A National Trust Membership is well worth the money, particularly if you enjoy day trips in the countryside or regularly take road trips within the UK. It's possible to keep travel slow and sustainable on a budget this way. Aside from the initial outlay, a membership provides so many travel opportunities and if you pack an on-the-go zero waste kit you won't spend anything extra on the day.
My first National Trust visit was to Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses. The houses were carved out of the soft red sandstone and restored just as they were when the homes were lived in from 1977. At the turn of the 20th century, the rock houses became a tourist attraction even after the last occupiers moved out. Tea continuted to be served from a café until 1967, when the rock houses fell into dereliction.
Using photographs taken at the time, work to restore the rock houses began in 1993. The upper houses were restored first, then the lower level and gardens, and finally the Martindale residence. Other rock houses exist on Kinver Edge, including natural caverns, empty caves, and overgrown homes. If you follow one of the many trails, you'll stumble across these homes hidden away in the woods.
Four miles west of Stourbridge, and four miles north of Kidderminster; Kinver Edge is on the border between Worcestershire and Staffordshire, England. There are miles of open countryside, trails and footpaths to explore. Dogs are welcome to run off-leash except at specific, well-marked locations to help protect the wildlife and grazing cattle.
I took the heath land trail covering 1.5 miles of gentle slopes and kissing gates. It sweeps through sandy heath land and across the sandstone ridge, taking you to an Iron Age Hill Fort. Down the slope you return across the open grassland and towards the Warden's House. The scenery was magical, changing from dense gorse shrubs with sandy paths underfoot, opening up into wide grassy fields flanked by woodlands filled with bluebells.
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