National Trust Avis 

Never received there magazines or any National trust said you would get for joining them.

Used to be about heritage. Now it’s ideology.
The National Trust was once a genuinely respectable organisation focused on preserving Britain’s history and landscapes. Sadly, those days are gone.
What should be peaceful, educational visits now feel like walking through an ideological re-education centre. Every opportunity is taken to frame British history through a narrow, modern political lens—national identity treated as something to apologise for, complex history reduced to moral lectures, and contemporary left-wing dogma shoehorned into places where it simply doesn’t belong.
Instead of conserving sites and letting visitors engage with history for themselves, the Trust now seems far more interested in virtue signalling. Even staff interactions and signage feel loaded with fashionable ideological messaging that has nothing to do with heritage or conservation.
Acknowledging history is one thing; hammering visitors with political narratives is another. People come to enjoy history, nature, and architecture—not to be lectured or subtly shamed.
A real shame. The National Trust used to unite people around Britain’s past. Now it feels divisive, preachy, and completely detached from the purpose it was created for.

Bought tickets to Dunham Massey lights event. Unfortunately one of the party was hospitalised and we were unable to attend so called to cancel and get a refund. Even though I gave over 24 hours notice, they refused to refund. Making the already stressful situation much worse. Contacted the complaints department, they took my details and said someone would be in touch to try and rectify the situation. No one has been in touch. Tried to reach out on social media. No one has replied. I have been going to NT events/venues for decades at multiple venues and can't believe they would treat a loyal customer like this. My advice - don't attend events as they don't care what the reason is if you cannot attend. Even if someone is hospitalised.

Planned to visit a site in Hampshire with family in December 2025. Website said entry was £12, on the gate was £25 as it was considered "peak season". If they're charging peak season entry then give peak season service. Wasn't allowed in the house as I had my dog with me, and was aware of that. But half the cafe's were shut, and we could only take the dog round half the site as it was. Don't advertise yourself as a dog friendly organisation and then effectively ban the dog once you're through the gate. Staff at the entrance were incredibly rude to me and my mother regarding reasonable questions around entry prices, and told my sister off for my niece holding their membership card as they tried to enter.

Decided not to enter the site and cancel my membership, with their call centre claiming they're above the law as charity. Digital markets, competition and consumers act 2024 protects consumers from unfair purchases and are entitled to a refund within 14 days. I have cancelled my membership immediately and have arranged a chargeback from my credit card. NT these days is nothing but a glorified scam

Congratulations on your serious incompetence! I gifted a membership to a friend, you took payment from my account and then sent the gift recipient a demand to set up a Direct Debit!
NT has gone right down the pan!

I have not been a fan of national trust for some time now, especially when they let stately homes become ruins and not restore and maintain them, or ruin them in their own way by doing some daft modern glass roof , more recently iv heard that the national trust refused a Christian film maker to film a documentary at a historic location as the national trust don't entertain anything political or religious, so yet another woke organisation trying to erase British culture and history, well my friend who is elderly has no kids but has a lot of wealth and was going to leave his estate to green peace , they pissed him off so he decided national trust would benefit, well not now, after this i am now the beneficiary of said estate, thank you national trust 😉

Congratulations to the NT on continued ineptitude and poor customer service. Today i checked the website in preparation to go to Fountains Abbey in N Yorks. All looked ok, open, all car parks working and I planned to park at West car park. Travelling from York, via Knaresborough, Ripley, via rural road to the car park. Whilst there was some old road signs implying the rural road was closed at some point, those signs were removed to one side and not functional. I got within less than a mile of the car park to find the road totally blocked by a very large barrier across the road by a cottage and very close to the downhill access to the west car park. …. So no access. In front of me we’re 2 cars turning round, i did the same i then stopped 4 more cars on the road telling them there was no access. Every driver i spoke to had checked the website for access and opening hours. SO none of us realised that this long journey would end in failure. The road block was substantial, not an emergency job or a quick fix. So thanks to NT for not posting up on the fountains website that there was a significant road a closure so the west car park could not be accessed via a popular route from Ripley Castle road to the Abbey. . I came home, both disappointed and annoyed that i had checked the NT sitter before the journey, BUT I then knew I’d wasted my time and a journey of 40+ miles. Whilst i could have driven back to Ripley, then to Ripon and go towards Fountains via Ripon, this would have taken much longer and my experience had wrecked my motivation to go. No wonder the NT’s membership are leaving in droves….I joined the ARTFUND and found that good, as lots of options there.

Ive just received my trust magazine opened it and saw you have done an interview with keir starmer, I didn't read it just put it in the bin, no need to say anything more most people know what i mean

I have just spent 3 nights in st Marks bothy on Brownsea Island over the new year break. Brownsea is my favourite place but the cottages are to expensive for me as a single disabled person. So the Bothy is ideal. Its is very basic with no central heating or double glazing and as it says it's a Bothy and priced accordingly which is fine. I had a good time and have been twice now.
HOWEVER , I looked to book again for next new year and the price has gone up to a ridiculous amount. I paid this time just under £190. They now they want £600. The price increases it's self is horrendous but when you add its a Bothy it's down right daylight robbery. I get it sleeps 5 but I go on my own and
maybe with my carer. I thought the national trust were about accessibility for all and giving these opportunities to the people. Seams like they mean people with money and not the likes of me or others like me. I accpet prices do need to go up but this is way out of the normal price increase or what it's actually worth being a Bothy and having to bring everything yourself. I would now have to consider if I can ever return. Very sad and very bad on the national trust.

