Project Neptune (National Trust)

Project Neptune, also known as Enterprise Neptune, is a long-term project of the National Trust to acquire or put under covenant a substantial part of the Welsh, English and Northern Irish coastline. In 1999 it was relaunched as the Neptune Coastline Campaign. It is named for the Roman god of the sea.

History

The Project began in May 1965 with the acquisition of Whiteford Burrows in the Gower Peninsula. The aim was to protect the coastline from being developed or industrialised.
By 1973 the project had reached its original £2 million fundraising target and looked after of coastline. It had its £1 million bid for Land's End turned down in 1981. By 1986 the National Trust had raised £8.75 million through Project Neptune.
The Project looked after of British coastline by 2009. At that time, it was focussed on the maintenance of the coastline that it already owned, particularly with regard to coastal management.
By its 50th anniversary in May 2015 the Trust had acquired of coastline through the project, bringing its total holding to. For the anniversary, John Cooper Clarke contributed the opening verses of a poem; members of the public were asked to complete the poem.
Later in 2015, the area owned by the project increased to , some 10% of the total UK coastline, covering an area of.

Extent and landmarks

The Project owns some of the UK's most iconic coast, including land near the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, of the White Cliffs of Dover and The Needles.
It includes four World Heritage Sites and nine lighthouses.