Overview
- The National Trust’s annual review identifies the warmest, sunniest spring on record followed by a record hot summer that drove a severe nationwide drought.
- Wildfires burned more than 5,300 hectares on Trust land and roughly 47,000 hectares across the UK, marking the worst fire season recorded.
- A deliberately started blaze at Abergwesyn Common scorched about 1,600 hectares of Trust peatland, destroyed golden plover breeding grounds and wiped out years of carbon-rich peat accumulation.
- Drought dried ponds and streams, led to breeding failures for great crested newts and natterjack toads, and caused unusually high sapling losses of up to 40% with stress evident in mature trees.
- Restored wetlands and beaver-made pools at sites such as Holnicote and Wallington retained water and sheltered wildlife, bolstering the Trust’s call for faster, coordinated restoration and stronger policy support.