Nowadays it can feel as if you need a small mortgage to venture on a pleasant day out.
Entry fees are costly and don’t even think about a coffee and a croissant – you may as well pack up and go home.
But it turns out that you can actually get unlimited free entry and some hefty discounts on tickets for countless UK days out, all for a bargain upfront cost of 50p.
The National Lottery’s Open Week returns in March which gives anyone who buys a lotto ticket the chance to visit National Trust properties, the Eden Project, Edinburgh zoo and more, for a fraction of the usual cost – or even for free.
Whether you need to keep the kids entertained on the weekends or you enjoy a quiet alone time stroll around a museum, there’s something for everyone.
How to get a free day out with a lottery ticket
The purpose of Open Week is for National Lottery funded venues to ‘say thank you to the players for the £30 million raised for Good Causes every week’.
Their thank you comes in the form of free entry, discounts or special offers – all of which can be available to you.
To access these deals, you simple need to purchase a lottery ticket, the cheapest of which is 50p on the National Lottery website – and present it at the admissions desk at the entrance of your chosen venue.
To be on the safe side, you’ll need one ticket per person so you are all able to access the deal, and you can do this at any participating venue between March 15 to 23 this year.
It can be digital or physical, and if you happen to have an old ticket to hand from playing in the past, you don’t even need to buy a new one.
A couple of things to bear in mind…
You may not be able to book in advance, although each participating venue will have its own rules.
Some attractions will allow an entire group in with one lottery ticket, whereas some allow one adult and all their children. Others may want you to pay for tickets for those under the age of 18 – it’s a case-by-case basis.
It’s also worth noting that some venues may reach capacity, so it’s worth trying to avoid peak times.
Where can I visit with my lottery ticket?
There are hundreds of attractions and National Trust properties available to visit with your lottery ticket, but here’s a little sneak peak of some of the offerings – with something for everyone.
- RAF Museum Midlands. On offer is a two for one on 4D Theatre and Flight Simulator tickets, 10% off all restaurant and shop purchases (valid from March 15 to 23).
- National Trust Giants Causeway. Free entry to explore the legendary footsteps of giants in Northern Ireland with a guided tour every hour (valid from March 15 to 23).
- Glasgow Science Centre. Kids go free when you buy an adult day ticket, but the offer is only valid from March 15 to 16 and March 19 to 23.
- Edinburgh Zoo. Offer of buy one get one free on all full price walk up tickets, to go and visit more than 2,500 animals from around the world (valid from March 15 to 23).
- Florence Nightingale Museum. Free entry to explore the journey and legacy of nursing heroine The Lady with the Lamp. Valid from March 15 to 16 and March 18 to 23.
- National Trust Ickworth Estate. Free entry to one of National Trust’s more unique properties the house is a museum with a special rotunda, encircled with Italianate gardens (valid from March 15 to 23).
- Highland Wildlife Park. Offering buy one get one free for a day out where you can see 200 animals in Scotland’s Cairngorm mountains. You can spot polar bears, snow leopards and elk (valid from March 15 to 23).
- Royal Shakespeare Company. Offering a free guided tour for one adult and accompanying children. These include a Costume Tour, Theatre Tour and Ghost Tour where you’ll hear about the stories that have arisen over the past 140 years (valid from March 15 to 23).
- The Eden Project. Free entry but you must pre-book. You can explore Cornwall’s biomes which are home to rainforests (valid from March 15 to 23).
- National Trust Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. Free entry to these stunning Yorkshire ancient abbey ruins, surrounded by hundreds of deer (valid from March 15 to 23).
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