Taking a break in a National Trust property
SIR – Shute Barton (“National Trust quietly turns manor into a holiday let” report, February 23) has always been holiday accommodation, opening for public visits just four weekends each year.
The National Trust has not been underhand. The vast majority of our most visited places will reopen as normal once lockdown restrictions have been lifted, and visitors will not see a major difference. We will, however, have to adapt our opening arrangements and the ways we provide public access to some smaller properties in the future, which will involve pre-booked visits.
We want people to continue to visit the places they love while allowing us to be more flexible and plan, with property size, location and visitor volume in mind. The Beatles’ houses are just one example of how well this can work, with consistently positive visitor feedback.
We are working through the detail of our plans, and have every intention of communicating them to our members and supporters as soon as we possibly can.
Andy Beer
Director of Operations and Consultancy, National Trust Swindon, Wiltshire
SIR – As an owner of coaching inns I now see that I’m competing with the National Trust to sell bedrooms.
As the National Trust benefits from numerous government grants, I presume my taxes are funding my competition. I’m not happy.
Nigel Oddy
Oxfordshire Hotels
Banbury, Oxfordshire
SIR – Do others, like me, resent their National Trust subscriptions being used to provide holiday opportunities for those wealthy enough to be able to afford them, to the exclusion of the general public? Peter Williman
Chatteris, Cambridgeshire