The National Trust Swindon reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

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A diabolical organization led by a…

A diabolical organization led by a woke, who thinks it's core members will lie back and take on board all her leftwing BLM views. The NT has benefitted from their so called slavery, paying her wages and up until the minority started destroying statues and buildings all was okay but now they are kneeling to the minority who is hell bent in destroying our history and culture. I asked them for a breakdown of ethnic group members which they say they didn't have, which was a lie, so I presume now they have bent over backwards to appease the minority, these people are flocking for membership. Um I think not. So they have allowed a vast number of loyal members to cancel their membership because of their woke views, and now have the cheek to ask for donations to keep them afloat. What a disgusting organization.

Summer · 25 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Protest against the current leadership of the Trust.

I have ended my National Trust membership due to the ridiculous woke anti British agenda it now follows. I have no wish to support an organisation that no longer does the job it was set up to do. At managerial level it is infested with self serving liberal virtue signallers desperate to impose the corrupted logic on the rest of us. Do not support these people or their agenda, don’t join and don’t visit until the current CEO and BOD are removed and replaced with reasonable and sensible professionals.

Steve · 23 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I cannot belive what the NT has become...

I have been a keen member of the NT for 42 years.BUT I simply cannot believe what I am reading about its attitude to figures of the past who could not help living in the times they did.Rudyard Kipling - should a writer and thinker NOT think and write about the times he lived in, which (shock!!!) included the evil British empire. Wordsworth's brother commanded an HEIC ship. How dare he! Could he not have considered the attitudes of 2020 and saved us so much pain?Who are these people in the NT who are so crass that they have to blow with every breeze of opinion and not have the nerve to deal rationally and sensibily with the issues which are being raised.Since so many British houses and artworks have some relation to empire or colonialism, why don't we just knock them all down or destroy them to save us all the unbearable pain of having to live with them in our midst.Let's have some common sense here!The present NT bosses are making the NT a laughing stock.

Carysfort1885 · 23 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Sad demise of National Trust

We have been constant members of NT for over 40 years, have really enjoyed our visits to houses, gardens and other sites and also had holidays in NT properties and felt it was very good value for money. We will be cancelling our annual membership and it has taken a pandemic to highlight the sad demise of the National Trust which once was a national treasure that we wanted to support but is now ended thanks to politics, both internal and external, and trying to overdo inclusivity. Everyone has been welcome, if they wanted, to visit NT properties and grounds regardless of race, colour, creed and gender. Thank you but goodbye.

Valleylady · 22 September 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Arlington Court

Great guided local history tour by Graham at Arlington Court

Claire · 28 July 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Political correctness gone mad

Under the guise of diversity the National Trust has gone over board with its zealous pursuit of inclusivity. As far as we were concerned the National Trust was already inclusive and opened its doors to everyone. If certain members of our community don't want or can't be bothered to join or visit this valued institution why are the Trust chasing them. BLM, LGBT how many more letters will the National Trust take on board. As members for over forty years my wife and I have finally decided to cancel our direct debit.

Geoffrey · 22 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Shame on the national trust.

Have been a member for years. Since retiring went for my walk every day at my local national trust property (Saltram house) since corvid have not been once. I will not even attempt to book a (slot) as it is outside and the risk is minuscule. Ridiculous pc crap. And then the prince of darkness orders redundancies of their priceless employees. The national trust used to be a national treasure, now its a corporate shambles. Sack tim whats his face or is the corporate agenda too entrenched. Will not renew my membership next year.

Mr · 21 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Enough is Enough…

Having cancelled my membership back in July I have now terminated my role as a Volunteer at Standen. The whole organisation is hiding behind the COVID-19 issue as an excuse for some awful business decisions. They are also guilty of some very dubious practices involving the use of volunteers being asked back whilst furloughed staff remain at home. Such a shame that an organisation cannot see the reality of what it is doing and insists on pursuing an agenda that will only result in one thing - failure.

Graham · 18 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The senior management should be court marshalled due to dereliction of duty

Cancelled my membership due to the fact that despite being a member we cannot visit any of our local sites as the booking system is always fully booked out! What’s the point of being a member? I asked this question to the staff at Packwood House, I was told to “think of it as a charity tax”?!This was the point where I offered my membership cards back (which couldn’t be returned due to COVID)!Overpriced restaurants and shops coupled with unusable booking systems and useless customer services. The organisation requires a serious shake-up to sort out.

Graham · 18 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

NT is now a lost cause as far as I am concerned.

Been a member for some years now and tend to visit NT sites about this time of year (September) when we explore somewhere in the UK. Now apparently one has to book in advance else you cannot visit on spec. Pray tell me what is the point of being a member? Utterly impossible to contact any of the sites we wished to visit only to be referred to some hopeless call waiting system! This has annoyed me intensely to the point where I have now cancelled my membership. Indeed as noted by some others, clearly the NT shows nothing but contempt for existing members!

