IF YOU love a National Trust day out but aren’t sure about committing to membership, there’s a new nifty, thrifty gift that you can use to get several days out for the price of one.
The recently launched Unboxed range on the National Trust website is aimed at families or couples and, on the face of it, is only valid for one day.
But the £75 family box includes entry to a National Trust site for two adults and up to four children, as well as a £40 gift card, a single-use parking pass and an adventure map worth £15.
It also comes with an £8 book titled ‘50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾’.
This means if you use all the elements of it wisely, you could be quids in over 2025.
To visit one of my nearest National Trust places, the Children’s Country House at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire, costs £60 for two adults and three children for day entry as non-members, plus £12 for an extra child.
I used a 10 per cent off welcome code to get the Unboxed set for £67.50, so if I take six people with my entry voucher, I’ve already saved £4.50 compared to the cost of a one-off visit.
Then I can use the £40 gift card that comes in the Unboxed bundle to go to a couple of cheaper sites like Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, where family entry costs £12.50, or the grounds of Calke Abbey in Derbyshire for £18.75.
Even more expensive sites like Cragside in Northumberland, which recently boasted the UK’s largest living Christmas tree, costs £37.50 for a family, so would be covered by the gift card, which can also be used in National Trust shops and cafes.
If you pick sites where car parking is free, like Calke Abbey, you can use your one-off parking pass to visit one of the coast or countryside National Trust sites that are free to enter but charge for car parking like Dunwich Heath and Beach in Suffolk.
Parking for the day can cost as much as £15 depending on your vehicle and which car park you are using.
One of the bonuses of unbundling this gift box is that you could use the included map and book as presents for family members if you don’t feel like you need them yourself.
Not only will you save on the cost of a gift, but you’ll also encourage others to discover the nature and beautiful buildings that come with a National Trust day out.
If you use its contents wisely, the Unboxed bundle could be worth more than £120 and could get you four days out – one with the entry voucher, two with the gift card and one using the parking pass.
And you don’t even have to cram in all your trips over a short period, as the gift card will be valid until 2026.
The car parking pass does not have an expiry date, so you could plan some of your visits for the summer if you’d rather save them for warmer weather.
The main benefit of using this gift bundle rather than a four-day two-adult family Explorer Pass, which costs £69, is that the Unboxed days out can be spread out and taken whenever suits you.
Whereas once the Explorer Pass is activated, it is only valid for a limited time period, so you would need to make all your visits on consecutive days to get your money’s worth.
That’s why unboxing this bundle could be the best gift to give yourself this year.
HERE are ten National Trust sites Brits can visit in the UK.
Last year, travel writer Catherine Lofthouse explained how Brits can save on visits to National Trust sites using the Explorer Pass.
Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse has also used Blue Peter Badges to save hundreds of pounds on family days out.
