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  1. Unexpected membership benefits with the National Trust

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    Membership has many benefits, often unexpected.   Here are some things a National Trust membership could give you:

    1. FREE entry to 500 places to explore!  So it’s great for being holidays in the UK – you can plan a holiday around places you’ve always wanted to visit and explore, whether it’s an ancient castle, a coastline or country house. 
    2. The chance to improve your fitness in an outdoor gym by strolling across coastland, walking on beaches, climbing trees, taking walks.   Instead of seeing the same four walls of a gym, breathe in the sights of stunning scenery and views so you can run with a view!   And if you love running, there are runs to try (including night runs). The National Trust has 9 ways in which membership can make you fitter 
    3. The opportunity to try something new – they have lots of workshops and events – you can see what’s on offer in your area here 
    4. You could use National Trust properties for a break from driving on the motorway as opposed to a motorway station – many are quite close to the motorways
    5. You can discover lots of interesting tit-bits of history and explore places of great historical interest – what would it have been like to hide for your life in a priest hole?   Or wander through a garden created for you by an admirer?  Or try out different experiments in your garden to test out theories of evolution?   Or find out more about the history of toilets? 
    6. Be inspired by the fantastic gardens and pick up lots of new ideas.  From wildlife friendly gardens  to natural gardens for kids, there’s plenty of beautiful gardens to inspire you
    7. The knowledge you’ll be contributing to the work the National Trust’s work as Britain’s largest conservation organisation, caring for 600,000 acres of beautiful countryside, over 300 historic houses, 700 miles of fantastic coastline.   Find out more about the work of the National Trust here 
    8. You’ll have the chance to volunteer – you’ll get lots of ideas
    9. Many places are dog friendly, so if you have a pooch, you can plan tons of days out with the National Trust’s Guide!
    10. Develop a love for gardening!  It’s very therapeutic to spend some time in a garden, whatever its size…
    11. What’s more, for dog owners, you can plan your holidays around National Trust places so you can explore lots of new places together!  Members get a National Trust Handbook with details of over 300 beautiful buildings and 200 gardens 
    12. If you enjoy photography or art, there’s lots of beautiful places to photograph or draw and paint
    13. There’s plenty for kids to do, with walking trails 
    14. There’s a huge range of events throughout the year, and members can enjoy them for free or at a discount.
    15. The knowledge your membership is helping to protect special places for generations to come – your children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces, cousins’ children
    16. The National Trust cares for one of the world’s largest art and heritage collections with nearly 1 million objects at over 200 historic places so there’s lots to see and gaze at for art lovers! 
    17. 17.   There are lots of exhibitions such as the Turners at Petworth House (until 12 March 2017).  Some are free to National Trust members or you can enjoy them at a reduced rate. E.g.   International Garden Photographer of the Year at Sissinghurst


    Like anything, the more you put into your membership and make use of it, the more you’ll get out of it!  Click here to give a gift membership

     

  2. What difference do gift memberships make?

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    Sometimes if you're buying a gift membership, you do wonder how they can really help the charity you're buying it from.   Can treating someone to a membership really make a difference?  

    Well, the National Trust has five ways in which their membership scheme can help them preserve Britain's beautiful places... 

    Save some very important rockpools
    Members help the National Trust protect 775 miles of coastline. The beaches you and I enjoyed as children, with our memories of picnics on sandy beaches, building sandcastles, exploring rockpools, and going for walks on  windy days can be enjoyed by our children and generations of children to come.   Members can help the Trust work to keep the coastline open and accessible for all.  It's been doing this work for 50 years - your gift membership can help it keep doing this for another 50!

    Connect children to nature
    Memberships help children discover the joys of natural adventures.   Did you hear about the Trust's 50 Things to do before you're 11¾?  The campaign's aim is to get children inspired by the great outdoors - building dens in woods, hunting for bugs, riding a bike, bat spotting.   Memberships help keep Trust keep the natural world speical, so your children can enjoy it and go wild in it!

    Keep a very, very old man happy
    The Old Man oak tree at Calke Abbey in Derbyshire is 1,200 years old!   He once stood in Sherwood Forest and although that’s mostly disappeared this Old Man just keeps on going. Members help the Trust keep the Old Man in the public eye.  The Trust looks after many trees, from rare black poplars and colourful tulip trees, to ancient yews and sweet chestnuts.  Members help the Trust protect woodslands filled with wildlife and birdsong all year round. 

    Protect our livestock and wildlife
    On a Snowdonian sheep farm, Bill and Ben protect newborn lambs from foxes.  They aren't dogs - they are Andean alpacas.  They’re called Bill and Ben. But they’re not actually dogs, they’re Andean alpacas who excel at protecting lambs - they are huge, and run towards sounds of distress, scaring off attackers.  The Trust looks after acre after acre of places millions call home - rare butterflies, barn owls, wild ponies, seals, otters, shy water voles, red squirrels, red warblers, native deer… They’re all thriving thanks to the love and care of the Trust's members, volunteers, and rangers.

    Get up close to our ancestors
    Members help to unlock the stories of the past, whehter it's uncovering 4th century Roman mosaics in Gloucestershire, excavating an Iron Age savings fund squirrelled away in a cave, or bringing people closer to the footprints of cavemen.   The Trust can work with archaelogists, restoration experts and historians, as well as local communities, schools and volunteers, to help people experience the lives of our ancestors

    Those are just five of the many fantastic things the National Trust can look after. So your gift membership will never be wasted.  It will be busy working to protect Britain's beautiful places and species for generations to enjoy today and in the future.  Join the National Trust today

    		  

     

  3. Gift memberships can give out local win-wins

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    One of the great things about giving a Gift Membership is that you know your gift is helping a cause.  It is making a difference.  That difference could be in another country on the other side of the world, or it could be right in the recipient's local area.   

    I was looking at the Wildlife Trust's website today.   The Wildlife Trust is a UK based charity, and I was having a look through their website, and I happened to come across the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust.  

    Looking at their Membership pages, they really brought home to me that, although the Wildlife Trust covers the UK, you can choose to make a difference to wildlife right in your loved one's local area with a gift membership. 

    Through a gift membership with the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, your gift will help protect habitats (that's wildlife homes) and so protect species such as the water vole, otter, and butterfly.  Members can enjoy a closer connection with the natural world in their area. Your gift will give locals a place where they can connect with nature and be a part of it.  So you really can make a difference to wildlife in the local area where your loved one lives with your gift membership to their nearest Wildlife Trust.  

    There are 47 Widllife Trusts around the UK, all helping nature, so you are bound to find one that is fairly local to you - there's even one in the island of Alderney in the Channel Islands.  

    Click here to find your local Widllife Trust.  It will have details of their membership schemes on its website.