We took out annual membership to Historic Scotland some years ago and found that, on renewal for the second year, we then also had free access to English Heritage properties. English Heritage annual/life members have the same facility for access to Historic Scotland sites. Anyone intending to visit more than a few sites on any holiday may well find, as we do, that annual membership can be a bargain – and encourages you to take short breaks with ‘free entertainment’ throughout the year. On a recent visit to Helmsley, North Yorkshire, we were able to use our Historic Scotland pass to visit Helmsley Castle, Whitby Abbey, and Rievaulx Abbey in a single day – and could have fitted-in a couple of others had they not been closed during our visit (some sites close on Monday and/or Tuesday, except for Bank Holiday weekends). Both organisations have holiday rental properties in addition to ‘historic’ sites. The National Trust/National Trust for Scotland have similar reciprocal arrangements.
