Attenborough-backed £30m appeal secures England's vast Rothbury Estate

The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust have completed the purchase of the 9,500-acre Rothbury Estate after a two-year, £30m public appeal backed by Sir David Attenborough. The former grouse moor, woodland and farmland had been in the Percy family for about 700 years. Conservationists plan to enhance its natural heritage, though some local farmers called the purchase 'a folly'.