Bid to restore vast upland estate backed by Sir David Attenborough

SIR David Attenborough is championing a bid by conservationists to raise £30 million to secure a vast upland estate in Northumberland for nature and the nation.

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The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust are attempting to complete the purchase of the Rothbury Estate, a 15-square-mile tract of former grouse moor, woodland, farmland, streams and rivers, with plans to boost wildlife, restore bogs and champion nature-friendly farming.

The historic estate is the largest area of land to be put on sale in England in decades, and sits in the heart of what nature experts say could be a 40-mile "wild" corridor of protected landscapes, nature reserves and wildlife-focused estates stretching from the coast to Kielder and the Scottish border.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust chief executive Mike Pratt said the purchase was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to do something meaningful for nature at a large scale through restoring and protecting habitat, rewilding, increasing access to the countryside and producing sustainable food.