One of Britain’s most remarkable wildlife success stories has emerged from a historic Cambridgeshire estate, where more than 5,000 species have been recorded following five decades of careful conservation, traditional land stewardship and nature-friendly farming.
The National Trust’s Wimpole Estate has recorded an extraordinary 5,242 species across its parkland, farmland, woodland and wetlands, demonstrating how Britain’s natural heritage can flourish alongside food production and public access.
The milestone comes as the charity celebrates 50 years of caring for the estate, which has become an important refuge for wildlife in one of England’s driest and most nature-depleted regions.
Among the species found at Wimpole are rare barbastelle bats, great crested newts, endangered beetles, farmland birds, butterflies and hundreds of varieties of wildflowers.
The estate is also home to a tiny pygmy ant which has been recorded at only one other site in the United Kingdom.
Fifty years of caring for the British countryside
Since taking responsibility for Wimpole, the National Trust has worked to restore and connect habitats while maintaining the estate as a working farm and popular visitor attraction.
The results demonstrate what can be achieved through sustained land management rather than short-term conservation measures.
Since 2021 alone, 125,000 trees have been planted, creating 35 hectares of woodland and 52 hectares of wood pasture.
A further 77 hectares of tree planting are currently being designed.
These projects have been combined with the management of established habitats, including chalk grassland, wetlands and ancient woodland.
Importantly, Wimpole remains a productive agricultural estate.
Its organic farming operation provides food while also supporting wildlife, including the increasingly scarce corn bunting, a farmland bird which has disappeared from many parts of the English countryside following changes in agricultural practices.
The estate is also home to ten species of bumblebee, several notable butterflies and an impressive 330 species of wildflower.
Among the butterflies recorded are the marbled white, silver-washed fritillary and white-letter hairstreak.
Three previously unrecorded species of dragonfly have also been added to the estate’s wildlife records.
Rare species find a refuge
Some of Wimpole’s most important wildlife depends on habitats that have taken generations, and sometimes centuries, to develop.
The rare barbastelle bat lives in the estate’s protected woodland, where ancient trees provide essential habitat.
The species is particularly sensitive to disturbance, and its presence has contributed to the international protection afforded to Wimpole’s woods.
Meanwhile, great crested newts breed in the estate’s ponds each spring.
Veteran trees provide a home for the endangered rusty red click beetle, which relies on decaying wood and was once thought to be close to extinction in Britain.
Another notable species is Venus’s-looking-glass, a delicate violet-blue wildflower which was once widespread in British cornfields but has become increasingly rare.
It continues to flourish in Wimpole’s organic fields.
‘Nature can flourish alongside farming’
David Hassall, General Manager for the National Trust at Wimpole, said the achievement was particularly significant given the pressures facing wildlife across Cambridgeshire.
“Recording more than 5,000 species is remarkable in any landscape, but particularly here in Cambridgeshire, where wildlife is facing the combined pressures of habitat loss and increasingly hot, dry conditions.
“But it isn’t just about reaching a number. What makes Wimpole special is the abundance of wildlife people can experience here. In some areas of the estate during the summer, visitors can see thousands of butterflies over the course of a short walk.”
He added: “That richness of life is all the more encouraging because Wimpole is a working estate, producing food and welcoming visitors as well as caring for wildlife. It reflects five decades of careful stewardship and shows that nature can flourish alongside farming, public access and heritage conservation.”
Mr Hassall said the estate’s approach provided food, shelter and suitable habitats for wildlife ranging from tiny soil invertebrates to predators such as barn owls and marsh harriers.
British scientists helping uncover hidden wildlife
The conservation work at Wimpole is also contributing to a major national scientific research project.
For more than a year, the estate’s rangers have collaborated with scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute as part of UK BIOSCAN.
The project aims to use DNA barcoding to study one million flying insects from across the United Kingdom, building a clearer picture of Britain’s insect populations and how they are changing.
Lyndall Pereira da Conceicoa, BIOSCAN Science Lead at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, explained the importance of the research.
“Insects are easy to overlook, but they’re the hidden engine of every ecosystem. DNA barcoding doesn’t just help us count them, it’s uncovering entirely new species and even whole groups that have gone undetected and undescribed until now.”
She said sites such as Wimpole offered valuable opportunities to understand how different approaches to land management affect insect communities.
A model for protecting Britain’s natural heritage
Ben McCarthy, Head of Nature Conservation at the National Trust, said the estate illustrated the importance of long-term action to restore Britain’s natural environment.
“Recording more than 5,000 species at Wimpole is a remarkable milestone, but its real significance lies in what it tells us about nature’s capacity to recover.”
He said restoring habitats across entire landscapes could provide more space for wildlife and help reverse decades of decline.
The National Trust is now calling on the Government to make climate resilience a national priority, invest in nature as essential infrastructure and provide greater support for fire and rescue services.
For Wimpole, the milestone offers an encouraging example of how the protection of Britain’s historic landscapes, productive agriculture and wildlife conservation can work together.
After 50 years of stewardship, the estate is demonstrating that the British countryside can remain a place where farming, heritage and nature coexist, while providing a home for thousands of species.
Members of the public can back the National Trust’s call by signing their petition at: nationaltrust.org.uk/wildfire-petition
