We are shocked and saddened to confirm that the famous Sycamore Gap Tree, at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hadrian’s Wall and Housesteads Fort has been felled overnight in what appears to be an act of vandalism. 1/2
We'd like to thank everyone who has shared their messages of sympathy and offered their support since we shared the news about the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree. It is clear the tree was very loved and special to many people for many reasons. 1/3
Our ranger team have been on site today to collect seeds and cuttings from the tree, and we will be working with
@NlandNP
, other partners and the local community to consider plans for the site and the tree in the future.
Preparations are underway to remove the tree at Sycamore Gap tomorrow. The 50-foot tree had stood for almost 200 years until it was felled in an act of vandalism two weeks ago - it will now be carefully moved by crane and taken to a property in our care, to be safely stored. 1/5
The tree has been an important and iconic feature in the landscape for nearly 200years and is much loved by the local community and to anyone who has visited.
We are working with our partners and the police to understand what has happened and what can be done. 2/2
We are currently focussed on making the site safe and helping staff and the community come to terms with the news. We ask that people keep away from the site at the current time while we fully assess the fallen tree and carry out the necessary work to ensure it is safe.
We're aiming to open many of our gardens and parks for free during this difficult time, so the nation can use open spaces to relax and refresh, while following the government's social distancing guidance. We will be closing our houses, cafés and shops this week.
We were delighted to welcome
@ProfBrianCox
to
@fountainsabbey
on some very chilly days earlier this year to film for his new series 'Universe'. The upcoming episode was filmed within the ancient abbey ruins and explores the amazing mysteries of black holes. [1/2]
We’re delighted to announce we’ll soon be reopening Crook Hall & Gardens, in Durham. We're looking forward to once again welcoming people into this much-loved place and will be opening the gardens, café and parts of the house, including the medieval hall, in summer 2022.
Wallington has some new residents!
For the first time in over 400 years, beavers are once again living in Northumberland after the National Trust, working alongside the
@BeaverTrust
, released a family of four beavers into a 24 hectare enclosure on the
@WallingtonNT
estate. 1/3
💥 Castlefield Viaduct news 💥 We're very excited to share that the viaduct will be open to visitors from Saturday 30 July. After a massive team effort, this giant 330 metre-long sky park in Manchester will open next weekend.
#EveryoneNeedsNature
What a day to welcome visitors back to Crook Hall Gardens in Durham, our newest place to visit in the North 😍 This nature-rich place in the heart of the city, with it's winding paths, colourful borders and tranquil water features, really is a green oasis 🌼
We’re delighted to announce that Wentworth Castle Gardens will reopen on Saturday 8 June.
We're working in partnership with
@BarnsleyCouncil
@BarnsleyMuseums
and
@NorthernCollege
to get the site ready for opening.
Find out how you can visit here:
We're now welcoming suggestions from the public who would like to help or have ideas for the future of the tree on: sycamoregap
@nationaltrust
.org.uk, but we kindly ask people to please bear with us while we work with local partners to consider what might be possible. 5/5
A display of hand-made poppies is cascading down the mill at Quarry Bank. Over 2,000 crocheted and knitted poppies were created by a team of volunteers to remember the service and sacrifice of those who've defended our freedoms and protected our way of life.
#LestWeForget
We encourage people to stay away from the site while this complex process takes place. During the past fortnight, seeds from the tree have been collected by our specialist propagators and are being looked after at our Plant Conservation Centre. 3/5
In 2013 we launched a renewable energy scheme to help us get off oil and gas and generate 50% of our own energy. Last month we hit this target, having installed our 11th hydro electric unit at Watendlath in Borrowdale and solar panels and a biomass boiler at Sizergh.🎉[1/2]
We're really pleased to announce that we're working in partnership with
@BarnsleyCouncil
and
@NorthernCollege
to secure a future for Wentworth Castle Gardens. We plan to reopen the site to visitors from summer 2019, subject to legal agreement.
#Barnsley
Great news for a Monday morning – we're starting work today on a £2.6m natural flood management project at Hardcastle Crags, Marsden Moor and Gorpley Reservoir with
@YorkshireWater
.
