Fal River Links, Cornwall

Tim Light, Managing Director, King Harry Ferry and Phil Dyke, National Trust Coastal Property Manager, Falmouth discuss the Fal River Links scheme in Cornwall.

Tim: I love to walk this glorious coast with my children, so I know how much we owe to the Neptune campaign. Without the National Trust, who'd have stopped commercial development destroying something so precious? Now an even bigger danger, climate change, threatens the whole planet, and we must work together - individuals, charities and businesses like mine - to make sure our children's children are free to enjoy what we can today.

Phil: Tourism must be a green industry. Research shows that 80 per cent of visitors come to Cornwall for our unspoiled coast rather than the big attractions: that's 2.6 million people spending £700 million each year. So as a conservation charity owning a third of the Cornish coastline, the National Trust is a key driver of the local economy. And because we're  not profit-driven, we can take risks and pioneer environmental projects like Fal River Links.

Tim: The Links is a scheme which is designed to make green transport a treat. We're  giving visitors the option to leave their cars behind and use a network of ferries, boats and footpaths to explore the third largest natural harbour in the world. A leaflet like a London Underground map opens up a whole world of car-free opportunities: walks, restaurants, castles, wildlife watching, museums, galleries, gardens.

Phil: There's a carefree romance about discovering an area from the water. But ferry operators and tourist enterprises weren't realising this potential. Boat-owners knew their business, but they were working against each other, not together. It's taken five years to turn that thinking round and build a green transport network from the bottom up. Fal River Links is about independent people working together.

Tim: We couldn't have done it without Phil and the National Trust as honest brokers. He chairs our cooperative, and when there's disagreement we can rely on the Trust to move things forward. So now we're well on our way to creating a reliable timetable, with 1, 3 and 5-day 'float passes' giving visitors freedom of the river, plus discounts at galleries, restaurants and other attractions. And we've launched a unique environmental education programme for schools.

Phil: It's already delivering results, with 7,500 visitors coming to Trelissick by boat last year, almost 6 per cent of visits. I hope to see 30 per cent in the future. And for the first time all the local towns are marketing themselves together with a shared brochure based round the River Links system. It's a huge step forward, both for the local economy and for the natural environment.

Tim: I think a good holiday is a series of magical little moments, things you'll  never forget. The Fal River is like a natural theatre for these moments - old ships, seals dolphins, great gardens and houses - and our River Links scheme gives everyone a seat in the front row. The great thing is that we're  proving that green tourism can be a profitable reality.

Phil: I see Neptune's gift as a vibrant coastal landscape, with lively local communities making a living from it. In the future we'll have to manage together the impact of global warming and sea-level rise - huge changes we can't control but can prepare for. And we'd like to see marine nature reserves to give the inshore environment the same protection we give coastal land. In many ways, 40 years on, I think Neptune's biggest challenges are only just starting.