Exploring history with an English Heritage membership for families

For family days outdoors, I’ve recently been talking to friends about family memberships suited to spending more time outdoors, and one of the memberships I’ve mentioned has been English Heritage.

Families looking to visit castles and ruins will probably particularly enjoy exploring English Heritage sites, which include 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield (see picture from the site above), Stonehenge (see picture below) and Dover Castle.

With more than 400 sites in the English Heritage collection, there are also unique homes to tour in addition to the number of medieval castles and ruins.

Near Greenwich, visitors can explore art deco mansion Eltham Palace, which boasts an outdoor playground (see picture above); and near the Kent border, there’s charming Down House (see picture below), Charles Darwin’s erstwhile home, where visitors can walk down Darwin’s thinking path.

Driving north of London, Wrest Park impresses with its splendid garden, as well as an outdoors children’s play area.

As family members, last year we enjoyed collecting pop badges on a lanyard for young members from different sites, and the Kids Rule! magazine for members stands out for introducing young members to a new historic period in each issue.

At the time of writing, an English Heritage family membership for one adult and up to six children is £64 a year, while a family membership for two adults and up to 12 children is £111 a year.