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I was a tourist attraction mystery shopper – we paid nothing to visit a family festival and it was super easy
We saved £60 for just a one-day visit
DID you know you can be a mystery shopper for tourist attractions - getting you free entry?
Most of us bargain hunters know that mystery shoppers are a big thing when it comes to giving feedback on customer experience at stores and restaurants.
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But if you've never come across the concept for tourist attractions, you could be missing out on a free family day out.
This summer I signed up to take my boys aged five, 10 and 12 to local visitor attraction for its big medieval festival.
We got free family entry, in return for our feedback on what could be improved for future events.
None of us were really sure what to expect as we've never attended before - would it be fun going undercover as tourists in our own town or would we get into bother at the battlefield?
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The crack team of mystery shoppers included people of all ages and with different life experiences, so that we could look at how accessible the festival is for all.
Bosworth Battlefield is in the middle of rolling countryside near Nuneaton in Warwickshire, meaning uneven terrain and very little in the way of public transport to get visitors there.
It was fascinating to hear other people's point of view of what they were looking for in a good day out when we met online before and after the festival, to outline our expectations and then see whether they had been met.
The final feedback session involved returning to the battlefield a few weeks after the festival to meet some of the team involved in running the event and let them know what we thought.
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My boys and I had an absolute blast over the festival weekend and there were loads of highlights.
This included learning sword forms in Knight School and watching the reenactment of the Battle of Bosworth by hundreds of living history enthusiasts.
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My littlest even won a prize in the medieval fancy dress parade, before taking a breather to play garden games, such as Ye Olde Splat the Rat while watching the world go by.
It was brilliant to see a site I've been visiting with my family since I was a small child bustling with visitors, and knowing that we were playing a very small part in keeping the history and heritage of our home alive.
It's events like these bringing in the cash that keep visitor attractions open to all, especially an outdoor site like Bosworth, which will naturally be much quieter in the colder, wetter months of the year.
I'll be honest, if we weren't going free, the medieval festival wouldn't have been on my must-do list this summer due to the price.
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It costs £60 for a family of four, although tickets cover the whole weekend so you can go on both days.
I wasn't sure if we'd find enough to do for all ages to make the entry price worth it - there's nothing worse than forking out on a family ticket, only to listen to kids moaning about being bored.
But now I know just how much there is on the programme, we'll be back as paying guests in the future.
If living history events aren't your thing, there's loads of other ways you could get a free day out in return for volunteering.
My friend and her family got into a couple of music festivals free after agreeing to carry out litterpicking at the end.
Lots of festivals do something similar, recruiting volunteers willing to donate a certain number of hours to help the event run smoothly in exchange for watching the acts when not working.
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Another way to save money on family days out
Catherine revealed some of her other hacks to save money when organising days out in the UK.
"Children who signed up to the summer reading challenge at their local library anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales can get into a couple of Leicestershire tourist attractions free.
"All you need to do is bring along your reading log or certificate to either Bosworth Battlefield, where the Tudor dynasty came to power, or the 1620s House near Coalville, and you'll get free child entry with a paying adult.
"Otherwise, a handy hotel hack if you're not local to Leicestershire is a brilliant scheme called StayPlayExplore - families can get an overnight stay at hotels including Marriott, Hilton and Best Western plus entrance to three Midlands attractions for just £169.
"Or just know where to look when it comes to free kids attractions.
"London is home to several museums that are free to visit, including the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the V&A and the Tate Modern.
"And both the The International Slavery Museum in Liverpool's Albert Dock and the People’s History Museum in Manchester are free to enter."
Providing festival feedback might not have been on my summer to-do list but we had a full weekend of freebie fun and I enjoyed a small glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes to make an event like this one work.
I had a terrific time being a top-secret tourist and wouldn't say no to another undercover outing in the future.
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