CONSERVATIONISTS are racing to raise £30 million to purchase the whole of the Rothbury Estate – a 15-square-mile expanse of former grouse moor, farmland, and forest that could become one of the UK’s most ambitious rewilding projects to date.
The estate, once held by the Duke of Northumberland’s family for more than 700 years, is currently on the open market. If the Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust succeed in their bid, this vast landscape could anchor a 40-mile “wild corridor” stretching from the North Sea to the Scottish border.
Sir David Attenborough has lent his voice to the campaign, calling on the public to act before the land is fragmented and sold off.
“People know and love the Simonside Hills that rise here, they walk the ridges and listen for the calls of the curlew, they watch for red squirrels and admire the views as they scramble among the crags,” said the 99-year-old naturalist.
“They walk along its remote paths and marvel at the astonishing rock carvings left by our distant ancestors, who once lived here.”
So far, £8 million has been raised through donations ranging from £5 to £5 million. But with little more than a year left to secure the full amount, the clock is ticking.
The plan is to restore degraded peat bogs, reintroduce large herbivores like ponies, hardy cattle – and even bison – to graze the land naturally. Conservationists hope to see pine martens, beavers, and golden eagles return to the rugged terrain.
Already, the estate is home to curlew, lapwings, mountain bumblebees, red squirrels, and critically-endangered eels. A dwarf cornel – one of Britain’s rarest flowers – was recently spotted on the land.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Mike Pratt, CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, told the BBC.
“To do something meaningful for nature at a large scale through restoring and protecting habitat and increasing access to the countryside.
“It represents a great canvas to restore nature in that beautiful landscape.”
The bold plan isn’t just about wildlife – it’s about people, too. The Trusts aim to work with local farmers and communities to create a living landscape – one where regenerative agriculture, education, and tourism can thrive side by side with nature.
“The Wildlife Trusts would work with local farmers and communities who lived and worked at Rothbury to care for the area, breathe new life into its habitats and create a place where people and nature could thrive side by side,” added Sir David.
“Please help us make this vision a reality.”
Craig Bennett, CEO of the Wildlife Trusts, underscored the urgency: “We know that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and I’ve had enough in my lifetime of looking at lots of graphs that point nature going downwards. We want to bend the curve on that and start to bring nature back at scale.”
If successful, the Rothbury Estate could become a flagship for nature recovery in England – a living, breathing example of what’s possible when ambition meets action.
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