They have turned a vast chunk of Formby nature reserve- into a blinking tarmac and concrete car park.
You couldn't make this stuff up. A vast quantity of nature reserve woodland trees felled and the most hideous of car parks constructed.
Shame on you.
In response to the vapid reply from the NT- you know when crazy times are upon us when custodians of nature try telling us that destruction is 'conservation'- what a lot of old hogwash; management consultancy sleazy spin.
Anyway, further to my earlier comment, yes, they have actually physically destroyed a very large chunk of protected nature reserve, cut down swathes of trees, and concreted over it with a car park. They also have installed a large quantity of hideous galvanised hoardings a good distance away from this car park so as to stop people from getting close, noticing and seeing what these creeps are really up to, having the brass neck to call it conservation. What an utter disgrace. The worst part is that they probably believe their spin and Orwellian rhetoric. Finally, this is not just a tiny car park- it is huge, perhaps the NT would like to share with us the total figure of trees they felled in the protected nature reserve in order to bulldoze through this monstrosity. Also perhaps you would like to share with the public the exact dimensions of the repugnant car park?

Hilary McGrady is the Director-General of the National Trust, which installed free "vegan" tampon dispensers in some male lavatories, a move that generated public controversy. McGrady the initiative occurred under her leadership,she of course is an activist and a believer in wokism.

Was gifted membership a year ago from a relative that isn’t well off and shocked to find that they had paid £160!

I also went on the page to renew and see if there was a possibility to extend my membership or seek discount as I hadn’t been able to make the most of my membership due to personal circumstances, and was shocked to find that they don’t even allow you to cancel your direct debit if you no longer wish to continue your membership with them within the year.

All this aside I haven’t made any use of my membership, having not benefited from a single visit. The first time I went to a local site. The gate was open and unmanned. The inside was closed and the park was accessible to the public - it felt a bit daft that I could have had the same experience having been a non-member.

I then booked a day off work to spend at a Trust site during the summer but they were all closed! Every single one within a 60 mile radius.

It was an expensive lesson to learn but hopefully by posting here I can save another person to not engage with this charity.

Another massive charity that feels entitled to your money. They told me they had cancelled my direct debit but couldn't refund me only for me to be charged again a year later and now they are saying the same line. Only here for money, they do not care about customers.

Edit: This has now been corrected by the team at National Trust so I've updated my review. The issue still stands that this shouldn't of happened and prices at locations can be very high.

Went to the Vyne near Basingstoke twice for the Christmas decorations display and sadly was told that it was at capacity. You can’t pre-book a time slot without going, so I can’t really see the point in paying our membership. Very disappointed that an organisation such as the National Trust can’t foresee and overcome this sort of issue, starting to question our membership now!

Quick to take your money.

Failed to honour their guest agreement with membership, unhelpful on the phone and at site. Simply theyll take your money and you can get stuffed. A new customer and treat with discontempt. Stopping my direct debits, theyll try and pursue the money, all there interested, but they can go whistle.
They keep saying their a charity, but not very charitable when it comes to helping others, grabbing, covetous old sinners the lot.

We were waiting for the shuttle bus to take us back to the car park. An old lady tripped on the step of the bus and badly cut her leg. The bus driver (a woman) was no help she was more interested in getting back to the car park to pick up more people so left. A Trust helper sorted some body with a first aid kit phoned the car park for the other shuttle bus (there were two) to come and pick her up. He wouldnt come as he was having his lunch. There was also a minibus in the car park could have collected her but didnt. The old ladies daughter by this time had phone the local hospital to ask if they could take her straight in.
Then the unhelpfull woman in the shuttle bus came back with some more people and picked us up. When we got back to the car park the ladies daughter asked the driver if she could drop them off at their car. As she struggled to walk. NO was the answer. Not allowed. It was perhaps 200 yards. So the daughter had look for a wheelchair.
Ive never seen such a shambles.
National Trust should be ashamed.

A great visit today to the Birmingham Back to Backs ! Our guide Elaine was very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. All our questions were answered with ease. We especially liked the displays and the chronological time differences in the different houses. At a very reasonable price this is a really worthwhile visit.

What a disgrace that from 2026 NT members cannot access this property unless they pay a membership fee to join Historic Houses. And yet NT has paid a fortune in upkeep and renovations (£Ms) and will continue doing so. The residing family must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Awful organisation

I'm so disappointed to see the sorry state of many National Trust houses, gardens, car parks and catering facilities these days. I've visited several locations in the South West, Midlands and North West recently, and everything seems rather uncared-for and more overpriced than I remember - and most places are certainly worse value for money than equivalent RHS or English Heritage offers.

Having worked for the Trust for several years (both at property level and in the consultancy) I can only imagine maintenance and customer care have taken a back seat to allow the overpaid consultants and central team their regular membership-funded jollies (one of my roles within the charity, alas, involved booking expensive hotels and travel options for a consultancy manager. I always understood said consultants were to share what they learnt from such excursions with property teams, but having later worked at property level, I can confirm this was never the case where I worked).

That said, the volunteers we encounter are often brilliant, and lots of property-level staff (usually those paid the least) are doing their best, but I'm so glad I paid the individual entrance fees rather than for a membership. I don't believe it's worth it anymore.