News

Our latest news stories, profiles of our experts and our views on news that we care about

Birdwatcher with binoculars

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The Director-General of the National Trust, Dame Helen Ghosh

Helen Ghosh to step down as Director General 

Dame Helen has announced she will be leaving us in March next year. She has been our Director-General since 2012 and takes up a new position as the Master of Balliol College at Oxford University in April 2018.

More about Helen's news
Patterdale1194002WHSvalleyOUV

The Lake District becomes a World Heritage Site 

The Lake District has become a World Heritage Site joining iconic locations such as the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef and Grand Canyon as a place of international acclaim.

Archaeologists in a stone circle
Avebury   Wiltshire

Archaeologists discover ‘secret square’ beneath stone circle

What is thought to be a unique square monument has been found by archaeologists working in the Avebury stone circle. A research team led by the University of Leicester and University of Southampton has used geophysical techniques to investigate without digging.

Discover more
Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize shortlist 2017

Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize shortlist announced 

Read he shortlist for this year's Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize, celebrating the best books about nature, outdoors and UK travel. The winner will be announced at Country File Live.

Greylag geese on Orford Ness

Our plan to restore nature at our places 

Find out more about our ambitious plans to restore nature at our places, creating 25,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats by 2025.

Playing our part
A water vole perches on a wooden post
Malham Tarn Estate   North Yorkshire

Water vole revival at Malham Tarn

Water voles are flourishing at Malham Tarn, Yorkshire Dales, following a reintroduction last year. Rangers are now releasing 100 more of the rare mammals

Find out more
Child playing in a tree at Hatfield Forest, Essex

A new Tree Charter for the 21st century 

We have joined the call for a new Tree Charter to protect people’s rights to the benefits of trees and woods.

Sign the Tree Charter
Stained glass windows at The Vyne's chapel with sunlight shining through
The Vyne   Hampshire

Tudor Mass audio illusion unveiled at The Vyne

The sounds of a Tudor Lady Mass can be experienced in our 16th-century chapel for the first time in nearly 500 years. This unique audio illusion immerses listeners in a Mass as Henry VIII may have heard it, when he visited The Vyne in 1535.

Find out how we re-created a Tudor Mass
Senior conservator, Heather Porter, lowering the arm of the Knole sofa

Knole’s future secure as we open doors to new conservation studio 

The conservation studio is part of a major building, conservation and restoration project – the largest in the Trust’s history – which will rescue Knole from centuries of decay and open up spaces never seen before.

Find out more
View from above into Clandon Park following the fire
Clandon Park   Surrey

Clandon Park International Design Competition

Through our International Design Competition we’re searching for a world-class multidisciplinary design team to restore and reimagine Clandon Park, following the major fire. The competition launched in March and following the shortlist announcement, the winning team will be revealed in early autumn.

More on the Clandon design competition
National Trust Great British Beach Clean

Volunteers to tackle beach litter menace 

Dozens of volunteers will join our rangers to clean litter from beaches across the country this weekend.

Find out more
Nick Stokes at Cotehele

New research lands fin whale discovery at Cotehele 

A giant jawbone at Cotehele, Cornwall, has at last been found to be from a fin whale – thanks to a mixture of cutting edge DNA analysis and archival research.

Uncovering the mystery of the fin whale
The Edwardian house at Overbecks, Salcombe, Devon, glimpsed beyond the exotic planting in the garden

Horticultural award for south west garden consultant 

Ian Wright, our garden consultant in the south west, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Associate of Honour’ from the RHS.

Find out more

Wildlife stories

Longstone Lighthouse, Inner Farne

Could you be the new Farne Islands ranger? 

Looking for a change of scenery? We're on the hunt for a new ranger on the Farne Islands, a remote Northumberland archipelago - and home to over 100,000 birds.

Sheep on the Great Orme

Gavin the one-horned ram makes a big impression on Great Orme farm  

Gavin, a new Herdwick ram, is fathering the next generation of sheep that will help farmer Dan protect rare wildlife on the Great Orme in North Wales.

Common Blue Butterfly

2016: A review of the year's weather and wildlife 

Bee and butterfly numbers have slumped after 2016 brought a tenth year of unsettled weather. Grass grew at an extraordinary rate - good news for farmers making hay and silage, but bad for the insects that rely on patches of bare ground to breed.

Bassenthwaite lake Cumbrian Flood 5 Dec 2015

One year on from the Lake District floods 

In December 2015 Storm Desmond ripped through the Lake District. Thanks to our supporters we've been repairing the damage done to the landscape.

The ruins of Fountains Abbey

Fountains Abbey 

In 1132, 13 monks came here to start a simpler life. Over 400 years later, when Henry VIII demanded the closure of the Abbey, the monks left behind the most complete Cistercian abbey remains in the country.

Dan Jones and his sheepdogs on the Great Orme

Our Great Orme farmer arrives on 'dream' farm 

Farmer Dan Jones, his four sheepdogs and 400-strong flock will help restore rare plants on the Great Orme, North Wales.

Shrike at Souter and the Leas

Rare shrike is a 'dream' sighting for Souter ranger 

The chance sighting of a small bird usually seen in Mongolia was a 'dream come true' for ranger Dougie Holden.

Farne Island seals
Farne Islands   Northumberland

First seal pups spotted on the Farne Islands

The first seal pups for 2016 have been born on the Farne Islands. Find out more about how they are faring.

Find out more
Sky Arts presenters Joan Bakewell and Frank Skinner at Scotney Castle

Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2016 

The new series of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year starts on 11 October 2016. Some of the episodes were filmed at our places where you will see the artists in action.

Find out more about the series

Nature

A Gatekeeper butterfly at Nymans

The State of Nature report 2016 

We've teamed up with over 50 other nature organisations to produce the latest State of Nature report which reveals that over half of UK species have declined over recent decades.

Endangered water voles are returning to Malham Tarn

Water voles return to Malham Tarn after fifty year absence 

One of Britain’s most endangered mammals is returning to England’s highest freshwater lake after a fifty year absence, thanks to our rangers.

Land conservation

Trees reflected in the lake at Stourhead, Wiltshire, in May.

A positive future for green farming 

Find out about how we're developing a new model for supporting green land management.

View of Seathwaite Valley in Borrowdale, Lake District

Our acquisition of Thorneythwaite Farm 

We acquired more than 300 acres of land at Thorneythwaite Farm in Borrowdale, in the Lake District. Discover how we plan to look after this beautiful landscape for ever, for everyone.