Brian · 17 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The National Trust is rapidly becoming…

The National Trust is rapidly becoming a laughing stock. My wife and I were going to take a trip to Petworth House for her birthday. We were not bothered about going in the house which we have visited many times, just go to the shop for some early Christmas shopping - but oh no, even just to visit the shop you need a pre-timed ticket, none of which are available. The National Trust is using Covid to do as little as possible. The shop is separate from the house. They are losing hundreds of pounds by not allowing people to visit the shop without a pre-timed ticket. This comes on top of the news that they are proposing to sack many of their conservation experts. As a long-standing member I ask myself what am I now paying for?I was going to email NT direct but apart from their warning that emails were only for emergencies, when I started to email them there was loads of guff about setting up an account. Clearly they do not want or welcome feedback.My wife and I have been NT members for nearly 30 years but we are seriously considering not rejoining an increasingly dysfunctional organisation.Alas I note that NT don't appear to wish to reply to trust pilot reviews

Richard · 14 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

We've had enough of a failing organisation.

We have been NT members for many years - but no more. Volunteers are leaving in droves and who can blame them? Inept management hiding behind the Covid-19 "cannot do" excuse is the problem - and they do not even seem to recognise this. Many organisations have quickly adapted to Covid and delighted visitors and members alike - but not the NT. Most properties are closed, so are telephone lines, helpdesks and try getting info by email! Let's hope that NT does not get bailed out by government - they just don't deserve to survive unless there is a radical change of management.

Dr · 14 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Only one star because I cannot give…

Only one star because I cannot give none. This is a message to the leadership of the NT. You are abusing your position by promotIng your personal political agenda. Your role is to protect our heritage and history not make political gestures- did you ask your members whether you could take this line??I am full of praise for the people who work at and restore the properties and lands entrusted to the NT but you the leadership need to go and be replaced by leaders who can run an apolitical unbiased organisation.

Helene · 12 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

NT has lost it’s way. My partner has been a life member for…

My partner has been a life member for many years and we visited a lot, locally and on route to and during holidays. Pre Covid we had given feedback on the cafe arrangements ie dull, corporate and had started to eat elsewhere and some promoted house events were lack lustre. Since Covid tried to book but no joy and now there’s space we find the worst booking system ever and little on offer so gave up. If that’s how it’s going to be, then you’ve lost custom. So for our first break since February we will instead be visiting places that make it easy for us to visit and have something to offer. It’s no good going on the radio to ask members to support you if you’re not providing a service. Clearly we need pragmatic people at the top who actually listen and care and understand what visitors want/need. It’s not happening at present. A big vote of no confidence!

Not · 11 September 2020

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Lovely places but greedy.

The national trust provides wonderful spaces for all to enjoy. We visited Stourhead last Autumn and it was beautiful. We decided to keep our membership going during the peak of the Covid pandemic to do our part to help out. Since they've re opened, we've visited Stourhead again, which was lovely to see it in a completely different season, and we've managed to get to Lacock Abbey.Members or not, need to remember that due to social distancing rules and to keep guests safe, all tickets must be pre booked in advance. If you leave it to the last minute you won't get a ticket. Also there's no admittance on the day if you just turn up. Now for the missing 2 stars! In my opinion I think it is completely unfair for the NT to charge members the full rate on special events e.g. Christmas light show. As a kind gesture to loyal members, I think the least they can do is offer tickets at at least half price for all events. I feel the NT are being greedy and I'm not sure whether I'll be renewing my membership this year.

Holly · 10 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Clumber park in Worksop STILL not open…

Clumber park in Worksop STILL not open unless you pre-book. Given that it's 3,800 acres, with plenty of space to social distance, I would suggest this is a gross misuse of members subscriptions, as we pay for a service and get poor value for money. Do the huge numbers of dissatisfied members comments count for nothing with the Directors of NT. ? Are they even looking at the appalling reviews ?. Don't know who is in charge at this WOKE organisation, but willing to bet that they won't engage with those of us (who are the vast majority) paying their inflated salaries. TIME FOR CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT methinks.

Alan · 8 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Ambiguous cancellation rules

Appalling service. Uncontactable. Ignored our emails. Made things as complicated as possible when trying to cancel. Told us we’d not contacted them early enough to cancel for next year’s membership when we’d given 1 month notice. Took over an hour to resolve on phone after 3 emails previously. AND we kept our membership running thru covid to support them! Not happy.

Amanda · 25 May 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Shambolic organisation

Like many existing members we've had previous little opportunity to use it in the last six months. Nonetheless with visits planned to areas with multiple NT sites we decided to renew for another year and got a discounted NT gift card via my employer months ago to do this. However, despite the losses suffered by NT this year they are not interested in having our custom. There have been numerous calls and emails to NT to sort this out and all we've had is excuses and misinformation. Their gift cards, which we've already paid for, can't be accepted for membership online and their sites are refusing to accept them despite their customer service telling us otherwise more than once. So they've taken our money and offer nothing in return on top of having effectively lost half our previous membership with no offer of a refund or a discount.Luckily the card is valid for two years so we'll look to sell it on to someone else when NT are accepting them again as we are finished with the National Trust. You'd have thought they'd be biting your hand off to sign you up and try to recoup some of their losses and retain our loyalty given we're prime targets: employed professionals, no kids and plenty of disposable income. Not a bit of it. Out of touch, overpriced, appalling service. I'm showing NT the V and I'm not alone.

