Sir David Attenborough backs bid to buy Rothbury Estate

Sir David Attenborough has backed a bid by environmentalists to raise £30 million to buy an entire tract of upland land.

The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust are seeking to complete the acquisition of the Rothbury Estate, a 15-square-kilometre (30-square-kilometre) estate comprising ancient grouse moorland, woodland and farmland; These include plans to increase wildlife on the land, regenerate marshes and encourage nature-friendly farming.

With a year left to raise the £30 million needed to secure the entire estate or risk it being broken up and sold, Sir David has urged people to support the bid.

The naturalist and broadcaster said in a video that time was running out to save Rothbury Manor.

The site is the largest tract of land to be offered for sale in England for decades and is at the heart of a 40-mile (64km) “wild” corridor that naturalists say stretches from the coast to Kielder and the Scottish border and includes the Simonside Hills.

Rothbury Manor belonged to Lord Max Percy, the youngest son of the Duke of Northumberland, and had been in the family for nearly 700 years.

The partnership between Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Wildlife Trusts has been given a two-year deadline in October 2024 to raise the £30 million needed to purchase the entire property.

Sir David said: “People here know and love the towering Simonside Hills, walking the ridgelines and listening to the calls of sandpipers, watching red squirrels and admiring the views as they scramble among the cliffs.

“They walk the distant paths and marvel at the amazing rock carvings left by our distant ancestors who once lived here.”

He said the Wildlife Trust would work with local farmers and communities who live and work in Rothbury to care for the area, breathe new life into habitats and create a place where people and nature can thrive side by side.

“Please help us make this vision a reality,” he added.

Nearly £8m has been raised from donations ranging from £5m to £5m, but the race is on to secure the remaining two-thirds.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust chief executive Mike Pratt said the purchase was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to do something meaningful for nature on a large scale by restoring and protecting habitats and increasing access to the countryside.

The land is home to rare wildlife such as curlews, mountain bumblebees, lapwings, red squirrels, cuckoos and merlins, as well as Atlantic salmon and critically endangered eels, but conservationists say nature could be even richer.

Their plans include introducing large herbivores, including ponies, hardy cattle and even bison, to graze the land naturally, and there are hopes that pine martens, beavers and golden eagles could recolonise the landscape.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Wildlife Trusts CEO Craig Bennett said Rothbury Estate was the largest piece of land to come to market in the UK in more than 30 years and was larger than the city of York.

“That’s why this is a unique opportunity,” he said.

“We know that the UK is one of the most nature-consuming countries in the world, and throughout my life I have been tired of looking at the many graphs showing nature deteriorating.

“We want to bend the curve on this and start bringing nature back to scale.”

The trusts said local people would benefit from greater access to land with the potential to build new roads, develop a visitor and education centre, and create new jobs.

Mr Pratt said Rothbury Manor was located in an area that could be a “special area for nature recovery” – the only opportunity of this scale in the UK.

“It’s already a fantastic and interesting landscape, but when you look in detail, like everywhere else, a lot of the better biodiversity isn’t there as it should be,” he said.

“It represents a wonderful canvas for restoring nature in this beautiful landscape.”