My year-round National Trust ticket to adventure, heritage and woodland wanders

I don’t know how I’d have coped during the pandemic without my National Trust membership. As things started back on the path to our new normal, it felt like my golden ticket out into the fresh air, get a glimpse of old estate houses, gardens overflowing with blooms, and woodland paths that felt like secret worlds.

For the price of a few cups of coffee each month, an annual membership gets you unlimited access to hundreds of properties and landscapes across the UK. Once you’ve signed up, you can swan in and out of historic houses and rolling parkland like a Victorian aristocrat… but without the corsets.

Some of my favourite National Trusts:

• The Vyne (Hampshire) A Tudor treasure with royal connections, and gardens where you can watch the seasons change from delicate snowdrops to autumn’s fiery finale.

• Stourhead (Wiltshire) The famous lake with its picture-perfect bridge and temples is like stepping into a painting. Perfect for gentle strolls and a haven for photographers.

• Cliveden (Buckinghamshire) Once a glamorous party pad for the rich and famous, now a place for long walks along the Thames and a mooch in the immaculate parterre gardens.

• Mottisfont (Hampshire) Roses, roses, roses. If you visit in June, the walled gardens will knock your socks off. The house has layers of history too – a medieval priory turned country home.

• Greys Court (Oxfordshire) Quintessential English charm, from the cobbled courtyard to the lovingly tended kitchen garden. Go in spring as the smell of the flowers in the courtyard bowls you over.

• The Chase (Wiltshire) Woodland heaven. Bluebells in spring, rustling leaves in autumn, and always the sense that you’ve stumbled somewhere special. It's a special place that me and my Sprocker love to adventure together.

• Upton House (Warwickshire) Art lovers, rejoice. This 1930s country house is packed with paintings and a garden that looks like it’s been staged for a BBC period drama. I loved the libruary and bookshop.

• Buscot Park (Oxfordshire) Formal gardens, secret water features, and that satisfying feeling of finding a place that not everyone knows about yet.

Planting memories that last

The National Trust’s goal is to plant and establish 20 million trees by 2030, which will eventually store around 300,000 tonnes of carbon a year. For me, I think one of the most meaningful things the National Trust does is its Plant a Tree programme. Every year, I dedicate a tree in memory of my nan. It feels like a gift back to the world she loved – and to the future. Knowing there’s a tree growing somewhere because of my nan makes me smile every time I visit a National Trust woodland.

Why I keep going back

The houses are full of history – the kind you can actually feel when you run your hand along a centuries-old banister. The gardens are so beautifully kept you almost expect to see a period drama film crew around the corner. And the walks! Woodland trails, riverside rambles, and peaceful parkland that make you forget about your inbox for a few precious hours. And then there are the gift shops. I defy anyone to walk out without at least one jar of local jam, some fudge for Mum or a plant for the garden.

None of this would be possible without the wonderful staff and volunteers. They’re fountains of knowledge, happy to share quirky facts you won’t find on the information boards, and always up for a friendly chat.

If you’re looking for a way to enjoy Britain’s natural and cultural treasures while doing some good for the planet, I can’t recommend the National Trust enough. Get yourself a membership, pack a picnic, and maybe even plant a tree or two.