Historic Scotland membership benefits

Membership entitles you to free, unlimited access to all of Historic Scotland's ticketed sites, including Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. Discover centuries of history at all kinds of amazing places all over Scotland including:

• imposing medieval strongholds like Urquhart Castle, Dumbarton Castle and Lochleven Castle

• enigmatic prehistoric monuments such as Maeshowe and Skara Brae

• luxurious residences like Linlithgow Palace and Duff House

• romantic religious ruins such as Inchmahome Priory, Elgin Cathedral and the Border Abbeys

• icons of our industrial past, like Stanley Mills

A digital membership card, available via the Historic Scotland app makes entry a breeze. You'll receive a copy of our members' guide to help plan your adventures.

Places you can visit

Members get free entry to all of the daytime events taking place at our sites. It's your ticket to our ever-popular Spectacular Jousting weekends plus other favourites like Rock of Ages, Unicorn and Celebration of the Centuries. 

See what's on

Membership gives you the opportunity to take part in our series of members' exclusive events, which includes book launches, tours with experts and the chance to go behind-the-scenes and see our conservation work in action.

Members receive a 20% discount in our on-site gift shops and at our online shop Stòr, allowing you to pick up a unique Scottish-made gift or the perfect souvenir of your historic adventures.

Browse Stòr

Our free quarterly members’ magazine will be delivered to your door, or you can read it online. It's packed with special features, stories from our experts, guest columns, competitions, stunning photography and much more essential reading for any lover of Scottish history! 

Now in its second season, the Historic Scotland Podcast see us on the road with Scottish actor, storyteller and self-confessed people person Sarah MacGillivray as she discovers Scotland’s captivating sites and stories.

Members get early access and exclusive behind-the-scenes content as Sarah's latest travels take her to Loch Ness, Holyrood Park, Caerlaverock and East Lothian.

Find our more about the podcast

The History Hunt are our popular collectible cards, only available to members!

Every one of our staffed sites has one of seven specific collectible cards for members to claim during their visit. There's also limited-edition rare cards to keep an eye out for. Once collected, you can use the cards for gaming or trading.

Join the History Hunt

Every Historic Scotland membership contributes towards our work protecting Scotland’s heritage for future generations, whether that's carefully conserving important artefacts like the Honours of Scotland, keeping traditional skills alive or protecting mighty medieval buildings against the impacts of climate change.

No matter the conservation task, we're extremely grateful for the role our members play in making it happen.

How we look after the places in our care

Your membership has benefits beyond the Scottish border!

Historic Scotland members get free entry to heritage attractions on the Isle of Man operated by Manx National Heritage. First-year members enjoy half price entry to 500+ English Heritage sites  in England and Cadw sites in Wales.

Once you've renewed, or if you have a life membership, entry will be absolutely free!

Our Membership Team is here to support you with any questions or feedback. You can contact us by emailing members@hes.scot or calling 0131 668 8999 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4.30pm).

You can also check our Membership FAQs for quick answers to common queries.

Membership FAQs

• Membership privacy notice
• Membership terms and conditions