In the United Kingdom no one lives more than 75 miles from the sea.
For us, as an island nation, the sea has an all-embracing presence. Spiritually and physically we are intimately connected with our shores. The sea has immense power, which we ignore at our peril.
With 1130 kilometres of coastline in its care, the Trust now owns nearly one tenth of the coast of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The extent of our coastal holdings – and the variety of development and coastal features that they encompass – gives the Trust a unique window on the issues of coastal change.
The coast is an immensely dynamic environment. Sea-level rise and climate change are forecast to increase the scale and pace of coastal change.
To help plan for the future the Trust commissioned research to assess how the coastline is likely to change over the next 100 years.
The results suggest that many of the Trust’s important sites are at risk from coastal erosion and flooding.
As a result we face some difficult choices in managing this change, and need to make well-informed decisions that stand the test of time.
Learning from experience, our policy now favours adaptation, to give us time and space to change with the coast and work with the forces of nature.
It is not just the Trust that faces challenges from climate change and sea-level rise. People’s homes and livelihoods are at stake, so wider solutions are needed to help vulnerable communities live with a changing coast.
We have produced a pamphlet called 'Shifting Shores', which draws on the National Trust’s experience as Britain’s largest coastal landowner.
The impetus behind this pamphlet was to share experiences of managing coastal change and help strengthen the case for a new approach to planning and managing the future coast.
It highlights some key questions that have to be addressed to meet the needs of society now and in the future when facing up to coastal change.
Download the 'Shifting Shores' pamphlet
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