English Heritage

[goode262]

Now that I have a wife and 2 kids (22 month old and a newborn) I need to start taking them on adventures.

We all love being outdoors, and live very close to Charles Darwin's home Downe House; which we enjoyed visiting. The aviary at Leeds Castle in Maidstone was also great, as were the vast lawns.

I've just seen a site called English Heritage, and it seems you get free entry to lots these kinds of places.

Would any Ph'ers recommend it , and places that it would get us into in and around the Kent area?

Thank you,
Please.

[FourWheelDrift]

Essentially you have 2 very large organisations in the UK that look after stately homes, parks, gardens and castle ruins. National Trust and English Heritage. Joining either give you discounted or free entrance to their attractions. English Heritage are the main body who look after and schedule ancient monuments, grade and list buildings and the people you have to appeal to if you want to make any alterations to a listed building.

I think you only have to go to a few a year to make it worthwhile.

Doesn't the EH site have a location search for attractions?

[deckster]

EH is great for kids, there's nothing ours like better than running round ruined castles.

NT tends more towards country houses and interiors and the kids are much less interested.

They're both very good causes though so I keep up our memberships to both even if some years we don't use the memberships all that much.

[Teppic]

FourWheelDrift said:

Essentially you have 2 very large organisations in the UK that look after stately homes, parks, gardens and castle ruins. National Trust and English Heritage. Joining either give you discounted or free entrance to their attractions. English Heritage are the main body who look after and schedule ancient monuments, grade and list buildings and the people you have to appeal to if you want to make any alterations to a listed building.

I think you only have to go to a few a year to make it worthwhile.

Doesn't the EH site have a location search for attractions?

Also after you have been a member of English Heritage for a year you are then entitled to access to Historic Scotland and Cadw (Wales) sites for free.

[V8mate]

I was recently commissioned to rebuild the cover building and visitor centre at Lullingstone Roman Villa near Eynsford. The remains of the huge villa used to be covered by just what was, effectively, a hangar. Very plush now, with light and sound show and lots for youngsters to touch and play with and dress up in. Interactive stuff is more aimed at 5-10 year olds though.

Not sure how much an under-5 would get from any historic site really, though, but the project has dragged a 2000 year old excavation well into the 21st century.

Did quite a lot of work at Dover Castle too. It's a 77 acre site; give two or more 5-10 year olds a toy sword and let them go, they'll run about until they fall asleep. Site is to be avoided in poor weather, though; it's completely open up there on the cliff top. My cntractors frequently faced 100mph winds - not funny when working with scaffolding!

The best thing about the site is that it appeals to everyone as it has 'history you can touch' from 1000 years ago right up to post-WWII. The secret wartime tunnels dug into the cliffs, run from Napoleonic times through to post-Cold War; the Admiralty Lookout, which I renovated from a state of being close to falling over the cliff to a great interactive visitor attraction covers similiar history. Then further back, you have Henry II's great castle and the medieval church. Lots of other intermediately aged buildings too.

I'd definitely recommend taking up EH membership (and no, I'm no currently being paid by them!)

[rlw]

EH has a few places in Kent but NT has far more I think. Also, you will find far more NT places in any particluar place you case you care to mention. EH does have some great sites - Dover Castle, Eltham Palace, St Mawes Castle and Pendennis Castle for instance - but NT comes back with Ightam Mote, Wakehurst Place, Knole House and park and, best of the lot in my view, Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall. We belong to both and cover the NT subscription many times over but the EH is a bit harder to cover.

[Dog Chops]

Something my sister told me, CADW is cheaper to join than English Heritage and if you get life membership (quote from their website):

Special entitlements for life and joint members. As well as gaining free admission to sites in the care of Cadw, English Heritage and Historic Scotland, life/joint life members may each take their children under 16 years of age or one adult guest, free of charge.

[henrycrun]

if you like your camera you might want to check out any photo restrictions. They might not let you take pictures outside or inside

[FourWheelDrift]

Not many CADW Welsh attractions in the Kent area though

[trooperiziz]

For years, me and my sister spent virtually every single summer holiday as a kid being dragged round EH and NT castles, stately homes, abbeys etc...







... it was great! I still love ruined castles and abbeys

[Dog Chops]

@FWD:

Dog Chops said:

...free admission to sites in the care of Cadw, English Heritage and Historic Scotland...

[FourWheelDrift]

I did post a ------->