cost trillions and require more stone masons, gardeners and artisans than exist in the entire United Kingdom.

There isn’t even any evidence they are allocating funds strategically in order to save properties most worthy of being preserved or that aren’t too far gone to be saved.

This is simply providing dubious characters with an extremely good living.

And King Charles as patron? He is presiding over this folly, almost certainly knowingly - it is quite inconceivable that he does not know what it costs to even attempt to maintain these properties.

So when you make a donation to the National Trust it is to a tired, cynical, lazy organisation that long since gave up trying to perform its duties.

Just look at the grinning array of top brass on their website.

Would you buy a used car from any one of them?

Why every time I book via Quidco do you reject my cash back? Quidco say it is NT and not them. It has happened twice in as many months when I have spent £750. So disappointing and underhand. I’ll go elsewhere in future! I’m sure you can afford to loose accommodation bookings.

We have had a National Trust Family membership for years and have always really enjoyed the properties, gardens and cafes. However the cafes are becoming more and more disappointing. Today we visited Berrington Hall in Shropshire, nice greeting on arrival, but the service in the cafe was appalling, we waited at the counter for what seems like a very long time with absolutely no acknowledgement from the two women behind the desk. They were more interested in empty glasses anything in fact apart from acknowledging the three customers in front of them. Probably won’t bother next time

We went to stay at The Stables cottage in Wisbech , Cambridgeshire which according to the website was a quaint cottage with a terrace out front.
What we found was a cramped outhouse, wedged between a main road and a car park.
We had no space to park and no outside space private to the house.
Wisbech can only be described as a zombie town and as we used this to relax , the stress and disorganisation of the area forced us to return home with immediate effect.
The National Trust is not what it was 20 years ago!
Very disappointing!

I’m shocked at the many reviews concerning the national trust buildings. I regularly go to Powys castle with my wife. The place is wonderful with beautiful gardens, lovely staff, great cafe with really nice coffee and scones. I also go to Attingham park most weeks for a walk and a coffee. Another beautiful place with wonderful staff 🤩. The wife and I went to Plas Newdd again last week. Again wonderful staff, beautiful setting with great gardens looking over the sea. Well done national trust and your lovely staff. Our yearly membership is the best value hobby we have ever had 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

Have visited Tatton Park twice now as a family with two young children.

The first time we visited as we have an RHS membership and knew we would be able to get into the gardens with this. We paid for entry onto the parkland which was around £10, then the children saw the farm and wanted to visit. When getting to the farm, I was unsure if this was included in RHS membership so politely queried this to be told pretty sternly that it wasn't. This felt unnecessary and the woman working in the farm made me feel quite embarrassed just for asking this question. We then paid quite a large amount to get into the farm which, to be honest, was really not great and not worth the money to get in, which was a big shame.

We thought we'd visit a second time round this last weekend and just visit the gardens. I'd looked on the National Trust and RHS partner gardens website to ensure we'd be allowed into the gardens using our membership cards. When we were in the queue to get in, another pretty officious woman, was talking to a young family in front of us saying that only the named member on the RHS card would get in for free, and any children under three. The family were clearly confused by this, as were we as we have visited many RHS gardens with our membership and have been able to enter free of charge as a whole family of 4 by just showing my joint membership card only. The woman then told us the same story, and, again, was pretty stern about it. So for a garden trip that we believed would be free, we ended up paying for entry for my husband (who hadn't realised would have had to bring his membership card too) and older child. The woman just kept repeating to us and the family infront that it's 'because of it being an RHS partner gardens', which to us didn't really mean anything. The gardens were beautiful and we wouldn't have minded paying had we been made aware but, again, we had already paid £10-11 for entry to the parkland and nearly £45 for a pretty simple lunch for us all. We enjoyed our day but the main takeaway is 1) certain staff members seem to have missed the memo about friendliness and I really felt, both times we went, quite embarrassed about how we were spoken to and was made to feel stupid and 2) the signs both when nearing the gardens about having your membership ready, and information on the NT and RHS websites needs to be much clearer about RHS membership and that entry is not the same as a standard RHS garden. We love a day out in nature and a garden visit, but have been much happier with the customer service and overall treatment from RHS as opposed to NT, which is a shame.

