Young people are turning to heritage as National Trust membership rises again
Young people are becoming an increasingly important part of the National Trust, with membership among 18 to 25-year-olds rising by 26% in the past year. The charity’s latest annual report shows that 50,600 young people joined during the year, taking the number of new young members recruited over the past two years to more than 90,000.
Young person’s membership costs a donation of just over £4 a month, giving members access to National Trust places and the wider programme of conservation and heritage work supported by the charity. The increase comes as the National Trust encourages people to explore heritage closer to home through Heritage Open Days, which runs across England from 11 to 20 September.
The annual festival sees thousands of historic, cultural, and community venues open their doors or stage events, with National Trust properties among those offering free access. Events range from free swimming at a 1930s lido in Peterborough to classic bus tours in Liverpool and rare opportunities to explore the Napoleonic-era tunnels and gun rooms beneath Dover’s Western Heights.
For the National Trust, the growing number of younger members is significant beyond membership figures. Chair Rene Olivieri CBE said the charity needs to do more to make nature and culture accessible to younger generations, particularly as they inherit environmental and cultural challenges created over decades.
That view is echoed by Claudia Hayes, a National Trust Collections and House Officer and member of its youth network. She said the continued growth showed that interest in history and heritage among younger people was becoming a sustained trend rather than a short-lived phenomenon.
Some of the Trust’s most popular destinations among young members during 2025/26 were Stourhead in Wiltshire, Calke Abbey in Derbyshire and Attingham Park near Shrewsbury.
Calke Abbey has also benefited from renewed interest following its appearance in the Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man, reflecting the growing influence of screen locations on travel choices. This practice, often known as “set-jetting”, is particularly popular among younger adults.
The annual report also records a 5% rise in overall visitors. Membership across all age groups remained broadly stable at 2.62 million, while the Trust’s 263 second-hand bookshops generated a record £4.1 million.
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