The nature-friendly future project at Wembury

About the project 

This project is about restoring a healthy, beautiful natural environment and is at the heart of the National Trust’s strategy for the future, which means land rich in nature for people to enjoy. 

Why Wembury? 

At Wembury Point, after the Ministry of Defence left, the National Trust opted for a nature-friendly approach to managing the land. Wembury today has an incredibly rich landscape, with important wildflowers and wildlife ranging from butterflies and bees to the rare cirl bunting and Dartford warblers. We would like to celebrate more nature success stories across all of Wembury. 

How are we going to do it? 

Farming will continue at Wembury Barton Farm but in a more nature-friendly way. We hope by creating and improving different habitats, we will see a wider variety of insects, birds and small mammals. New habitats will be created through planting more trees, growing wildflower meadows and creating wetlands areas. 

To see our current and future land use maps, click here. 

Woodland creation

Since 2022, the National Trust have been working to create a community woodland at Wembury Barton Farm, with over 90,000 trees planted to create areas of woodland, wood pasture and new hedgerows. This will form part of the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest, a partnership between the National Trust, the Woodland Trust, Plymouth City Council and South Hams District Council, and is part of the wider Defra-funded Community Forest scheme. 

In the future, we can look forward to a woodland that is rich in blossom, nectar and wildlife with tree species such as sessile oak complementing the existing ancient woodland. In addition to creating nature-rich habitats, Community Forests are about bringing people closer to nature and helping to improve both mental and physical well-being. At Wembury, new footpaths and a multi-user path will be created through this new woodland that will link to existing paths. 

Improving accessibility 

We know spending time in nature is good for our wellbeing. Working with local communities, we want to improve the quality and network of circular and linear routes around Wembury, ensuring they are accessible year-round and welcoming for all types of visitors. We are excited about working with others to offer different experiences that connect people to nature. 

To see a map with an overview of all the different proposed paths at Wembury and to see how they link to existing paths and the newly planted trees, please click here. 

You can view the map for the multi-user path here.  This new route links existing paths that walkers, cyclists and horse riders can use, and is a wide level trail perfect for pram and wheelchair users. With views up to Dartmoor and across the Yealm, it's a beautiful route for different users.  As this path will be level and stoned, planning was sought which can be viewed on the South Hams District Council planning portal.