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National Trust says bats, lichen and water features hit by hot summer

National Trust A batNational Trust
Bats were found dehydrated and disorientated out in daylight at the National Trust's Wallington site

Bats, lichen and stately gardens have been hit hard by the hot summer weather, the National Trust has warned.

The conservation charity said issues caused by the heat had been reported at a number of its sites.

Its climate change adviser said the impact of extreme weather was "stark".

Temperatures in parts of the UK exceeded 40C for the first time in recorded history in July and a four-day amber extreme heat warning has been issued for Thursday onwards.

Issues at National Trust sites have included:

  • Lichen and mosses that normally thrive in the damp atmosphere of rare temperate rainforest in Lydford Gorge on Dartmoor have shrivelled
  • Heather has struggled to flower on Dunwich's lowland heath in Suffolk
  • Wildfires in beauty spots in Cornwall, Devon and Norfolk and Morden Hall Park in London
  • Bats were found disorientated and dehydrated in the daylight at Wallington in Northumberland
  • A water wheel that powers Houghton flour mill in Cambridgeshire stopped turning due to low river levels
  • A Victorian steam yacht Gondola that ferries passengers across Coniston Water in the Lake District was forced to stop as the engine room hit unbearable temperatures
  • Moat levels at 500-year-old Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk have been down, causing issues with clay that needs to remain wet to prevent structural problems
  • Plants and lawns have been scorched and water features dried up at Hidcote in Gloucestershire and Coleton Fishacre in Devon

The National Trust said it was responding to the conditions with short-term measures including giving the dehydrated bats water using pipettes and moving them into a cooler spots, stopping mowing, and discouraging barbecues.

National Trust Brown grass at Coleton Fishacre houseNational Trust
Parched lawns and plants were reported at a number of sites including Coleton Fishacre in Devon

It said it was also implementing longer-term strategies such as selecting drought-resistant plants in its gardens, increasing tree cover and shade, planning 20 million new trees by 2030, and creating wetlands to hold more water in the landscape.

The trust cited the success of reintroducing beavers at Holnicote Estate in Somerset in 2020 where the animals' engineering had seen the wetlands retain water despite low river levels.

National Trust Aerial view of smoke and burnt patch of grass on cliff top next to seaNational Trust
Wildfires were reported at numerous spots including Zennor Head in Cornwall

Keith Jones, the National Trust's climate change adviser, said the high temperatures should not be a surprise as "it's what the science has been saying for decades".

"But even with years of planning, some of the effects are stark and we are still learning of the precise impacts extreme weather events like this can have," he said.

Howard Cook Aerial view of parched lawns around IckworthHoward Cook
Lawns are also dry at Ickworth in Suffolk

Richard Millar, head of adaptation at the UK's advisory Climate Change Committee, said: "We have long known that climate change is making UK heatwaves more frequent and more intense.

"These amplified heatwaves are just one of the impacts on the UK's significant cultural heritage sites and landscapes.

"Addressing these impacts requires conservation and heritage planning to be undertaken on the basis that the UK's climate is changing."