The Wildlife Trusts, in partnership with Northumberland Wildlife Trust, have bought part of the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland and are bidding to buy the remainder of the estate within two years, in what they describe as ‘securing the entire estate for nature and the nation‘.
The estate is being sold by ‘Lord’ Max Percy, the youngest son of the Duke of Northumberland; some of his family have been prominent members of the grouse shooting dynasty for decades.
The Wildlife Trusts intend to transform the estate “to create a national flagship for nature recovery” (see their press release here, and read the FAQ section at the foot of the page for more detail about their plans).
The Rothbury Estate includes a grouse moor and a pheasant and partridge shoot, according to the sales brochure published in 2023. ‘Lordenshaws is regarded as one of the finest driven grouse moors in Northumberland‘, according to the sales blurb, but then aren’t all grouse moors described as being ‘the finest’ or the ‘most prestigious’? I’ve yet to see one described as being ‘a bit crap’.
But according to Craig Bennett, the Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts, “Obviously [allowing shoots] would not be appropriate for the Wildlife Trusts. We hope to showcase nature-friendly farming and conservation grazing and produce fruit, vegetables and some sustainable meat for local people”, quoted in The Guardian, here.
Confusingly, the sporting rights (for the grouse moor and lowland pheasant & partridge shoot) on what was described as ‘Lordenshaws Estate’ were up for grabs in 2022/early 2023, presumably referring to this particular part of Rothbury Estate and before the estate was put up for sale in late 2023. The letting details were advertised by one of grouse moor ‘guru‘ Mark Osborne’s agencies:
Osborne’s other sporting agency, William Powell, has been offering driven pheasant and partridge days at Lordenshaws for a while:
It’s very good news that this land will now be under the management of the Wildlife Trusts and I hope they manage to raise the other £30 million required to buy the rest of the estate within two years.
If you’d like to contribute, please visit their donations page here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
How fantastic great news hopefully they will get funds to buy the whole estate I’m a member of tees valley wildlife trust and they do great work buying land to stop it being built on and have fantastic support for wildlife education kids involved.
it is good news and it will be great to see the grouse in a safe natural wild countryside.
mike
but the Grouse will eventually become extinct, without predator control, they are ground nesting, so don’t stand a chance
they have always been ground nesting birds??
Grouse have been on these islands since the end of the last Ice Age! No man management for thousands of years but they’ll die out now due to predators?
How did they survvive before the invention of the shotgun and the popularity of grouse shooting? Do they also live elsewhere, on other than grouse moors?
Exactly.
Pheasant are reared every year by factors and estate managers to be released into the wild just before shooting season begins.
Numbers of grouse this year are down hugely due to poor weather early on, too cold and wet so chicks did not survive, and bird flu. So reduced in fact that shoots were cancelled, lucky birds. Restaurants were unable to sell the new season’s grouse as the prices were so high it was not profitable for them.
There used to be grouse many places including Devon and Wales – yes that will become extinct without predator control (unless climate change gets to them first)
“There used to be grouse many places including Devon and Wales – yes that will become extinct without predator control”
Explain how they survived anywhere, then, before ‘predator control’?
“but the Grouse will eventually become extinct, without predator control, they are ground nesting, so don’t stand a chance”
Very stupid – or blatantly dishonest – people try to put forward this argument, overlooking/denying the fact that ground nesting birds and their predators have co-evolved and co-existed for millennia, long before guns and game shooting were invented.
They lived in dynamic equilibrium… until man came along upsetting things:-(
Mind you, when was the last time we had in Westminster an Environment Minister or Permanent Secretary who understood that? Perhaps more to the point, have we ever had any?
Well they have done so well conserving our largest grouse, the capercaillie. I’m sure they won’t make this another wasteland.
buzzards and harriers aren’t in danger, they barely breed on unmanaged moors. Their numbers are improving. Nothing to do with saving birds but trying to ban shooting.
I think you qualify for both the very stupid and the blatantly dishonest. Well done!
“Well they have done so well conserving our largest grouse, the capercaillie. I’m sure they won’t make this another wasteland.”
“They”?
“buzzards and harriers aren’t in danger”
From being illegally shot, poisoned and trapped?
“they barely breed on unmanaged moors”
Liar.
“Their numbers are improving.”
Is that despite the illegal shooting, poisoning and trapping?
“Nothing to do with saving birds but trying to ban shooting.”
Is that despite the illegal shooting, poisoning and trapping?
nature has always done a better job than humans .Think of all the animals and anthibia s which won’t be killed by all the pheasant
Congratulations to the Northumberland Wildlife Trust and their plans to buy what is described as “the largest piece of contiguous land to be on the market anywhere in England for the last 30 years and create a showcase for nature recovery on a vast scale” is inspirational.
Progress!
Dear Sirs, This is excellent news. Restoring moorland will lead to carbon capture on a grand scale and reduce the risk of flooding in surrounding areas. It will also provide a haven for endangered species. I look forward to seeing your progress. Yours sincerely,
Mrs S J Wilson
this is fantastic news, it’ll give the raptors, (hen harriers, buzzards etc) who are the natural predators of the moorland, a chance to recover without the danger of being persecuted by game keepers.
