Conservationists Bid £30M to Secure Vast Northumberland Estate for Nature

In October 2024, the Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust were given two years to raise £30 million to purchase the Rothbury Estate, a 15-square-mile tract of former grouse moor, woodland, farmland, streams, and rivers in Northumberland. As of October 29, 2025, around £8 million has been raised, but the trusts are in a race against time to secure the remaining two-thirds of the funds before the estate is potentially sold off for commercial uses.

The conservationists have ambitious plans for the historic estate, which sits at the heart of what could become a 40-mile "wild" corridor of protected landscapes, nature reserves, and wildlife-focused estates. They aim to boost the populations of rare species like curlew, mountain bumblebees, and red squirrels, restore degraded habitats such as native woodland and peatland, and introduce large herbivores like ponies and hardy cattle to graze the land naturally. The trusts also want to work with local farmers to transition to more sustainable, nature-friendly practices.

Sir David Attenborough, the leading naturalist and TV presenter, is championing the bid, urging people to support the effort to save this "huge, heart-shaped expanse of moorland, rivers, forest and upland" that is home to a wealth of wildlife and historic sites. The conservationists see this as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to do something meaningful for nature on a large scale.