Historic Scotland

I just got an email reminding me that my Historic Scotland membership will expire this month, so I thought I should discuss my opinions about it and reflect on whether to renew my membership.


Last year, Nikki convinced me to get the membership, which for students costs 36 pounds. It's a lot of money, but if you consider that going to Edinburgh Castle costs 16 pounds, it actually doesn't take that many castle visits before you start saving money. So, I bought the membership and that did a few things.

First, it encouraged me to go to more castles. I could take day trips to castles and all it would cost me is the transportation costs. Shortly after getting this membership, I bought a railcard, which further encouraged me to travel more.

Second, as a result of more traveling (and also probably living with the history buff is Nikki), I became so much more passionate and knowledgeable about Scottish history.

I also feel like I'm a sort of expert on castles. I think I've seen a few more castles than the average person and I know what to look for when I go, which I think is because I understand what I'm looking at. It's a lot easier for me to understand how the castles would have looked in their prime and how they would have been used.

I wanted to quickly mention all the castles I've been to that are run by Historic Scotland because that will really show how great of a deal this was for me.

Since I've already mentioned it, I'll start with Edinburgh Castle. Both of these pictures are from the first time I went there. It's still the only time I've been there, but I'll definitely go back. I didn't get to spend as much time there as I wanted, so I still need to go back. (full post here)

view from the cannon

I think Linlithgow was one of my first castles and the reason that I bought the Historic Scotland membership to begin with. I've been there twice, but below is a picture from my first visit. (full post about my first visit here)

view of the castle from the other side of the loch

Also near Edinburgh is Craigmillar Castle. I went there this summer with Nikki and her friend Harry, who was visiting. (full post here)

This summer I also got to go to two castles just south of Edinburgh. The first was Dirleton Castle, which had the most beautiful gardens. (full post here)

The other castle on that trip was Tantallon, which is quite an impressive one that is built right on the edge of a cliff.

Last spring when my cousin came to visit, we went to three castles (one of which was Linlithgow). The first one was Stirling Castle. I didn't really like how Stirling was made to look how they think it looked in its prime, but at the same time I could have stayed a lot longer. (full post here)

The other new castle we went to that day was Doune Castle, which was particularly exciting because that's where they filmed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Outlander.

me standing in the window where they filmed a scene in Monty Python

One of my one-off day trips was with Chloe. We went to Aberdour Castle (below) and Rosslyn Chapel, which is unfortunately not owned by Historic Scotland. They also filmed a little bit of Outlander at Aberdour! (full post here)

On a trip to St. Andrews, I went to the St. Andrews Cathedral and the castle there. There's not much left of the cathedral, but it does have a pretty good view of the town from the top of the tower. (full post here)

The castle is another one of the castles built on the edge of a cliff, so it's pretty cool. There's also a tunnel that goes under the castle, which you can go in.

Another castle I visited this summer was Loch Leven Castle, which is on an island. It is also where Mary Queen of Scots was first imprisoned. (full post here)

I went to Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness, but unfortunately I went there before I got the membership. (full post here)

Also in the category of castles I didn't go to for free, this summer I went on another spree of old ruins. I went around the Borders and the North of England. The first place we went to, the place in England, was Lindisfarne Abbey. It's an English Heritage site, which has a deal with Historic Scotland, so I got half off, so I did still save money. (full post here)

The next stop on that trip was Jedburgh Abbey.

And the last stop on that trip was Melrose Abbey.

I'm fairly certain those are all the Historic Scotland castles I've been to. I have added up all the entry costs I would have had to pay if I had just paid the entrance fee at each site individually and if I had done that I would have spent 96 pounds and 80 pence. I saved just over 60 pounds, which was totally worth it!

I haven't yet renewed my membership, but I know I will when my family comes in December, because I'd like to take them to a bunch of castles.