Annual passes, judged from up here
Every comparison of these things answers the same question: how many places does the pass cover? Up here that is the wrong question. A pass covering twenty-four attractions is worth very little if twenty-one of them are south of Birmingham. So we have scored each one against the places already on this site, which means the coverage number below is the number you can actually reach on a Saturday.
Before you buy a Merlin Annual Pass: Read this bit before you buy. Since 1 August 2025 the Blackpool Tower Eye, the Blackpool Tower Dungeon, Madame Tussauds Blackpool and Peter Rabbit are NO LONGER on the Merlin pass - Blackpool Council took those attractions over from Merlin and runs them through Blackpool Tourism Ltd. SEA LIFE Blackpool is still Merlin and still included. Plenty of guides and older articles have not caught up. Full breakdown.
Side by side
Sorted by how many of our places each one gets you into. The price is what two adults and two children actually pay for a year, which is not always the number on the front of the box: some of these are sold per person, and four of those add up fast. Checked in August 2026, and most rise every spring.
| Pass | Our places it covers | Family of 4, a year | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Trust | 8 | £176.40 | £22.05 |
| Merlin Annual Passper person | 3 | £556 | £185.33 |
| The Blackpool Tower annual passes | 3 | — | — |
| English Heritage | 2 | £149 | £74.50 |
| RHS membership | 1 | £83.99 | £83.99 |
| Blue Planet Aquarium annual pass | 1 | £281.40 | £281.40 |
| Chester Zoo membership | 1 | £288 | £288 |
| Knowsley Safari membership | 1 | £330 | £330 |
| Kids Pass | — | £49.99 | — |
“Per place” is the price divided by how many of our places it covers. It is a blunt number and it is not the verdict: a one-site zoo membership can beat an eight-site one if the zoo is where you keep ending up. It is here because it makes the per-person passes honest at a glance.
The short version
- Going to the same place a lot? Buy that place’s own membership. Chester Zoo pays for itself in under three visits and nothing on this page beats it on a venue you genuinely repeat.
- Want somewhere different every time? National Trust. Eight of our places, four counties, and the free parking is worth more than people expect.
- Days out scattered across cinema, food and attractions? Kids Pass at £50 is a different kind of product. It never gets you in free, but it is a third of the price of a family membership.
- Before anything else: over half the days out on this site are free, and no membership beats free. Work out what you would genuinely pay for this year before you buy an annual anything.
Each one in detail
National Trust
The strongest all-rounder for a North West family, and it is not close.
Merlin Annual Pass
This is the one where a North West family needs to do the maths before believing the headline.
The Blackpool Tower annual passes
This exists because these attractions left the Merlin pass in August 2025.
English Heritage
Hard to justify on North West coverage alone.
RHS membership
One RHS garden up here, but Bridgewater is a proper day and the joint membership brings four children in free.
Blue Planet Aquarium annual pass
Indoors, which is the whole argument for it.
Chester Zoo membership
A single-venue membership that still stacks up, because Chester Zoo is a full day and a day ticket is not cheap.
Knowsley Safari membership
Priced per person rather than per family, so a family of four is around £330.
Kids Pass
The one to consider if your days out are scattered rather than repeated.