Hinton Ampner: Reimagining a Hampshire Estate

Frequently asked questions

• Why has the National Trust changed its land management at Hinton to focus on wildlife and biodiversity?

  The United Kingdom is facing a biodiversity crisis. In 2021, researchers at the Natural History Museum placed the UK in the bottom 10% of global countries in terms of biodiversity loss; and we are the lowest in the G7 group of nations. 

  The National Trust’s founders created the Trust to care for places of historic interest and natural beauty, and to preserve their ‘natural aspect features and animal and plant life’, for the benefit of the nation. Our land policy priorities focus on this.

  Climate change and the loss of habitat and species represent the biggest risks to the future of the places in our care. As the UK’s largest conservation organisation and a private landowner, it is the Trust's responsibility to make a significant contribution to tackling the nature and climate crises. We want National Trust land to be a model for how to offer the best for both nature and people.  

  The UK’s position in terms of biodiversity reflects historic transformations to the landscape following the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions and present-day intensive farming and building. Today, over two-thirds of the UK’s surface area is being used for agriculture, while another 8% has been built on, leaving little room for more natural habitat and processes. 

• Shouldn’t farmland be used for food production?

  We are keeping 110 hectares of farmland on the estate at Hinton Ampner to grow crops and will be using sustainable practices to improve the soil and make the land more productive in the coming years, decades and beyond.

  We will also be rearing native-breed Sussex cattle at Hinton by grazing them on other land around the estate, such as grassland and wood pasture. As well as providing food for the cattle, this will help to create and maintain species-rich wildlife habitats.  

  Over two-thirds of the UK’s surface area is currently being used for agriculture, and according to the UK Government’s Food Security Report 2021 there is no current food security issue linked with lack of productive farmland.  

  Instead, the report states that the biggest medium- to long-term risks to the UK’s domestic food production come from climate change and other environmental pressures like soil degradation, reduced water quality and the decline in biodiversity. The steps we are taking at Hinton Ampner will address all of these issues.

• I hear that you are just ‘doing nothing and letting it all go’. Is that true?

  No, that's not correct. At Hinton Ampner, we'll continue to farm livestock and grow arable crops, but less intensively and using sustainable farming pratcices. This will lead to significant increases in biodiversity, healthier soils and reduced carbon outputs. 

  We will also be planting trees and hedges to create new and extended areas of woodland and hedgerow, while focused grazing will help to manage grasslands, another important wildlife habitat. 

  We'll be improving access to the estate with extended and more accessible paths and creating new walking routes for visitors to enjoy.

  This is just part of a long-term strategy to improve the estate for people and nature. It has been carefully planned and will be closely managed for years to come.

• Is this a rewilding project?

  No. At Hinton Ampner, we'll continue to farm livestock and grow arable crops, but less intensively and using sustainable farming pratcices. This will lead to significant increases in biodiversity, healthier soils and reduced carbon outputs. 

  Planting trees and hedgerows may eventually lead to parts of the estate looking ‘wilder’ than they have done for many years but some areas will still be managed with strategic grazing and fencing.

  We'll also be creating new walking routes and improving footpaths and gates, making the estate more accessible for everyone. 

  This is just part of a long-term strategy to improve the estate for people and nature. It has been carefully planned and will be closely managed for years to come.

  The National Trust is the largest conservation charity in Europe with huge experience of managing the countryside for landscape, wildlife, and public enjoyment. We see room for many different levels of ‘wildness’ and domestication on our land and will always seek to apply these different treatments in a locally appropriate and considered way for the benefit of biodiversity and people. 

• What about all the 'weeds'?

  Much of what are considered by ‘weeds’ by some farmers, are part of our native flora and have significant benefits for wildlife.  

  One expert study found that the abundance and diversity of pollinating insects visiting these native ‘weed’ species averaged twice that of the plant species recommended for pollinator-targeted agri-environmental schemes. Where these native species labelled ‘weeds’ grow as part of a naturally regenerating community of plants, they indirectly support farming by supporting pollinators.  

  Only one major 'weed', ragwort, is in any way toxic to livestock and only if eaten in great quantity, which is rare. Harmful situations can sometimes occur when it is included (in high quantities) in hay, or when animals have very little else to eat due to over-grazing. Ragwort germination and growth happen in competition-free gaps in the vegetation; the kind that are produced by cultivation or by heavy grazing from domestic stock like sheep or horses. But in well-managed dense grassland, the amount of ragwort is controlled naturally by competition and reduction of suitable germination sites. 

  For more information on ragwort and the common myths surrounding it see: https://www.ragwortfacts.com.

• What will the project mean for public access to the land?

  One of the key aims of the project at Hinton Ampner is  to increase access to green spaces for visitors and the local community.

  Around 75 more acres will become available to the public, with a total of 10 km of new paths through the estate. Visitors will be able to roam over a larger and more varied landscape, while a new trail, fewer fences and gates, and improved paths will make nature accessible to everyone.

  In some cases, we may need to use fencing to separate walkers and dog owners from grazing livestock or breeding wildlife, such as ground-nesting birds, just as any livestock farmer or nature reserve warden would. 

• Why are you using cattle rather than sheep?

  Sheep tend to graze very close to the ground, cropping the grass blades short and to the same length. They also prefer the flowering heads and buds of many plants. This can lead to a lack of variation in grass lengths and plant species, which would otherwise provide habitats for many valuable insects and other invertebrates that are the basis of the wildlife food chain. 

  Cattle are less selective grazers and are likely to graze an area of vegetation to a medium height. They also remove long, coarse grass and use their tongues to pull up tufts of vegetation. When cattle are grazed in responsible numbers, such as at Hinton, this leaves tussocky grasses with a variety of micro-habitats. 

• What do you expect the wildlife benefits to be?

  By increasing the range and size of habitats at Hinton, and restricting the chemicals that go into the land, we’ll give all kinds of plants and wildlife a greater chance of thriving here.

  ‘Unimproved’ grassland, and wild field borders on the estate farmland, will support a wider variety of plants and insects. 

  This in turn will provide food for an array of birds, reptiles and mammals, while extended and joined up woodland and hedgerows will support larger, more sustainable populations.

  The overall mosaic of habitats on the estate will provide appropriate breeding, commuting and over-wintering habitats.

  As the land becomes healthier, and the landscape more diverse, the growth in the range and number of plant, insect and animals species should start to gather pace.