June 25, 2003 -- Great Britain is sprinkled with castles, from the massive Tower of London and Edinburgh Castle to smaller villas, priories, abbeys and mansions. One of the advantages of seeing this compact, densely settled isle is that you don't have to go far to stumble from Stonehenge to Blenheim Palace, or from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle.
But these castles usually take a big bite out of your wallet. Admission to Edinburgh will set you back more than $11 per person, Stonehenge will hit you for $7 or so, and the Tower will burn you for more than $17.
Enter the Great British Heritage Pass, a bargain if you intend to history-hop around England. This summer, Rail Europe is sweetening an already excellent pass by offering 7 days for the price of a 4-day pass. For $35, you get access to 600 historic properties, including every one of the 16 "best palaces, castles and historic homes" in Frommer's Great Britain (www.frommers.com/destinations/greatbritain/2498020927.html). The pass gets you into most places for free -- the only two exceptions are that it's not valid for Buckingham Palace and it only offers half-off at the Tower of London, which is still a good deal given the Tower's extortionate admission fee.
The best thing about this deal is its very flexible dates. If you buy your pass by August 31, it's good for six months or until February, 2004, whichever comes sooner.
To buy the pass, go to www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/british_heritage_pass.htm. You have to buy the discounted pass from Rail Europe while you're still in the US -- if you wait until you get to the UK, the same pass will cost you a hefty ?35 ($58).
