National Trust reports a 26% rise in young members, with Calke Abbey drawing larger crowds after featuring in Peaky Blinders film.
The National Trust has reported a rise in visits by young members to sites used as filming locations.
‘Set-jetting’ refers to visits to real historic locations which have featured on screen in television and film.
According to the charity’s annual report, its three most popular sites among young members in 2025/26 were Stourhead in Wiltshire, Calke Abbey in Derbyshire and Attingham Park near Shrewsbury. The Trust said Calke Abbey has seen a further rise in visitors this year since the release of the Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man, which was filmed at the site.
The Trust’s research suggests that more than half of 18 to 34-year-olds have visited somewhere after seeing it on screen.
The National Trust cited ‘set-jetting’ as a positive factor in the growth of its Young person’s membership.
Available to 18 to 25-year-olds, the number of Young person’s memberships grew by 26% on the previous year, equating to 50,600 new members and taking the two-year total to over 90,000.
Rene Olivieri, chair of the National Trust, said the boost in young people joining the charity was “good news for nature and good news for heritage,” adding “young people in the UK are inheriting a declining natural world and many are facing diminishing cultural opportunities due to decisions made by generations before them.
“We owe it to them to put that right and make nature and culture part of every young person’s life, whether that’s at the places we care for or outside them. That’s going to mean working harder to reach young people where they are and engaging them on their terms.
The annual report also recorded a 5% increase in overall visitors and a record £4.1 million raised from the Trust’s 263 second-hand bookshops. Overall membership held steady at 2.62 million, and fundraising rose to £124.7 million from £123.1 million the previous year.
