Shugborough - :(

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
Used to work at Shugborough approx 10 years ago and remember selling tickets to each part of the site independently, so if you wanted to go to just the Mansion House or just the farm you just bought the required ticket. There was also an all site ticket available for those with plenty of time who wanted to see everything.

My 2 year old nephew was up from London this weekend so we thought we'd take him to Shugborough Farm to see the animals and have a spot of lunch in the cafe. Paid the £3 parking, went to the ticket office only to be told that the only ticket available is an all-site ticket at £15 each adult. FIFTEEN POUNDS !!!! No longer can one buy a ticket just to the farm or museum or house. What the hell? Who thought that was a good idea? Obviously no 2 year old wants to look at a mansion house or a museum, and we certainly weren't paying £15 each adult to pop in to the farm for a couple of hours.

Disgusted with Shugborough we went to Amerton. Free parking, free to see a few animals, and only £2.20 per adult for a ride on the train which was quite perfect for the short attention span of any 2 year old.

Sorry for the rant but it's no wonder Shugborough has made staff redundant recently and is staffed mainly by volunteers. Be interested what others think?
 

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
I think the National Trust and English Heritage are out of touch

I think Staffordshire County Council are broke

How would you manage the site?
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
Managing stately estates is not really my specialism, but it seems obvious to me that the site should be engaging and welcoming local people who are the most likely to do repeat visits, than alienating them. I don't see many local people wanting to attend the whole of Shugborough for £15 each adult very often. But I did see many local people who would regularly take their family and kids to the farm to see the animals and play on the adventure playground - often having some food while visiting - when I worked there. Thats a whole tranche of people who will no longer be attending because none of them wanted to go to the museum or mansion and therefore wouldn't want to pay for a whole site visit. Plenty of people did buy the all site ticket, but it wasn't compulsory.

I don't get why they wouldn't give customers the chance to just go to the farm? Because they don't however they losing visitors.

Flexibility is the key, especially in these economically difficult times. Maybe the phrase is customer focused!!
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
I don't see many local people wanting to attend the whole of Shugborough for £15 each adult very often...

They stopped doing the separate ticket thing a few years ago - i agree it is a bit of a shame for visits such as the one you describe. You can, however, get an annual pass for £25 which also gives you free parking.

Not that this helps for one off visits such as yours, but it's worth knowing.

http://www.shugborough.org.uk/planavisit/AnnualPrivilegePass.aspx
 

monkey bidness

Well-Known Forumite
They stopped doing the separate ticket thing a few years ago - i agree it is a bit of a shame for visits such as the one you describe. You can, however, get an annual pass for £25 which also gives you free parking.

Not that this helps for one off visits such as yours, but it's worth knowing.

http://www.shugborough.org.uk/planavisit/AnnualPrivilegePass.aspx


Thank you W for this info.. I was not aware of the privilege pass. It appears to be very good value for money. Compare it, for instance, to the annual pass to Trentham Gardens.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
We used to go and walk round the gardens quite often, was really disappointed when they started charging :(

Now when we go over there we tend to park in Great Haywood (free), walk over the bridge (paddle in the Trent) then a walk down the canal or through the fields (and occasionally sneak into the grounds for a wander round, when the ticket persons gone - about 3.30)

I was gutted when they started charging at Trentham, have many happy memories there playing pitch and putt (can't believe its a car park now) and walking round the lake and grounds - not to mention all the exams I sat there :( We actually haven't been in the grounds since they started charging!

The Trentham yearly pass can work out very cheap if you use your Tesco clubcard points though....
 

Birdies_best_mate

Well-Known Forumite
i used to work in shugboroughs walled garden in the early 1980s when it all overgrown and neglected. I remember when they moved the steam locomotive out of its shed in the walled garden to be put on a load loader, they just managed to j get the front end of the loco on the trailer when the winch cable they where using to pull it on the trailer snapped and whipped around making folks run for cover.
 

stoofer34

Well-Known Forumite
this one
nsloco.jpg
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
...I think that you can get into the farm and playground for that too... maybe.

I'm almost certain that is not the case - when they charged for the separate 'bits' of the estate, i'm fairly sure the farm was £5 to enter - i think that is literally just access to the gardens.
 

Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt

Well-Known Forumite
As soon as people start charging you for going for a walk then really they are on a hiding to nothing. I stopped going to Trentham when they started charging to walk around the lake - there are plenty of secluded, tranquil places in our magnificent County that you can wander around for free so why you would pay? Trentham is neither secluded nor tranquil.
Same to some extent goes for Shugborough. You can park in Great Haywood for free and then have a nice walk around the canal so why pay a huge amount to go around the house and grounds? You might do on the odd occasion but it isn't as if it changes all that much or that they have that many new and different things to draw you back in. Times are tough and charging people for having a walk about in a place that is on the edge of the free to use Cannock Chase is ludicrous.
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Well yes, but some people dig (pun pardon) formal gardens and are willing to pay to see them.

Not my bag to be sure, but whatever floats yer boat...
 

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
I would advise avoiding Trentham this week unless you wish to meet hundreds of newly qualified solicitor types ..it is graduation ceremonies allwik
 

henryscat

Well-Known Forumite
I'd advise avoiding Shugborough at the end of the month as they are holding a "game and country fair" which should more accurately be called an "animal murderers convention"
 

andy w

Well-Known Forumite
I'd advise avoiding Shugborough at the end of the month as they are holding a "game and country fair" which should more accurately be called an "animal murderers convention"
I suppose that advice is revelant if your against that sort of thing otherwise go and enjoy yourself,
 
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