I will be supporting this charity with purchases and donations over the next two years. It prompted me to renew my membership of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
This could be a driver of growth in the region. Not to mention the many other benefits of ordinary folks engaging with the countryside
If the shooting rights were recently sold separately, then the Trusts can’t deliver ending Grouse and Pheasant shooting unless they buy the shooting rights as well. Are they included in the purchasing agreement?
So how come this land is in private ownership to start with?
Dukes of Northumberland i.e the Percy family one of England’s oldest and wealthiest families. The land will have been owned by them for centuries.
The RSPB bought Geltsdale Moor to do the same. It’s now almost barren of wildlife and above head height in bracken in places. They pay someone to do the same predator control that gamekeepers do but keep it out of public knowledge because they don’t want to admit that they’re wrong or lose donations. Should just accept that shooting sustains more wildlife and habitat than these so called conservationists do without asking the public to pay for it. Also read up on the Langholm Project and see how that ruined a great habitat forever. You don’t have to agree with shooting to understand the benefits. Game birds get a far better life and chance at surviving than any sheep, cow or pig that ends up in your plate and is far better for you to.
Great that you should mention Geltsdale. There’s a big story just waiting to be properly told about the varying fortunes of wildlife around Slaggyford over the past 30 years. The money and energy that have been devoted to killing protected wildlife, and the attempts to protect it. I wish some journalist would come along and work with the RSPB and the volunteers to tell the story properly. Coincidentally enough, I’ve just read a short piece about it from the link on the next but one blog on this site, topic of the Wildlife & Countryside Link’s Crime Report:
https://raptorpersecutionuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/wcl_wildlife_crime_2023.pdf
Might be a good starting point for you or anybody else?
Likewise Langholm – I think you need to take your own advice to read up on it – the whole long history of the place before, during and after the “projects”. And remember too about the present – that Harriers breed successfully at Langholm – an “island” (amidst a lot of commercial forestry) of about 10,000 acres (off the top of my head). For comparison no Harriers breed successfully in the Lammermuirs, not a great distance away and an area about eight times bigger of wonderful well managed adjoining grouse moors. None either in Moorfoots or Leadhills, but that goes without saying.
So it’s capable of producing 300 brace with the right management, 100 brace have been recorded recently yet the five year average is 56 brace, sounds like a failing moor to me which is probably why no one from the shooting industry decided to take it on. I love reading the comments from the shooting industry trolls on the RSPB facebook page releases stating how predator control is vital and that nothing survives on RSPB reserves. 5 years of industrial scale control on this moor has done nothing to stop its demise, furthermore many moors are undergoing the same fate, 2021 was the worst season for over 3 decades, many moors haven’t recovered since due to Worm burdens, heather beetle damage and more bad weather reducing insect numbers, again no amount of predator control has changed this with some moors now looking to release non native red legs just so they have something to shoot. I think there will be more moors coming up for sale in the foreseeable future
In order to maintain Scottish grouse moors for shooting, it’s common for rabbits and foxes to be snared, and for crows, moles, weasels and stoats to be trapped and removed. Those supporting this supposed ‘sport’ claim it protects wildlife ! Ban it !
A close examination of Lanhholme and the basket case Lake Vyvmy estate, are not good for wildlife.
unless you want unlimited carrion crows and self seeded situation spruce. Their has been no conservation benefits at Langholm and Lake Vyvmy is appallingly managed.
1 pair of golden plover!!! You do not mention the local farmers and people who live on the estate either?
“Lake Vyvmy is appallingly managed” Strange you should have that opinion, This year it won the national award from The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental management for the work undertaken there, approximately a third of the way through rejuvenating Lake Vyrnwy’s blanket bog into fully functional ecosystems. I know whose “opinion” I’ll believe on this matter,
1 pair of Golden Plover you say, not bad seeing there are less than 100 pairs in the whole of Wales, this site is being made suitable specifically for Golden Plover and other upland nesting birds. given the RSPB’s success at increasing rare bird numbers, “Avocet, Bittern, Bearded Reedling, Corncrake, Common Crane, Dartford Warbler, the list goes on but you get the theme” I think in the long term the future of the Golden Plover is in in good hands. don’t worry next year if there are 2 pairs we can make sure it is reported similar to how the shooting industry reports Raptor numbers by claiming there has been a 100% increase in numbers rather than saying there are 4 birds
Good news but, oddly hidden behind that, what is the situation with the ‘recently sold’ shooting rights ? How long is the lease ie how long will the shooting and ‘ vermin control’ be allowed to carry on? We have a “National Nature Reserve” in neighbouring Durham where shooting rights are still operative and with one of the most destructive game keeping regimes in the county. It would be good if this could be clarified before we celebrate and donate
I asked the same question. Can the Wildlife Trusts be asked for an answer, please?
Here are the contact details for Northumberland Wildlife Trust:
https://www.nwt.org.uk/contact-us