We've also been amazed and inspired by the offers of help and good wishes we've received since the news of the tree's felling broke - it's clear the tree at Sycamore Gap captured the imaginations of so many people who visited. 4/5
The tree is currently resting on Hadrian's Wall in a precarious position, so it's necessary we move it now, both to preserve the monument, and to make the site safe again for visitors. 2/5
The fallen tree at Sycamore Gap has now been moved and safely stored. It was carefully lifted by crane and Hadrian's Wall assessed, as part of a complex two-day process. [1/4]
The fallen tree at Sycamore Gap has now been moved and safely stored.
The tree was carefully lifted by crane, and Hadrian's Wall was assessed, as part of a complex two-day process.
We continue to welcome ideas from the public for the future.
John Lennon was born
#OTD
in 1940. We're proud to look after his childhood home in Liverpool, 'Mendips', where he lived with his house-proud Aunt Mimi in the 1950s and began his song-writing career. Happy Birthday John.
Happy
#NorthumberlandDay
! Thanks to your support, we're able to help care for nature, beauty and history across the county.
📷The pioneering house
@NTcragside
, the walled garden
@WallingtonNt
, the garden below Lindisfarne Castle and theatrical buildings at Seaton Delaval Hall.
Who knew that Beatrix Potter's 17th-century farmhouse, Hill Top, could look any more charming than it usually does? 😍 Snapped by our Senior Gardener, Pete, on this very snowy morning.
#Snow
#SnowDay
We’ve taken the decision to close our parks and gardens to restrict the spread of coronavirus. Our countryside and coastal locations remain open with parking charges waived, but we encourage people to stay local and observe social distancing.
Happy birthday
#BeatrixPotter
! Beatrix loved life in the Lake District, it inspired her to create some of her most famous tales and to become a fierce campaigner on local conservation issues. Here she is at her Hill Top home which she left in the care of the
@nationaltrust
.
Just when you think
@fountainsabbey
can't get any more photogenic, Jack Frost adds a magical touch to a winter sunrise over the ruins....😍
#MondayMotivation
Say hello to the newest arrivals on the Farne Islands. 👋 The islands are home to one of the largest Atlantic grey seal colonies in England. This year our team enlisted the help of drone specialists to capture the seal pup numbers and monitor their health from the air.
The only thing that's more higgledy-piggledy than
@NTlittlemoreton
is it's reflection in the moat. We don't know how old the moat is, but it might be even older than the Tudor building we see today. However old it is, we think it frames this view perfectly.
#MondayMotivation
We're delighted to say that Manchester's garden in the sky, Castlefield Viaduct, will be staying open for another year, as the pilot project has been extended until summer 2024 while we work to secure permanent future for the viaduct. 🎉
@NTCastleDuct
Exciting news: We're sticking around for another year 🎉Thanks to all the fantastic support we've had, we're really happy to say that we'll be staying open until summer 2024.
And we'll be working with local designers
@bdp_com
to look at possible plans for the future.
#GoodNews
We've loved watching
@ITV100walks
countdown. No.3 on the
#100walks
list is the very scenic route from Malham to Goredale Scar. We're biased, surely it should be number one? 😉 Come and walk it for yourself and discover the beautiful Janet's Foss
Penshaw Monument was lit up in rainbow colours to mark the start of Pride Month - thanks to for sharing this wonderful photo with us over on Instagram.
#PrideMonth
Today we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of Fix the Fells, the partnership programme that has looked after and repaired upland paths in the Lake District, helping to protect the spectacular scenery, unique environment and its precious biodiversity. [1/4]
Happy
#NorthumberlandDay
to all who come from, live in or simply love Northumberland. We're proud to help care for nature, beauty and history across the county.
📷
@NTcragside
Seaton Delaval Hall
@WallingtonNt
Lindisfarne Castle
Co-founder of the National Trust Octavia Hill was born
#OTD
in 1838. A pioneering thinker and social reformer, she helped the National Trust to protect its first land and houses, including Brandelhow Park, the first acquisition in the Lake District.
One of our volunteers captured this beautiful image of the calm after the storm (or should that be between storms? 🤔) on the Northumberland Coast at the weekend - there's even a double rainbow over Dunstanburgh Castle 😍🌈
#WednesdayMotivation
📷 Andrew Gibson
Blossom trees are the stars of the show in spring.🌸
If you’re in Manchester this April, check out the Bloomtown trail map and find 30 of the best blossom spots in the city centre – one for each day of the month. Find out more 👉
#BlossomWatch
@NOMA_mcr
This robin was supervising the gardeners
@NTcragside
very closely yesterday and making sure they didn't stop for longer than their permitted tea break!
