Does Rothbury Estate need saving from Sir David?

A historic estate under the spotlight

Sir David Attenborough has urged the public to help raise £20 million for the Wildlife Trusts to complete their purchase of a historic estate “the size of Athens” by autumn 2026.

The broadcaster is backing the campaign to secure and “save” the 9,500-acre Rothbury Estate, which has been in the Duke of Northumberland’s family for 700 years and is famed for its grouse shooting, driven pheasant days and salmon fishing on the River Coquet.

The estate came on the market in July 2023 for £35 million. The Wildlife Trusts purchased parts of it in October 2024 and were given two years to raise the remaining funds or risk it being broken up. More than £9 million has been raised so far.

However, the appeal has sparked sharp criticism from those questioning what exactly the estate needs “saving” from – and what the trust’s plans might mean for farming, wildlife and local employment.

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Concerns from rural voices

Adam Day, managing director of The Farmer Network, questioned the premise of the appeal, noting that the estate’s 12 tenanted farms currently produce food and have participated in environmental schemes since the late 1980s.

While the Wildlife Trusts warn that failure to raise the funds could result in the estate being divided for commercial forestry, their own plans include reintroducing bison, ponies and hardy cattle, restoring bogs and promoting “nature-friendly farming” – a combination Mr Day calls into scrutiny.

He said: “Conservation grazing where you have 20 native breed cattle roaming over 2,000 acres is not farming. It is generally a highly subsidised environmental scheme designed almost exclusively for nature, not food production. These schemes will not feed us in future.”

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Impact on shooting and employment

Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, confirmed last November that shooting “would not be appropriate” following the purchase.

Lindsay Waddell, former chairman of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, fears the campaign, if successful, would spell bad news for local employment and ground-nesting birds.

“It has been stated that shooting will cease, so that’s the gamekeepers gone, and along with that the essential predator control that helps sustain ground-nesting bird populations,” he said.

“Traditional farming may also not be secure as livestock are seen in some cases to be detrimental to the overall environment – despite huge areas of the countryside being designated as SSSIs because of grazing and traditional farming practices.”

Mr Waddell questioned the Wildlife Trusts’ credentials: “[They] do not have a great track record in managing the landscape; they simply do not have the resources or the expertise, and it takes both to do the job well.”

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Cultural and conservation debate

Writing in The Telegraph, Clive Aslet, former Country Life editor, challenged the campaign under the headline “We must save the grouse moors from the menace of David Attenborough”.

He argued that the estate risked “a dismal bureaucratic fate”, noting that grouse moors “teem with birdlife, much of it endangered” because keepers control predators. He warned the campaign would result in “one less grouse habitat” should Sir David’s vision prevail.