 | This article needs to be updated. (November 2025) |
Project Neptune, also known as Enterprise Neptune, is a long-term project of the National Trust to acquire or put under covenant a substantial part of the Welsh, English and Northern Irish coastline. In 1999 it was relaunched as the Neptune Coastline Campaign.[1] It is named for the Roman god of the sea.
History
The Project began in May 1965 with the acquisition of Whiteford Burrows in the Gower Peninsula.[2][3] The aim was to protect the coastline from being developed or industrialised.[3]
By 1973 the project had reached its original £2 million fundraising target and looked after 338 miles (544 km) of coastline.[2] It had its £1 million bid for Land's End turned down in 1981.[2] By 1986 the National Trust had raised £8.75 million through Project Neptune.[2]
The Project looked after 710 miles (1,140 km) of British coastline by 2009.[1] At that time, it was focussed on the maintenance of the coastline that it already owned, particularly with regard to coastal management.[1]
By its 50th anniversary in May 2015 the Trust had acquired 574 miles (924 km) of coastline through the project, bringing its total holding to 775 miles (1,247 km).[4] For the anniversary, John Cooper Clarke contributed the opening verses of a poem; members of the public were asked to complete the poem.[5]
Later in 2015, the area owned by the project increased to 780 miles (1,260 km), some 10% of the total UK coastline, covering an area of 48,800 hectares (121,000 acres).[6][7]
Extent and landmarks
The Project owns some of the UK's most iconic coast, including land near the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the White Cliffs of Dover and The Needles.[2][4]
It includes four World Heritage Sites and nine lighthouses.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Neptune Coastline Campaign information at the National Trust Archived 2009-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e National Trust: Neptune Coastline Campaign, the story so far Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c "Coast: Looking after our everchanging shores" (PDF). National Trust. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Fifty years of Neptune Coastline campaign". National Trust. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Kidd, James (9 July 2015). "Punk poet John Cooper Clarke to celebrate his project to save our shores at the seaside". The Independent. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ "Telling Neptune's story 50 years on". National Trust. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Coast appeal". National Trust. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
