Our mission as an independent charity could scarcely be more exciting, though it is also daunting – to look after special places for ever, for everyone.

This year we have tried in this review to give you an ‘on the ground’ insight into what we do, in the words of the people doing the work.

I hope these stories bring to life for you how we are tackling the challenges we face.

We want everyone to share the inspiration and joy of our special places. Behind the scenes this requires the hard, patient work of conservation specialists, caring for our visitors, fundraising and much more.

It also means convincing those in positions of influence of the vital importance of our properties for a happy and prosperous society.

This year has been no exception. As I reported last year, if we are to sustain a secure future we need to generate an annual operating contribution of at least £20m by 2006/07.

Last year it was only £4.2m; this year, thanks to a great deal of hard work, and huge support from our members and supporters, it has risen to £10m.

Half of this will go direct to our conservation projects and the other half to build our reserves. For the next two years we will remain focused on reaching the £20m target.

The price of excellence in conservation is high and we have to make every penny count. This year we have had to make some very difficult decisions to reduce costs, including staff reductions, and to focus on our priorities. At the same time we are introducing new systems to help us deliver improvements to the way we work.

This is an enormous challenge but one that we are confident that we will meet. At the same time we have been preparing for our new governance arrangements which come into effect on 1 September this year. More detail about this is available in our Annual Report.

William Proby, Chairman