85%Would buy again
The verdict is simple: good value for a family day out. Tickets were easy to buy online and the castle visit lasted most of the afternoon. Nothing extra to pay for the audio guide, which I appreciated.
Read moreBought a family membership pack on the site and the confirmation said it would take a few days to arrive. It took nearly two weeks and I had to email twice before anyone replied. The membership itself is fine but the wait was annoying when we had already planned visits.
Read moreGet the family pass if you have children, it covers the whole lot and saves you working out individual tickets each time. I have been going to these sites for years and the booking system is far better than it used to be. The guided tours at the abbey are worth joining and the staff know their stuff properly. Renewal was simple and the confirmation email arrived within a minute.
Read moreNeeded something to do on my day off so I got a ticket for the castle. Booking was quick on my phone. Fine but the car park was a bit annoying.
Needed something to do with the kids over half term and this was perfect, we booked on the app in about five minutes. Ticket came through fine and the site was easy to find. Only niggle was the car park was full by eleven so get there early.
The verdict is simple: good value for a family day out. Tickets were easy to buy online and the castle visit lasted most of the afternoon. Nothing extra to pay for the audio guide, which I appreciated.
The price for two adults and a child came out lower than I expected once I checked the ticket options on the site. Timed slot got sorted without fuss and the entry staff were quick. Good value for a half day out, and the ruins were well kept.
Cheapest way we found to spend a Sunday with the kids, and the ticket price for the four of us came out well under what we expected. Booking on the site took two minutes and the entry was quick. Parking was the only extra cost to think about.
I've been coming to the properties for about ten years now, and the gardens at the big house are the part I always go back for. Each time the planting has been looked after well and the paths are kept tidy. The one thing I'd flag is that the car park fills up early on weekends, so you need to get there before the crowds. Otherwise it's a good day out and I'll keep coming.
Bought a family membership pack on the site and the confirmation said it would take a few days to arrive. It took nearly two weeks and I had to email twice before anyone replied. The membership itself is fine but the wait was annoying when we had already planned visits.
The entry fee for the abbey was the biggest one I looked at this year, but I checked a few other places before booking and it was still worth it for the ruins alone. The app was easy and I got the tickets in a few minutes. The cafe was a bit pricey and we ended up bringing sandwiches instead.
Been a member for years now and we still get something new out of it every visit. The gardens at the big houses are always kept beautifully and the staff are friendly. Renewing is easy and we wouldn't go anywhere else.
This is the best option for the money if you are visiting a few sites in a year. I have used a couple of similar schemes before and this one is simpler to manage on the app. Renewal reminders are sensible and the card is easy to show at the gate. Only downside is the discount on the shop is smaller than I expected.
Got a ticket for the abbey on the app last weekend. Booked it in like two minutes, scanned the QR code at the gate, no hassle. Ruins were mad cool, would go again.
Compared with the other membership I had for years, this one is easier to use and the sites are better kept. Booking a timed visit online took about two minutes and the reminder came through the day before. The guided tour at the castle was a real highlight and the guide had plenty of stories to tell.
I was comparing it with a local heritage trail before we went, and the castle ticket is noticeably more than the trail, though the trail was much less to see. We booked online and the confirmation came straight away. The visit itself was lovely, but for a family of four it did feel like a lot, so we only went once.
Went to the castle instead of the zoo this weekend and it was way cheaper for four of us. Booking on the site was dead easy. Loved the ruins, great for photos.
Bought a membership card for my partner as a birthday present and it arrived in a neat envelope within a few days. The card was clearly printed and the welcome pack had a useful map of the sites. Booked a visit to the castle the same week without any trouble.
Wanted something cheap to do with my mates so we booked a visit to the abbey. Booking was alright but the times kept changing on the app. Site was fine, nice ruins, just not much to do if you finish early.
Get the family pass if you have children, it covers the whole lot and saves you working out individual tickets each time. I have been going to these sites for years and the booking system is far better than it used to be. The guided tours at the abbey are worth joining and the staff know their stuff properly. Renewal was simple and the confirmation email arrived within a minute.
Compared with the local heritage trail we usually walk, this was a lot more to take in for the money. The ticket was simple enough to buy but the castle itself was smaller inside than the pictures suggested. The audio guide also stopped working halfway round and it took a while to get it sorted.
We bought an annual pass for the gardens and historic houses back in the spring, which I thought was a sensible decision given how often we visit. The booking was clear enough and the card came through in good time, and the staff at the properties we visited were most courteous. It is a pleasant way to spend a Tuesday afternoon and we have no complaints at all.
We needed somewhere a bit different for our anniversary and a friend suggested this place, so we booked a visit to the abbey. Booking was simple online and the confirmation came straight away. The site itself was atmospheric and the lady at the entrance gave us a good run down of the history. Lovely afternoon, would happily go back with the car next time.
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English Heritage is a charity that cares for more than four hundred historic sites across England, including castles, abbeys, prehistoric monuments, Roman remains and historic houses such as Stonehenge, Dover Castle and Tintagel Castle. Its properties are open to visitors through a mix of guided tours, audio guides, exhibitions, reconstructed interiors and family trails, and many sites host living history events, re-enactments and seasonal activities. Visitors can buy tickets and membership online, and the charity's shops and cafés on site sell books, guides, gifts and food tied to the places they represent.
The organisation runs membership schemes that give access to its sites for a year, and these appeal to local residents, repeat visitors and families as well as tourists planning a day or a weekend out of London. English Heritage also publishes guidebooks and research, runs education programmes for schools and carries out conservation work on monuments that are at risk, funded in part by admissions, donations and grants.