🐰 Beatrix Potter was born
#OnThisDay
in 1866 in Kensington, but it was the Lake District that she came to love and call home.
The conservationist and children’s author used her profits from her 'little books' to buy farms and land in the Lakes to protect it from development.
If you're planning to visit National Trust places in the North for Mother's Day, we recommend pre-booking your ticket to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available from our website now but are booking up quickly. Please follow government guidance on local restrictions.
Are you watching
@ITV100Walks
? So many great places just waiting to be explored, including
@NTbrimhamrocks
coming in at No.49 on the list. Download a route to walk here
#100walks
Today's the day! We're delighted to reopen Wentworth Castle Gardens in partnership with
@NorthernCollege
and
@BarnsleyCouncil
Here's all you need to know about visiting:
We had a special guest at
@NTLymePark
yesterday - a life sized cake of Mr Darcy celebrating the 25th anniversary of the BBC Pride and Prejudice series which featured Lyme as Pemberley. Despite the rain, we can confirm that no soggy bottoms featured in the making of this cake 🍰
📸 If you’re passing the
@RhegedCentre
in Penrith, look out for the free Forty Farms Exhibition by photographer Amy Bateman. This series of intimate photographs taken at farms throughout the Lake District tells the story of the people that tend the livestock and the land. [1/2]
We’re nuts about native red squirrels, which are thriving in places across the North thanks to our conservation work. If you haven’t yet seen a red squirrel in real life, here’s the next best thing – a clip from our squirrel cam at Allan Bank in Cumbria.
#SquirrelAppreciationDay
This
#FindsFriday
our archaeologist, Jamie, shares the story of four prehistoric stone chisels discovered in the Great Langdale Valley. It’s amazing that something which was used to carve an image onto stone 5000 years ago, is helping us create a picture of our distant past. 😮
As you look out the window or take your daily walk, can you see blossom on the trees? Help us spread some springtime colour by sharing your photos with us on
#BlossomWatch
.
Today it's
#WorldPhotographyDay
and we're proud to care for some very photogenic places in the North and grateful to our supporters who share wonderful photos of them with us. Here's an atmospheric shot of
@fountainsabbey
in the mist from sharonmcsweeney1/Instagram
As well as being a successful author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter was also a prize-winning Herdwick sheep breeder, a fierce campaigner on local conservation issues, a forward-thinking business women and an early supporter of the National Trust.
#InternationalWomensDay
"We all want quiet; we all need beauty; we all need space”. The National Trust was founded
#otd
127 years ago and the words of co-founder Octavia Hill still ring true. Thanks to your support we’re still able to care for the nature, beauty and history.
📷 littleboos_adventures
We’re celebrating our 125th birthday today. It’s with your help we’re able to continue looking after the places we all love. Like Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, Beningbrough Hall, Brimham Rocks and Marsden Moor. Share your memories and photos with
#HappyBirthdayNT
in
Happy
#CheshireDay
to everyone who comes from, lives in or simply loves Cheshire ❤️ We're proud to help care for nature, beauty and history at places across the county.
📷 Clockwise: Quarry Bank, Lyme, Little Moreton Hall and Hare Hill
Did you know, we help to care for three UNESCO World Heritage Sites here in the North – Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, the Lake District and Hadrian's Wall? Thanks to your support, we’re able to look after them for future generations to enjoy.
#UNESCO
#worldheritageday
Reasons we love autumn
#3
- being able to watch the sunrise without getting up too early!
📷 The sun rising over Embleton Bay on the Northumberland Coast and captured by
@mattyd128
Today is
#InternationalChildrensBookDay
and we’re celebrating one of the most iconic children’s books of all time - Beatrix Potter published 8,000 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit 120 years ago, and Beatrix’s tales still inspire children’s love of reading today.
These photos captured by our Ranger, Gareth, will have you reaching for a blanket. 🥶 A freezing easterly wind at Bay Ness on the
#Yorkshire
Coast has created a spectacle of natural ice sculptures. ❄️
#Icicles
We were delighted to welcome Matt Baker and his Mum and Dad, Janice and Mike Baker, plus film crew, to Steam Yacht Gondola and Hill Top recently, where they were filming for the new series of Travels with Mum & Dad. We're looking forward to seeing it on TV in December!