Before booking a holiday cottage, we emailed to see if there were any adjoining properties. A reply from Elizabeth confirmed there were none and it was set 'on its own'. We could see two doors on the cottage so we replied to ask again if the other door was an adjoining property. Elizabeth replied to say both doors were part of the cottage. So we booked. We then emailed again to see if the local team could confirm any adjoining properties - this time the reply said a tenant lived in an adjoining property. I called for a refund but they said I didn't have a case as the emails were sent from my email but the booking was in my husbands email. What a fob off! the lady I spoke to was so callous. I hung up and called back - a lovely guy called Mike answered and sorted our refund in minutes. He had common sense, was empathetic and so reassuring. All credit to him. Our last experience at a National Trust cottahe was equally disastrous. Drive 6 hours to get there at night and fine the previous people's bedsheets in the bathtub and dishes in the sink. the cottage hadn't been cleaned. We were asked to find a hotel for the night so it could be cleaned the next day. We ended up just driving home again, having a 12 hour round trip with 2 kids and a canceled holiday. Never again.

Excellent staff, great cafe food. Membership is a bargain with access to so many properties and preservation of landscapes. A national treasure.

Visiting Bateman's, home of Rudyard Kipling, has finally convinced me that I must give up using National Trust cafes. Here, as at so many other Trust sites I've visited in the past year, the volunteers were lovely, the home and gardens well-tended - but the cafe was hugely disappointing. By 1.25 pm - lunchtime - there were only five or six sandwiches left on display, (all gluten-free). We don't normally bother with gluten-free food, and could have waited for staff to make fresh "ordinary" sandwiches, but other customers were being warned of 15 minute delays, and the queue was backing-up. So we bought a couple from the display, and then discovered from the packaging that the bread and filling contained a vast number of E-numbered additives, a list so long it actually shocked us. Hardly a healthy option. But we were hungry so we ate them anyway - or most of them - and the taste was dry, bitter and unpleasant. A cake we bought was small, expensive, and with little flavour. Coffee was, as ever in Trust cafes, no better than just about acceptable. And that was our "lunch". Staff were polite but nobody hurried, and all in all we were reminded of many similar poor experiences in NT cafes over the past year or so in particular. Expensive, slow, low-quality food and an overall attitude that contained all the hallmarks of a monopoly, these cafes have degenerated so much we've resolved never to use them again, but to bring our own picnics instead. Isn't it a shame that the Trust can pour so much attention into other sides of its operation but leave something so fundamental as food and drink sadly below an acceptable standard?

£168 for a 1 year subscription? Are you mad? Considering that you are bequeathed these properties, with stipends and inheritance money… with all the footfall that you receive on a yearly basis…. Are you absolutely having a quiet chortle? How in the world do you think this is amenable to the populous, unless of course you are a conservative organisation, wielding power and status to the rich? Absolutely disgusting!

Membership auto-renews unless you cancel.

The catch is that they take payment by direct debit several weeks before the actual renewal date.

Once the payment has been made, they won't let you cancel your membership and refund the payment.

If you don't wish to renew, make sure you cancel your membership well in advance of the Expiry date marked on your membership card, otherwise you will get stung.

Appalling corporate behaviour.

I find it had to believe why a dog can not gain access to Great Chalfield manor, there's lovely grounds which he would have enjoyed.

I visited Powis Castle on Wednesday 1st April 2026. I parked in a large car park looking for a disabled parking bay for my wife, unfortunately I didn't find it until after my wife had struggled up the hill to the picnic area, but she couldn't make it any further. I then noticed a small area opposite the picnic area with a small disabled parking sign. This was past the booking in cabin for Powis Castle. My wife was in such poor condition by this time she wasn't able to make it to the toilets or into the castle, she had to sit downon the picnic area benches. As she couldn't make it any further I had to go and collect my car and pick her up and leave the castle. Such a shame.
My wife suffers from heart failure, breathlessness, arthritis and other health conditions restricting her mobility.
May I suggest you put prominent disabled parking signs on various points on the route to the disabled parking area, as a matter of urgency.
Thank you

Went with my family to Cragside during our stay in Felton. I wasn’t a member until I spoke to Joanne at the ticket office. I have loved my time at all of the places we have visited but Joanne made such a huge impression on me joining and spent quite a lot of time putting me at ease as someone who is disabled quite alot of my first impression can be negative as I speak fast and rush with my mobility etc.
I even saw Joanne later in the day and we spoke again. Absolutely lovely person and doing a fab job for the national trust. So friendly and helpful. Thank you and I look forward to using my membership over the next twelve months.

