National Trust's Cliveden set to get heat friendly plants

Conditions across National Trust’s sites show plants accustomed to damp struggling on Dartmoor, heather having difficulties flowering in Suffolk and heat exhausted bats were found disoriented in broad daylight Wallington in Northumberland. 

The Trust’s warning comes after a score of fires across Buckinghamshire, including a giant field fire in Marlow on August 8. 

READ MORE: Cigarette causes Aylesbury fire

Following a record-breaking heatwave in July, where temperatures exceeded 40C, England is facing the driest decade, even drought. 

The exceptional temperatures this summer were a wake-up call to cut greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, and to adapt for rising temperatures, the National Trust said. 

A brown long-eared bat rescued at Wallington, Northumberland during the heatwave (PA Media)

Keith Jones, national climate change adviser for the National Trust, said: “We shouldn’t be surprised by these temperatures, 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.

READ MORE: Chalfont skip fire on residential road

“What we can do, is adapt. At the Trust we’re taking action to make sure our sites are ready for future changes, from making our landscapes rich in nature, our rivers cooler and our gardens more resilient to helping our buildings cope with excessive heat.”

With a drier future in their sight, National Trust is set to plant more than 2,000 lavenders in Cliveden's famous parterre in Berkshire over the coming weeks. 

The charity is introducing 20 million new trees by 2030, creating 3,000 hectares of new trees along water courses to help cool water temperatures and returning rivers to their natural shape and function.