Our exciting future

If we’ve learned anything from the past, it’s that we can’t afford to stand still. That’s why we’ve put some bold ambitions in place. By 2020, we want five million people to be members of the National Trust. And we want everyone else in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to feel like one. This means that we want everyone to have heard about us, know what we do and feel positively towards us.

We’re going local too, freeing up our property managers, connecting with local communities and bringing out the special character of each of our spaces. And when it comes to the wonderful places we look after, we’re bringing them to life in all sorts of exciting and innovative ways. For example, we’re removing ropes and barriers, inviting visitors to play pianos and billiards and giving people the chance to sit on comfy sofas, read books and flick through photo albums. We want our places to be loved locally and be at the heart of community life. We want visitors to feel at home and we want to give them new things to discover and enjoy.

We’re helping people to get outdoors and closer to nature. We’re coming up with exciting new projects and ideas and events to get people out and about, things like our Silly Walks and Seashore Scavengers (links open in new window) events. We know that one of the ways of reaching the wider population is to become much better known for our work in the coast and countryside. We’re also working hard to connect more deeply with urban communities. There’s lots more we can tell you, but the best way to see what we’re doing and how we’re helping people to get out and enjoy our special places is to have a good look around www.nationaltrust.org.uk (opens in new window).