The guide was really knowledgeable. He hit just the right note with humorous anecdotes but depth of history. His enthusiasm for The House of the Binns was infectious and we agreed the most impressive item in the house was the enormous mirror in the large top room and how it got there. The walk in the garden with a peacock among the daffodils was charming and the view from the tower impressive.

This was a deeply disappointing visit on a miserable grey day which we had hoped would be enhanced by visiting a beautiful house in large grounds. The main entrance to the House was difficult to find due to hopeless signage. This should be much clearer. When we arrived we were told the house closed at 4pm and we had arrived at approximately 2.45pm so the 10 minutes or so searching for the main house entrance was wasted time. We resorted to asking some other visitors, one of whom knew, two others didn't despite having already been around the house - they too were confused due to the maze of coachhouses and the actual House entrance sign not being larger than the rest of the signage.
The lighting within the House is next to none and made everything extremely difficult to see unless there was direct daylight coming in. Most of the servants' quarters were interesting and not affected until we came across the corridor showing the, what would have been very interesting, servants' photos and prose that accompanied them. I appreciate that images need to be preserved carefully but not to the degree that there is almost little purpose in showing them due to poor light levels. Surely there is a way to minimise the daylight/lighting risk without harming the images and given this is a USP for this property ? (Many other historical houses/art galleries etc. will have implemented the correct provision for this). We had to be shown by torchlight when we requested to see anything more clearly ! Upstairs on the first floor the living / dining room were barely lit also apparently due to concern over furniture and soft furnishings damage by any daylight. Whilst barely any light can add to how the house was used in its day, it is of no use to those interested in historical fact 200 plus years later not to be able to see detail. The Saloon suffered badly in this regard.
Having entered the House at 2.45pm we realised we were the last to arrive as volunteers were leaving amongst us once we had passed through their particular area. Whilst we had just enough time to see (!) what we wanted to see, after the servants' quarters a guide had joined us but was clearly also ushering us along, presumably so that they could leave also. (Poor volunteers, the house was extremely cold). We left the House at around 3.25pm, just over half an hour before entrance to the house closed or as we understood it. If they want everyone out of the House by 4pm this should be made clearer on the website - for the moment it could be assumed that you can arrive at 3.55pm and be allowed in. I have visited several NT properties over the years and never experienced disappointment - and lighting levels - like this.
For £20.90 (inc Gift Aid) this was an expensive and disappointing 45 minutes ! I will not be taking out NT membership if this is the level of poor value for money for visitors at some of their other historical houses - I will now only visit by word of mouth recommendation.

I've been a member of The National Trust for several years now and unfortunately seen it's decline with increased pricing levels and poor presentation. If an organisation is going to offer annual membership then it should make sure it's sites are open all year round, alternatively offer a book of visit tickets so people can go when these places ARE open. I feel even more sorry for families forking out nearly £50 for a family ticket, only to find out the house is closed, the gardens are closed or upstairs is closed due to 'lack of staff'. The other thing I want to comment on is the disparity in the way these houses are presented. Personally I don't want to see rows and rows of old oil paintings and rooms with glass across and a corridor through and a sad looking volunteer making sure I don't vandalise something! What I want to see is some life in these places, who lived there, some personal items. I think it's a case of having to change with the times if The NT is going to survive. Knowl House is an example of a boring cold house with no soul. Batemans a good one where you can still feel the presence of Kipling, so overall some good, some bad, with plenty of room for improvement IMHO. I don't think I will be renewing my membership next year. If they combine with English Heritage that might change my mind depending on the membership charge, but NT membership is not viable for us as we've exhausted the sites where we live and unfortunately had one dissapointed after another when venturing further afield to explore others