Reader recommendation: Turn to Royal Oak Foundation for U.K. historic sites

For those traveling to England and Scotland and who have stately homes on their itinerary, a great bargain is the Royal Oak Foundation. This is the American support group for the National Trust of England, Wales & Northern Ireland. Membership is $90 or $95 for a couple, which gets “free” entrance for two to all National Trust properties as well as free parking. I caution that not all stately homes and castles belong to the National Trust. Some are still family-owned or operated by private trusts or a competing organization, the Historic Houses Assn. When we figured that out, we joined it too. That also paid for itself.

Royal Oak Foundation, www.royal-oak.org; Historic Houses Assn., www.hha.org.uk

Daniel Fink

Beverly Hills