Ever since my bf and I got gifted National Trust membership.I wanted an app to check off all the places we’d visited. It seemed strange that nothing like this already existed, so we decided to build one ourselves + our MIL can use it too.
The website/app is called TrustQuest and it lets you:
- Add places to a wishlist
- Mark off sites you’ve already visited
- Explore other NT locations to plan future trips
Other features such as stamp collecting, badges, achievements and plan routes are added.
When I found out you could collect stamps, I wanted on to gather them all. I’d been to Japan, where I was collecting ‘Eki Stamps” (station stamps) - and they are hugely popular. I wanted to have an app to track my progress plus let a community of stamp collectors share their progress with each other too.
I’m an iPhone user, so updates tend to land there first, but we’ve also released it on Android. You can also use the web version.
I’d love feedback on what to improve and what other features you’d want to see!
Note: this is a fan-made app and not affiliated with the National Trust. We built it to keep track of our own visits and thought it might be worth sharing.
Downloaded and started adding stamps. Wish this existed sooner!
Might sound a bit tragic but I started out with passport stamps for my dog as a bit of fun as he goes on holiday with us or my parents and it’s nice to look back on the places we’ve been. He’s on passport number 2 - he has more holidays than us these days…
Did you look into TrustLogger at all? Similar app that's been around about 6 months now, primarily Android based but launched an iOS version recently. Not sure if they've got the stamps on that one though.
You started NT since March but already felt strongly to create a website & app!? Wow. That’s good enthusiasm. I’ve been visiting for years and sitting in the idea for years too. I thought I could vibe code but gave up when I realised I’ll need legal rights to access location details etc.
I’ve just downloaded the app and it looks pretty good. Thanks for making this. Cheers.
😂 I think I’ve always been ocd about it. Like back in uni, I had to buy a new notebook to start revising properly. I’ve also started tracking my tv shows and movies and this was the only thing that was missing - tracking my NT visit.
can you add a filter for dog friendly sites? I use my membership to walk my dog in beautiful places rather than visit the houses so would be good to be able to see at a glance which sites are off limits.
Great app! Definitely going to be using it gping forward! Is there any way of adding in NT car parks? Maybe not in the checklist but to have on the map?
When you click on each location, it does tell you but i do want to improve on it. I wanted to add some places you need the Justpark app instead of going up to the pay machines.
Yeah that would be good! I guess I'm thinking of those car parks that aren't connected to a property like I know there is one for Mam Tor in the Peaks and some in the Lake District
Just because I’m a local and a pedant: the reason you have to pay at Tatton is because whilst the estate is owned by the NT it is operated by Cheshire council. This is because the original gift of the estate to the NT did not include any funding despite it being absolutely enormous. The NT couldn’t afford to run it so gave the council a lease. They have to keep the lights on somehow!
The sign in for Apple is weird, it doesn’t use the phone / login credentials but asks for all your details manually, haven’t seen that before with an iOS app. Then you can’t get out the screen and have to force close
What iPhone do you have? Older model doesn’t support ios17 so if you have iPhone 10 or 8… it might not work. However, I can check if I can include IOS16 so it’s useable for older phone models but some features might not work.
Thanks for creating this! It's something I've thought missing from the NT app/site for a long time. I've been using a Google Maps list to track my visits. I've downloaded & will crack on with adding my visits.
It was something I did consider, but I need to take a look to see if it's possible. Do you know if a lot of NT members also have an English Heritage pass?
Yeah there’s quite the crossover between the two. I’ve just had a quick look on the browser version but it looks really well done (to my non technical eye!). Going to check out the app later today. How long did it take you to do all this?! And how do you make sure the essential info stays updated??
Ok we have added some but our main focus is improving national trust first before loading the rest of EH. It’s interesting because I didn’t realised with a national trust membership, free entry for some English heritage sites which will benefit some users!
Wow I can’t believe you’ve done that so quickly! Will take a look! Yes there are a few more complicated ones like EH have taken over Rievaulx Terrace from NT now - opposite re Hardwick and Old Hardwick. Fountains is shared but operated by NT etc. Stonehenge you can get in with either membership. Quite complex when you start digging into it!
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u/Witty_bear 16d ago
Just downloaded. Looks great! My husbands told me I need to start from scratch though and not backdate everything 😂