Roy · 1 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Membership and The Present Crisis

Not wishing to suffer further interactive experiences when visiting National Trust properties as well as the pronounced lack of interest in long standing members which has characterised the NT in recent years, I sent an email to the Trust concerning the news proposed unsympathetic changes. The reply is vague and perhaps a result of cutting and pasting. In order to stop the membership plummeting a strategy document rather than the Director's imprecise assurances as recently posted on the National Trust website is now urgently required.

Miles · 30 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

A bit late in the day to write this…

A bit late in the day to write this about a holiday cottage but those booking Quay Cottage at Stackpole Estate in Pembrokeshire need to be aware that directly in front of the cottage is a large carpark where there is constant noise from visitors. Yes the cottage does have dedicated car parking space in front of the cottage but we often came back to find that others had parked there and the car park was full and we couldn't get parked. The entrance into the carpark runs alongside the cottage so there is constant noise from the incoming and leaving cars. The cafe and shop are directly behind the cottage and there is constant noise from there too. The route to the lovely beach runs alongside the other side of the cottage and there is noise from the visitors there too. The garden was not secure for our pet dog as the hedges had large gaps in them. Visitors often came into the cottage garden as they thought that this was the way into the cafe and shop. We had booked for a week but left early. This is the first bad review I have ever given the NT since we began our membership in the 1980s but had we been informed beforehand of the issues that we might face we would not have booked that particular cottage.

Helen · 30 August 2020

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Bowderdale Cottage Wasdale Cumbria

The cottage on our arrival was very well presented the staff had put in fresh flowers ,and the cottage was very comfortable ,warm and well furnished to a very good standard.Whilst it is now in need of redecoration (looking very tired not been done for many years) and damp in beginning to penetrate in the living room what really lets it down is the complete lack of any maintenance in the garden area wooden flower pots are left rotting grass was well over the ankles ,bushes not pruned back which partially block the windows , slats broken on the back of the bench.Black moss like growth on the whole of the cottage .Not what you would expect from the National Trust Whilst the drive up is what you could expect from a stony driveway where it it meet,s the concrete drive a large chunk has come away creating a large pot hole the remainder is very uneven where tyre's have slipped again no maintenance whatsoever.

John · 30 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Custodians of our national heritage

Custodians of our national heritage? Appalling reaction to Covid 19. Sack your staff as that will definitely protect them from Covid. Excellent idea! We needed open spaces and you were closed! Good policy to focus on landscapes ( reported in press) in the future, as you have discovered its outside and less risky. You could control access there too. Reminds me of the mass trespasses of the past when the public reacted against landowners restrictions on access to the countryside. Institutional failure has revealed itself everywhere as the inability to react quickly and appropriately to a crisis. Your core support is leaving and your reaction is commission a report that tells you to close down and restrict public access to your best assets. Have you heard of Sir David Spiegelhalter? Think you need to familiarise yourselves with what the risk factors are.

Peter · 30 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very disappointed.

Very disappointed in the way the NT has treated its members this year. We’ve really had nothing from our membership; 1 visit before lockdown and haven’t been able to get in anywhere else since, despite trying. No offer to suspend membership or give a partial refund, nothing. They seem to think it’s more important that they have our money than that we get fair treatment. All I can say is, make the most of the money; you won’t be getting any more from us.Whoever’s running the NT really ought to read up on customer service.

Customer · 28 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

It’s been impossible to communicate…

It’s been impossible to communicate with the Trust during lockdown. They have not acknowledged any of my emails in terms of an answer just automated replies & more advertising. Now it’s appalling what I’m hearing about them turning into an entertainment venue. Do they not realise why people go, and now they want to ruin that experience. Their appears to have been zero understanding of why most of their outdoor spaces should have been re-organised to stay open during the pandemic when outside, fresh air and the mental well-being of being in PEACEFUL nature have been & are so important. Not they want to make it all trendy for youngsters. I fit one will be asking for a refund on my life membership unless they cater for and involve what their existing membership actually want otherwise they will drive us all away as they already seem to be trying to do. Thankfully my new local one doesn’t have a booking system otherwise I would not be able to go. Shame on the National Trust, get I touch with your original ethos not some quirky idea about making more money. Preservation not innovation(change fit changes sake) as so many looney ideas made now-a-days totally lacking common sense. Lavish entertainment is not what I signed up for but to get away from such nightmares. God forbid it ends up like the nightmare at Warwick Castle which a friend and I had to walk out of demanding our money back recently. They totally shattered my childhood memories of the place. If UG UG UG gastly.

Hannah · 27 August 2020