National Trust Avis 

The site and staff are of the usual high NT standards. The underground tour was great enjoyed by Nanna, Tadcu and the grandkids, 9, 7 and 4. There are two exits from the tour, back the way you came, or for teh more adventourous, the roof top escape. Plerase note these are victorian workings and up/down many steps of various heights, only foir teh able-bodied. Kids can pan for "gold" in teh sluices, there are a number of exhibits in different buildings showing teh history of teh place from Roan times until it shut last century/ The tour also gives you a brief historical run through of the ownership and how they faired. Well recommended.

Seems to me that we pay more and more each year for less. After being shouted at by a member of ticket staff today for daring to turn up to a site without booking as suggested, I will not be renewing our subscription this year. NT need to remember who pays their wages.

The two properties are down a track off a very busy Wareham to Corfe Castle road, you can wait quite a long time before you can pull out safely.
We had the larger property and at first glance it was lovely with amazing views over heathland, although dog friendly there was no secure area for the dogs to be let out on their own and on two occasions one of the dogs from the other property was found in our property.
The property was very roomy and the bedrooms a comfortable size although the beds were quite high, as we were staying for two weeks we started to notice that the outside of the property was in dire need of some maintenance, the wooden window frames were rotten and one window was hanging by a few screws, it wouldn’t have taken much for the whole window frame to fall out. The rear of the property needed painting and there was an issue with ants inside the house, although a high chair was included there was no other equipment for children, one of the grandchildren fell out of bed three times the first night as no guard rail had been supplied. The bathroom taps dripped the whole time we were there and there was water on the floor around the sinks, the wooden floors had nails sticking up and one child had splinters from walking barefoot. It would have been nice to have had a note pad and pencil to hand, we spent a lot of money on this holiday property and didn’t expect to find it in such a poor state of repair.
We tried the pub across the road where the food was tasty but the portions were small and expensive, again we had an issue getting out and across the road safely.

We went back to Nostal Priory today to view the gardens during summer what a disappointment I know it has been warm but the rose garden is none existent the rest has not been looked after at all it was a disgrace. Should not be charging a fee.

My husband left his phone and sunglasses on the north beach on Brownsea Island. We had to catch the ferry so could not return to look for them ourselves. All we could tell the staff was it was somewhere near where the Oyster Catcher was nesting. We would like to thank them for finding both items and returning them to us. We are very grateful for their wonderful customer care.

I have just attempted to book a two night stay in my camper at the National Trust campsite Highertown Farm Campsite near Looe, my advice would be, do not bother, you will be charged extra for a 2nd person. Price quoted £70 for two nights in my campervan but increased to over £82 plus to take my husband with me ! Generally when you book the price is for 2 people at most campsites. No discount for being a NT member for over 10 years. While I am here, the new 'Just Park' introduction is a complete pain the reviewer on here is correct you do have to submit credit/bank card details to enable you to proceed with the process in Penzance. I'm happy to put my NT number but not happy to share my bank/credit card details with JustPark they simply do not need it for any purpose.

Went to portstewart strand beach yesterday 12th july 2026.which is an absolutley beautiful beach.but the toilets are an absolute disgrace. My young grandaughter was coming out of the toilet cubicle and there was men standing waiting to go into it as they are gender neutral toilets.i am disgusted about this.there was used sanatry products lying all over the toilets.the amount of money they make from vehicles going onto the beach surely they could afford a cleaner.

We visited Kingston Lacy on 11th July.
Being a very hot day we decided to visit the house. We would like to congratulate all the volunteers who delivered the history of Kingston Lacy with such enthusiasm. Everyone was so informative and friendly ,especially Chris on the stairs. We were especially excited to meet Max the JRT, who was the newest volunteer in the book shop.
We had a wonderful visit.
Thank you again.

Private organistaion charging a fortune to visit a coastline. Needs stopping.

We’ve enjoyed staying in National Trust Holiday cottages because they’ve always been affordable and we appreciate that the income supports conservation. Unfortunately, the prices have now increased to a level that simply doesn’t reflect the standard of the accommodation. The same cottage we have stayed at twice has now increased by 85% since the following years stay despite extensive mould, damp, bubbling paint and tired decor. When I raised my concerns, I received a generic response that didn’t address the condition of the property or the value for money. It’s disappointing because we wanted to continue making this an annual holiday, but at these prices we’ll be looking elsewhere

The Aoartment, Greenway, Devon
A disappointment. We visited in the 2026 summer heatwave. The flat was unbearably hot. The windows only open a fraction. I think the NT needs to address climate change when renting out its properties, and at least supply a fan for each room.
When booking, I didn’t realise there would be no WiFi. I also didn’t know that we couldn’t drive up to the flat. We had to unload some distance away and look for a trolley to load our luggage onto and then drag it along the cobbled paths to our flat. Then unload and carry everything up 2 flights of narrow winding stairs to the flat. We’re OAPs and this was in 30C heat.
I think it should be made plain that this flat is most suitable for people under retirement age.
It was all disappointing, and not a cheap flat to rent. We gave up and left a day early.
However, Greenway gardens and the river Dart were beautiful.

