Securing The Rothbury Estate

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the largest contiguous area of land to come on the market in England in 30 years. Already a place of rare beauty and steeped in human history, we have the chance to safeguard this special place for wildlife and people for generations to come.  

The Wildlife Trusts are committed to nature’s recovery in what is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The Rothbury Estate in Northumberland presents a golden opportunity to create a flagship where a regenerative approach to farming could enable nature to be restored at genuine landscape-scale and contribute to the UK Government’s commitment to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030. 

This is an exciting moment for The Wildlife Trusts – who work collectively across the UK – to create a truly national flagship for nature recovery on a grand scale for the first time.

In October 2024, The Wildlife Trusts purchased part of The Rothbury Estate, including the Simonside Hills, with an agreement to purchase the rest of the Estate in two years should we be able to raise the funds. 

We are unable to share further information at this stage for legal reasons.

Working with the communities who live and work on and around the Estate, we are looking to place nature’s recovery at the heart of our plans, undertaking nature-friendly regenerative farming practices that respect the rural traditions of the region. 

We want The Rothbury Estate to become an exemplar, showing how nature, community and rural economy can work together, with people and wildlife thriving side-by-side. We plan to enhance public access so that more people, locally and from across the UK, can explore and learn about the history of the area and the wonderful wildlife found here.

Over the past two years, we have been overwhelmed by the support of the local community, as well as the generosity of people across Northumberland, the UK and beyond. Thanks to this outpouring of support, we are very close to having fundraised the £30 million required to purchase The Rothbury Estate. 

The fundraising appeal has been the largest campaign in The Wildlife Trusts’ history and is still attracting hundreds of donations every week. 

With thousands of people contributing over the last two years, the strength of public support has made it clear that this is an opportunity not to be wasted, so we are making contingency plans to ensure we can get the deal over the line if the total amount is not raised by the completion date at the end of October 2026. 

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Our trustees have agreed that, if required, a low interest impact loan can be taken out to cover any remaining gap between what has been raised and the total amount needed. This will allow us to secure The Rothbury Estate without compromising our long-term vision for nature recovery. 

We will continue fundraising alongside this approach, with every additional pound raised helping reduce any borrowing requirements and strengthening our ability to invest in the future of the site. 

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We would love to hear your views about how best to care for this special landscape. If you live locally and would like to chat to our Community Officer, Paul Barrett, please reach out by email: paul.barrett@northwt.org.uk. Paul is also attending local fairs and events, and we are also hosting some of our own events, where you can find out more. Keep an eye on our events listing for these.  

If you live further afield and are unable to attend events in Rothbury and the surrounding area, please contact our team and someone will come back to you. 

The Wildlife Trusts believe that everyone should have access to nature and we are therefore committed to keeping in place all current rights of way and the open access land in the upland areas. 

Currently, the Estate is at risk of being broken up into multiple ownerships if we are unable to complete the purchase, which would make access more difficult. We aim to buy the Estate in its entirety so that we can preserve and enhance public accessibility on site, providing more opportunities for everyone to enjoy this wonderful place.

All legal tenancy agreements will be honoured. 

The interests of tenants and tenant farmers on the Estate have been carefully considered and it is a priority for Northumberland Wildlife Trust to establish and maintain positive and sustainable working relationships with them.  We hope to work closely with the existing tenants to develop the long-term strategy for the Estate and hope there will be shared ambition to integrate nature-friendly farming practices to create a wilder landscape. 

The previous employees of The Rothbury Estate responsible for the farming business are now employed by The Wildlife Trusts. We hope over time that our plans for the Estate will create more jobs and opportunities for the local community and help boost the economy in and around Rothbury.

We will be working on a land management plan for how the Rothbury Estate will be developed. As part of this, we’re keen to work with current tenants and farmers on the Estate to help shape the vision for nature’s recovery. 

This is likely to include a regenerative approach to farming and some changes to patterns of grazing, more meadows, new native woodland, scrub and wood pasture, and further naturalising of wetland and river corridors. 

Currently, we only own a portion of The Rothbury Estate, where we are taking a proactive and collaborative approach to reducing wildfire risk. 

We have worked closely with Northumberland Fire and Rescue Services (NFRS) to develop an updated Wildfire Response Plan, ensuring we are well prepared to respond effectively in the event of a fire. Wildlife Trust staff have also undertaken wildfire training with NFRS to build awareness and improve on-the-ground readiness. 

Partnership working a key part of our approach: we regularly attend the Northumberland Fire Group and, more locally, the Simonside Fire Group meetings. We are also working closely with neighbouring landowners including Hepple, National Trust and Forestry England, as well as NFRS, and local experts to take a co-ordinated, landscape-scale approach to wildfire management. 

Detailed assessments have been completed of the upland areas to best understand where fire risk is highest, which has allowed us to begin planning a programme of both short- and long-term interventions to reduce the risk. Practical actions already underway include the removal of self-seeded Sitka spruce in high-risk moorland areas along forest edges. 

To strengthen our response capability, we are also purchasing equipment to help us appropriately and safely support wildfire response. We are also learning from best practice elsewhere, including visiting colleagues in other areas of Northumberland and in the South Pennines to understand their experience of managing wildfire, particularly in relation to issues such as wild camping and anti-social behaviour. 

Together, these measures help us reduce the likelihood of wildfires and ensure we are well prepared should they occur.