Gift Membership & Subscription News

 

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  1.  

    There's great news from English Heritage, the charity which cares for over 400 historic places in England and Wales. 

    The charity is guardian to some of our greatest buildings and monuments  - Stonehenge, Tintagel Castle, Osborne, Hadrian’s Wall and Dover Castle to name a few!  In fact, there are over 400 sites, and you can visit as many times as you like with an English Heritage Membership!

    Explore history and have some great days out with English Heritage
    This is Dover Castle - visit and explore for a great day out!

    English Heritage members enjoy great benefits!

    • Free entry 
    • Kids go free - Bring up to six kids under 18 per accompanying adult for free on every visit (Membership includes six accompanying children per adult member, under 18 and within the family group)
    • Free parking - most sites offer free parking - you need to display your member sticker on your car
    • Free/reduced price entry to events 
    • Plan your days out with a free Handbook, Members' Magazine and Members' updates newsletters
    • Make a difference - your membership is helping English Heritage to protect heritage sites for years!

    There's Carlisle Castle in Cumbria
    There's Carlisle Castle in Cumbria

    SPECIAL OFFER ON! 

    Enjoy 15% off gift and annual memberships** with English Heritage with the code AFFEH1526

    Carisbrooke Castle is on the Isle of Wight

    Carisbrooke Castle is on the Isle of Wight

     

    Give a gift membership here.

    ** This offer ends 31st December 2026. Valid for new memberships only. Annual Direct Debit only.

     

     

     



  2. It’s time for RHS Chelsea Flower Show from 19th to 23th May 2026.  It will be full of beautiful gardens, lots of ideas, tips and advice and plenty of shopping, as well as chances to eat and drink! 

    There are show gardens, balcony and container gardens (particularly great if you've got a small garden or balcony and you want some ideas), All About Plants Gardens, to celebrate the wonders plants can bring to a garden, Houseplant Gardens, and floral gardens. There's the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year and GreenSTEM which highlights horticultural science and technological innovations.  

    And - big news - this year, the RHS is lifting the ban on gnomes at the Show.  Why is this?, I hear you ask.  Well, they are raising funds for the next generation of gardeners and the RHS Campaign for School Gardening

    It's not too late to buy tickets – and don’t’ forget that there are other RHS Flower Shows during the year.  And remember, Members get reduced price tickets!

    Tips to help you make the most of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
    Tips to help you make the most of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
    the Show Guide is available to buy with your ticket. 
    Find out more here.

    There are tips on how to make the most of your visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show here. 

    The themes in 2026 are aiming to show that great design and sustainability can go hand in hand, using water wisely, and the joy of gardens and how we can attract a younger and more diverse audience to gardenin

    Find out more about the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  You can buy your tickets here.  

    By the way, there's another show before that, with the Malvern Spring Festival in Worcestershire from 7th to 10th May 2026.   Find out about that here.  There are other shows, of course, and some of them are new this year, such as the RHS Badminton Flower Show from 8th to 12th July 2026, and the RHS Sandringham Flower Show from the 22nd to 26th July 2026.  

    Don't forget that members get reduced price tickets, so you can become a member here.

    Visit the RHS here

     

  3.  

    The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) was founded back in 1804, and it has lots for everyone!  

     

    There are five beautiful RHS gardens to explore, such as Hyde Hall in Essex
    There are five beautiful RHS gardens to explore, such as Hyde Hall in Essex
    and 240 partner gardens!

     

    Gift Membership is fantastic value, with:

     

    • Unlimited entry to all 5 RHS Gardens for the member and a family guest or 2 children
    • A copy of The Garden magazine
    • Unlimited, personalised RHS Gardening advice
    • Regular emails with exclusive member content
    • Free entry to over 230 Partner Gardens for the member
    • Reduced rate on tickets to RHS Shows

    So you get a lot for your membership throughout the year.

    But there’s more!   The nice thing about the RHS is that they run quite a few campaigns such as National Gardening Week, Wild About Gardens and School Gardens (their campaign has lots of free teaching resources and online training course and awards).  They also have a Planet-Friendly Gardening campaign which has 10 ways for us all to be more sustainable in our gardens. 

    And of course, the RHS brings gardening to the neighbourhood, with Britain in Bloom, the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood and affiliated societies. 