Croft Castle countryside walks spoiled by so many cows, having been a regular visitor to this property for many years, it appears this year the tenant farmer has gone cow crazy!
The NT appear to not care how this can impact a walk if you have a dog, young children or are elderly, not everyone is as keen on cows as farmers!

Paid for a family membership in April and over 2 months later I’m still waiting on my passes & welcome pack. I’ve spent more time emailing them & printing off these useless temporary passes (that they keep fobbing me off with) than actually visiting national trust locations.

Cancelled my membership this year after 31 years, you care more about your carbon footprint and all the other green nonsence than your members, i suppose closing all those cottages had members in mind aswell, and not honouring the thousands that had already booked. Such a shame.As you can see by the reply they dont care

Having booked a cottage in North Wales we were informed a few weeks before departure that our booking was cancelled. We were offered another property LletyMawr ( which we are currently in) The whole change was arranged by an off hand Staff member who just wanted me to take a refund
On arrival we have to park 200 meters from the property in a pay and display car park A parking permit was alleged to be provided but took two days to find as the cleaner had placed tea pots etc on top of them
The stairs are described as ‘steep’ but are in reality steep ,uneven and dangerous. (A possible breach of well established building regulations) None of this was mentioned when they rearranged our holiday nor was any question of my mobility enquired about
This cottage sleeps six but has only one bathroom at the top of the aforementioned rock face climb to the first floor
I am really concerned about the direction the NT is taking. Many of their holiday let’s have been withdrawn from service. The internet is full of disgruntled customers who feel let down and taken for granted.
Be warned by my review that nothing with the NT is what it seems or what you might expect and book elsewhere as I will do in future

Having been given a gift card for my birthday to use National trust properties I duly looked at booking online. Was told online booking might not be possible for all places, so off we trot with a £50 voucher to use at Ascott House Bucks. No sorry we don't accept gift cards I was told. So what I'm saying is tell your loved ones to stop handing gift cards out as they are no accepted everywhere, making it a profitable scheme getting money without any fulfilment. Cannot say whether I would ever give or want to receive anything to do with the National trust ever again.

My husband began his subscription to The National Trust in December 2025. When he was purchasing his membership he obtained a free Carer's Pass for me. He explained that he was in poor health (Parkinson's) and that he might not be able to use his membership for long and he enquired whether he could transfer his membership to me when he was too ill to use it. He was told that he could do that. He is now in a Care Home and is unable leave. I, as his Attorney, telephoned the NT to ask for the membership to be transferred to me and was told that it was not transferrable. If my husband has known this he would never have purchased membership. I have also been told that he must continue to pay the subscription for the rest of the year. So he is having to pay for a membership which he has never used and never will be able to use. A total waste of money. If I had been able to have the membership transferred to me I would have probably really enjoyed the experience of visiting the various venues and would have renewed in my own name the following year.

We recently visited the giants causeway and had a tour presented by Toni and Lisa. It was so informative and fun. They were both brilliant and made our experience extra special

I was never told that the monthly payment was an annual commitment at the point of signing up. 16 months later and I try to cancel my direct debit only to be told I am expected to make my "donation" for the rest of the year. What a scam!

We visited yesterday and overall had a lovely day. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and we really enjoyed our picnic.

However, we were disappointed by the communication regarding the house opening times. We arrived at around 12:30pm carrying a large picnic hamper and several bags, so our focus was understandably on finding somewhere to sit and enjoy our lunch. We did not notice the signs stating that the house closed at 3:30pm.

Unfortunately, by the time we went to visit the house, which we had paid to enter, it had already closed. We appreciate that the information may well have been displayed and accept that we share some responsibility for missing it. However, a verbal reminder when tickets were purchased would have been helpful, especially as many visitors are focused on settling in rather than stopping to read every sign.

What disappointed us most was the response when we politely asked whether a partial refund might be possible. One member of staff was understanding, but another immediately pointed out how long we had already been there and referred us back to the signs. It felt defensive and dismissive, rather than acknowledging our disappointment.

It’s a shame, because the setting itself is stunning and we had been looking forward to seeing the house as part of our visit. A little more proactive communication and a more empathetic response would have turned this into a five-star experience.