In the Simonside Hills above the Coquet valley in Northumberland, England, a heart shaped estate of 9,500 acres is now in the care of nature lovers. On 30 October, The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust completed the purchase of the whole Rothbury Estate, moorland, woodland, rivers and farmland about the size of Athens, after the largest appeal they have ever run. More than 25,000 people gave, from across the UK and over 50 countries including Finland, Barbados, Kenya and New Zealand. Gifts from the public came to more than 17 million pounds, alongside grants such as five million pounds from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and close to home the Rothbury WI, the Cycling Cranks cycling club and the Curvy Sounds guitar shop all raised money too. A low interest loan bridges the pledges still to arrive. Sir David Attenborough, president emeritus of the charity, says: "The Wildlife Trusts called for your support and you answered in your thousands."

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Sir David Attenborough introduces the Rothbury Estate in the film that launched the appeal in October 2025. The appeal has now succeeded. Film: The Wildlife Trusts.

Already the land is busy with life. Curlew, lapwing and the mountain bumblebee live on its uplands, red squirrels find refuge in its woodlands, cuckoo and merlin, the UK's smallest falcon, are found here, and salmon and eels swim in its rivers. Harebell, wild thyme, devil's bit scabious and mountain pansy flower here, and wood warbler, redstart and pied flycatcher come to breed each summer. Plans are for nature friendly farming alongside the people who live there, and in time, the trusts hope, for pine marten in the forests and beaver on the waterways. Rothbury sits at the heart of a planned 40 mile nature corridor from Druridge Bay to Kielderhead and Whitelee National Nature Reserves on the Scottish border. This month neighbours can join reptile surveys, soil health testing and an acoustic monitoring survey. "People have come together in a shared belief that we can create something exceptional here," says Mike Pratt, chief executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

Pink heather and grey gritstone boulders at Caudhole Moss on Simonside, with the moor rolling away
Heather and gritstone at Caudhole Moss on Simonside, part of the Rothbury Estate. Photograph: Duncan Hutt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust.
Pauperhaugh Bridge over the River Coquet at sunset, its arches reflected in the water
A father and young son walking across the moor at Lordenshaws under a blue sky
Two red squirrels meeting on a weathered tree stump
A curlew with its long curved bill walking on grass
Pauperhaugh Bridge over the Coquet at sunset (The Wildlife Trusts) and walkers at Lordenshaws (John Millard). The curlew (Terry Whittaker/2020VISION) and red squirrels (Peter Cairns/2020VISION) live on the estate; these two were photographed elsewhere.

An Earth to Sea News story. Figures from Northumberland Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trusts (30 October 2026) and the appeal launch (29 October 2025). Photographs and film: as credited in captions.