    The RHS has over 600,000 members, and membership contributions help to support the work the RHS does, be it undertaking horticultural science or supporting community gardening groups.

    Find out about the RHS Grow, the gardening app
    Find out about the RHS Grow, the gardening app
    The app gives you access to 200 years of knowledge
    from botanists, scientists, fruit and veg experts and RHS specialist advisors!

    Enjoy a year of days out & gardening inspiration with the RHS!   

    A quick word about the RHS Flower Shows in 2026!

    This year, the RHS has exciting new shows:  RHS Badminton Flower Show is in the South Gloucestershire countryside (that’s the 8th to 12th July 2026);  and RHS Sandringham Flower Show is to be held in the grounds of the Norfolk estate – royal family-owned – from the 22nd to 26th July 2026.

    And there’s also the RHS Malvern Spring Festival, Worcester, from the 7th to 10th May 2026, the big one, RHS Chelsea Flower Show from the 19th to 23rd May 2026, the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show at the Saatchi Gallery, London from the 19th June to the 2nd August 2026, and the Malvern Autumn Show from the 25th to 27th September 2026.  I love the sound of the Malvern Autumn Show, as it’s celebrates country living!  There are vintage vehicles and fashions, harvest competitions, rural crafts and local, artisan food and drink markets.  Can’t wait!

     

     

  4.  

    I love the Wildlife Trusts.  They are a grassroots movement of people from all sorts of backgrounds and they are on a mission:  to restore a third of the UK’s land and seas for nature by 2030.  I'm a member of three Wildlife Trusts and I love to hear all their news and what they are up to.  Even more, I love supporting them in their work to help wildlife. 

    Each Wildlife Trust is an independent charity.  Those involved (in whatever way) want to make a difference to wildlife, to nature, to our climate. 

    There are now 46 Trusts throughout the UK, from Alderney Wildlife Trust in the Channel Islands to the Scottish Wildlife Trust, from South and West Wales to Suffolk, from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to Northumberland.  So wherever you are, or wherever the nature lover in your life is, there should be a Wildlife Trust in their area you can tap into and get involved with.

    The Wildlife Trusts together have over 944,000 members, over 33,000 volunteers, 4,100 staff and 600 trustees.  They manage over 2,600 nature reserves for nature and for people. (January 2026 from the Wildlife Trust's About Us page.)

    Members are helping their Trust to look after wildlife and the natural places in their area, and they receive a welcome back, regular magazines and lots of information. It’s the sort of thing where you can get as involved as you want; if you are really manic with life, you can at least know that your membership is helping your Trust continue with its vital work.   

    Membership benefits

    Because each Trust is an independent charity, the memberships will vary on cost (most are about £3 a month) but generally they include a welcome pack of goodies, regular magazines full of news and features, access to beautiful nature reserves, talks, walks and events – these are a great way to meet fellow wildlife lovers who care about the natural world – and chances to campaign for wildlife.

    Many Wildlife Trusts have half price membership offers (or similar) in January 2026, (most to new members only)!

    So this could be a great opportunity to treat yourself or a loved one to a reduced price membership, be it half price or anything else for that matter, and to support wildlife at the same time!

    Give a gift membership to a Wildlife Trust here


    Take Action and Support your Local Wildlife Trust

    Take a look at your local Wildlife Trust, you can find yours here – and sign up.  It’s a great way to show your support for nature and to help Wildlife Trusts reach the 30x30 target - that's 30% of land and sea protected by 2030. 

    The Wildlife Trusts are aiming to put nature in recovery, making more space for it and connecting habitats on a large scale so that wildlife can pass safely through to new territories.  The Trusts want to restore nature so that ecosystems can function again - the UK natural world is very much depleted now.   

    The Trusts are also hoping to inspire us all to act for nature and rewild our neighbourhoods, working with our communities.  I am a member of a couple of Wildlife Trusts and love to receive news of how I can get involved and make a difference - and also to see success stories.  Together we can all drive change and actually help nature help us - nature is vital for our wellbeing. 

    So give a gift membership to a Wildlife Trust and you'll be giving a gift that helps nature, wildlife and people and is a win-win for nature lovers all round!

    You could also donate to an appeal.   There's a HUGE appeal for the Rothbury Estate - the Trust has until September 2026 to raise £30 million (no, I didn't type that wrongly) to secure 3,800 hectares.   You can discover all about it here.