HS Member FAQs

An annual membership gives you many benefits for a whole year. If you’re visiting Scotland for a short time, an Explorer Pass offers similar benefits for 14 Days and may be a better option.

You do not need your membership number to book. Booking in advance is essential to guarantee entry at some of our busiest attractions, or those with limited capacities. To find out which sites are open and where you need to prebook, visit historyawaits.scot. Select the site you wish to visit. There will be an option to book member tickets. Select the tickets appropriate to your membership category and for the date/timeslot you require. You should include any children under 7 visiting with you on your booking. You will receive an email confirmation with your order number - take this with you (printed or on your phone) for your visit, along with valid membership card(s), or membership confirmation email.

For enquiries about tickets or ticketing issues, please contact ticketing@hes.scot. Please also contact them if you have booked your ticket and can no longer make it, so they can make the tickets available for others to book. 

Historic Scotland Life members can take 2 adults or up to 6 accompanying children (7-15yrs) or a combination of 1 adult and up to 3 accompanying children as guests free of charge. Tickets for guests should be included in the member ticket order.

If you are an annual member and wish to bring a non-member with you, then a paid admission ticket will need to be booked for the same time slot. Paid admission tickets can be found at www.historyawaits.scot.

If you have children under 7, please add these onto your booking. Under 7s visit free and do not affect your membership but will need to be added into your online booking. We recommend booking online in advance to guarantee entry.

Yes, your membership card will be required for entry as it is proof of your membership. If you have recently purchased your membership online, or at another site, take your temporary membership certificate or membership email confirmation as this is your proof of membership.

You need proof of membership in addition to your pre-booked tickets to visit. If you do not show valid membership cards/email confirmation on the day then we cannot guarantee entry.

You can also download the Historic Scotland app and upload your virtual membership card allowing you to use your phone as proof of membership.

For many of our sites pre-booking is not required, but to guarantee entry to our busier sites pre-booking is recommended at; Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae, Stirling Castle, Blackness Castle, Urquhart Castle, Doune Castle, and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn.

When tickets are sold out online there will be no further walk-up tickets available at sites.

For members who do not have internet access you can call to reserve tickets in advance on 0131 668 8831, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

English Heritage:
First year Historic Scotland members should select an admission ticket on the English Heritage website and enter the promotional code HS50 to receive your 50% discount. Renewal Historic Scotland members should select an admission ticket and enter the promotional code QKUYU6 to get a free ticket. You must take your valid membership card(s) with you when you visit.

Cadw:
All Historic Scotland members can book a free visit on the Cadw website. First year members, entitled to 50% reduced price entry, will pay reduced admission on arrival. You must take your valid membership card(s) with you when you visit.

Please note that we do not offer reciprocal admission to National Trust properties. 

Your membership order will be processed within five working days of your order being placed online. Membership cards will be posted no later than six working days after the order was placed. Please allow up to 14 days for delivery. Contact us if you have not received your cards after this time.

Membership starts from the moment you purchase it and will expire at the end of that month the following year. For example, if you buy membership on the 15 April, it will expire on the 30 April the following year.

For new and renewal memberships, this email acts as confirmation of your membership and can be used to visit our sites and get your retail and café discount. This does not include gifts of membership, which cannot be used until membership cards are received. Booking in advance is essential to guarantee entry at some of our busiest attractions, or those with limited capacities.

To find out which sites are open and where you need to prebook, visit historyawaits.scot.

The magazine is sent out four times a year and you will receive the next edition when it comes out. The magazine is published in March, June, September and November. If you would rather not receive a paper copy, you can receive a quarterly email with a link to the online magazine and an accessible downloadable PDF.

Car parking is free to customers at most sites for the length of your visit.

At Stirling Castle parking is discounted for members, for a maximum of 4 hours, on a first come first served basis.

Disabled parking is available for drivers with a Blue Disabled Badge at Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle.

Contact the site prior to your visit for details.

At Urquhart Castle, we strongly advise that you pre-book your visit and car parking in order to guarantee entry.

Gift memberships will be posted directly to the recipient within five working days of purchase.

No, gift memberships can only be used once membership card(s) have been received. If you need a membership that you can use immediately, you should purchase a standard new membership, not a gift, or buy your membership when you first visit one of our sites.

Gift memberships start from the date they are purchased and will expire at the end of the same month in a year's time. Gift membership cannot be post-dated.

No. Gifts are only available by Credit/Debit Card. Gift membership is not available to pay by Direct Debit.

Yes. Your Gift Renewal Notice will give you the webpage to renew your gift on. Alternatively you can contact us for this.

If you paid for your membership by cash or credit/debit card, you have six months from the expiry date of your membership in which to renew. After this time if you wish to rejoin you would do so as a first year member.

If you pay for your membership by Direct Debit, we will write to you at the beginning of the month the membership is due to expire with your membership cards for the coming year, and you can decide if you wish to renew.

No. This can only be done over the phone or by returning a paper direct debit mandate that we can send out to you at your request. Please contact us to arrange this.

All direct debits are payable on the 1st working day of the month and we are unable to change this.

If you are about to renew your membership you can amend your category and the names of the members on it when you renew. However, if you are midway through your membership you cannot transfer membership to another person.

Please contact us and we can advise you about the changes you might wish to make to your membership.

The digital membership card means that you don't have to remember to carry around your physical card, and you can use your membership via your phone. It's also less likely to be lost, stolen or damaged. You can access it via the Historic Scotland app.

Yes. The digital membership card is accepted at our partnership organisations. This includes English Heritage, Cadw and Manx National Heritage. 

At the moment, no, but that is what we will be working towards in the future. All members will continue to receive a physical card and can also access their card digitally.

Whether you are a single or joint member, all named members are able to access their digital membership card via the app. Just login using your first name, surname and membership number. Each member should access the digital card on their own phone; one phone cannot hold two digital membership cards.

Children do not receive a membership card and are not named on the membership so will not have access to a digital card.

In the profile area go to the cog icon and select log out, or tap and hold the membership card, then select "Remove Card". You will no longer have access to your digital membership card.

We recommend that you load your membership card onto the app at home in advance of visiting any sites in case there is no connectivity at the site.

You can now add your digital card to your phone's digital wallet. Make sure and update the app to the latest version.

No, we are not getting rid of the physical membership card. We appreciate that a digital option is not for everyone so if you wish to continue with a physical membership card, you can.

Unfortunately, at the moment the app is unable to recognise accents in names. We are working with our app developer to resolve this issue in a future update. If you would still like to access your digital card, please contact us - we can replace the accented letter in your name with an unaccented one on your membership record.

Members of English Heritage, Cadw and Manx National Heritage have reciprocal arrangements for entry to our sites.

To guarantee entry to our busier sites pre-booking is recommended at; Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae, Stirling Castle, Blackness Castle, Urquhart Castle, Doune Castle, and Maeshowe Chambered Cairn.

If you are a first-year member you receive a 50% discount on the ticket price, if you are a renewal member your entry is free. You must bring your valid membership card, and pre-booked tickets, with you to ensure entry.

Please note that we do not offer reciprocal admission to National Trust properties. 

You should only book the number of tickets that you are allowed as per your membership category up to a maximum of 6 people.