We’re pleased to announce that we’re working in collaboration with
@ArmittMuseum
to re-open Bridge house in Ambleside later this year. Sitting proudly over Stock Beck, the tiny house on the bridge is one of the Lake District's most iconic sites. [1/3]
Work is getting underway to turn Castlefield Viaduct into a new urban sky park, bringing more green space and nature to this area of Manchester The first phase opening in July is being made possible thanks to funding raised by players of
@PostcodeLottery
Today we’d like to say thank you to the 9,722 volunteers that help bring nature, beauty and history to life at
@nationaltrust
places in the north. Last year you spared 631,000 hours gardening, guiding, caring and so much more. We can’t wait to have you back.
#VolunteersWeek
There was a team from Northern Steeplejacks working on the crag below Lindisfarne Castle last week, carrying out important vegetation management work. The team had to remove the plants by hand, all while working 100 feet above sea level!
#Conservation
#HeadForHeights
Set your timers and get ready to embrace the beauty of UK nature, when
#WildIsles
, a ground-breaking new series with Sir David Attenborough, starts on
@BBCOne
and
@BBCiPlayer
this Sunday, 12 March, at 7pm. Look out for the Farne Islands, which features in the opening episode.
It's the shortest day of the year today and we'll soon start to see longer, lighter days, but in the meantime, we're making the most of the later sunrises and earlier sunsets 😍
#WinterSolstice
📷 The setting sun at Quarry Bank, captured by Nick in the garden
Just when you thought that
@NTlittlemoreton
couldn't get any prettier, Jack Frost pays a visit. ❄️ Thanks to Chris from the Little Moreton Hall team for capturing these seasonal snaps last week.
Six
#LittleTern
chicks have fledged from the Long Nanny on the
@NTNorthd_Coast
. 🐣 Usually our team camp out to give round-the-clock care to the nesting birds. But things were different this year due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions. Here’s one of the chicks learning to fly.
Are you dreaming of cool nights, snuggly jumpers and crunchy leaves? Fountains by Floodlight is back
@fountainsabbey
this autumn and we’re celebrating 90 years of illuminating the abbey ruins. It's happening every Saturday in October and Friday 21 & 28 October. [1/2]
We’re looking for new tenants for Cinderbarrow Farm
@SizerghCastleNT
. The farm includes limestone pasture, ancient woodland & grassland. We’d love to work with someone who wants to develop a successful business & put nature at the heart of land management.
In later life Beatrix became a prominent member of the Lake District farming community, winning prizes for breeding Herdwick sheep, and a fierce campaigner on local conservation issues 2/4
It's great for our well-being to stop and notice nature every day. But some days we get particularly lucky... The rangers at
@NunningtonHall
had a lucky day when they caught these ~very cute~ young otters on their wildlife camera recently.
Today it's
#StSwithinsDay
. According to folklore, whatever the weather is like on St Swithin's Day - whether rain or sunshine - will continue for the next 40 days and 40 nights. We've got our fingers crossed for sunshine! 📷
@LaurenEStewart
and
@la_wilson
/Instagram
A very merry Christmas to all of our members, supporters, visitors and volunteers. 🎄🎅
📷The illuminated Christmas tree in the courtyard at
@WallingtonNt
We've very excited to share a new discovery
@FountainsAbbey
. Our archaeologists have located the largest tannery ever discovered at a monastic site in Britain. Revealed for the first time in centuries, the tannery would have been an operation on an industrial scale. 1/3
Happy
#YorkshireDay
everyone! 🥳 We're proud to care for abbey ruins, magnificent houses, glorious gardens and some fantastic stretches of coast and countryside (including the Dales and the North York Moors) in God's own country.
@trevor_halpin
Hi Trevor, unfortunately the tree is unsafe in its current position and as it fell across the Wall, a protected monument, we've decided to move the tree to a safe location to help preserve the Wall and the archaeology in the area.
Our curator Jo loves the tiny boxwood blocks at Cherryburn created by 18th-century artist and naturalist Thomas Bewick – these blocks were engraved in incredible detail with pictures of wildlife and were used to illustrate books, including his own natural history books.
Today we're celebrating Beatrix Potter's birthday 🎉
During family holidays to the Lake District, Beatrix would spend hours exploring and sketching the wildlife and landscapes that would inspire some of her most famous characters and tales 1/4