 | |
| Formation | 1 May 1931 (1931-05-01) |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Trust |
| Headquarters | Broadstone, 50 South Gyle Crescent,Edinburgh EH12 9LD Scotland |
| Location |
|
| Membership | 326,000[1] |
Key people | Jackie Bird (President)[2] Sir Mark Jones[3] (Chairman) Philip Long (Chief Executive) |
| Staff | 617full-time equivalent 1,144 Total |
| Website | www |
TheNational Trust for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic:Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is a Scottishconservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation inScotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, shares and speaks up for Scotland's magnificent heritage".[4]
The trust owns and manages around 130 properties and 76,000 hectares (190,000 acres; 760 km2) of land, includingcastles, ancient small dwellings, historic sites,gardens, coastline, mountains and countryside. It is similar in function to theNational Trust, which coversEngland,Wales, andNorthern Ireland, and toother national trusts worldwide.[5]
The trust was established in 1931[6] as the "National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty", following discussions held in the smoking room ofPollok House.[7] The Trust was incorporated on 1 May 1931, withJohn Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke of Atholl being elected as its first president, SirIain Colqhoun serving as the first chairman.Sir John Stirling Maxwell, owner of Pollok House, was appointed as a vice-president, and provided the trust with its first property,Crookston Castle.[8][9] Another early acquisition wasGlen Coe, which was purchased with assistance from theScottish Mountaineering Club in 1935.[9]
| National Trust for Scotland Order Confirmation Act 1935 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to confirm a Provisional Order under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936 relating to the National Trust for Scotland. |
| Citation | 26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8. c. ii |
| Territorial extent | Scotland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 10 December 1935 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Following the passage of theNational Trust for Scotland Order Confirmation Act 1935 (26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8. c. ii), the trust gained the power to declare its properties "inalienable", meaning that they are effectively heldin perpetuity, and can only be removed from the trust with parliamentary permission.[8]
When the trust took on the management of mountain estates there was controversy concerning issues such as the siting of visitor centres, which some considered inappropriate for land of "wild" character. The trust has since removed some intrusive facilities, with the originalGlen Coe Visitor Centre being removed in 2002; a new centre was built lower down the glen.[10] Similarly the visitor centre atBen Lawers was removed in 2012.[11]
In August 2010, a report calledFit For Purpose[12] byGeorge Reid, commissioned by the Trust, cited shortcomings that were corrected though organizational restructuring largely completed by the end of its 2011/12 Fiscal Year.[13] The stabilisation of the Trust's finances allowed it to make its first acquisition in seven years when it bought theAlloa Tower in Clackmannanshire in 2015.[14]
Historians working for the NTS have estimated that at least 36 of the 139 historic properties owned by the Trust have links to theAtlantic slave trade. Many former of owners of NTS properties either directly or indirectly benefited from the ownership or exploitation of enslaved people, or received compensation payments from theSlave Compensation Act 1837.[15]
The trust is aregistered charity underScottish law.[16] As of 2024[update] it employed 1,144 people in total (taking account of seasonal employees), up from 760 in 2022. This equated to 617 people on afull-time equivalent basis, up from 469 in 2022.[17][1] The Trust's Patron isKing Charles III; the President isJackie Bird; the CEO is Philip Long OBE; and the chairman isSir Mark Jones.[18]
For the year ending 28 February 2022, the trust's total income was £49.3 million, up from £44.3 million in 2020–21. The largest sources of income were membership subscriptions (£14.7 million), commercial activities (£9.0 million), investment income (£5.3 million), and property income (£5.3 million). In the same year the trust's total expenditure was £51.9 million, up from £44.1 million in 2020–21. The trust therefore recorded an operating deficit of £2.7 million, however this was less bad than anticipated and largely attributed to the aftermath of theCOVID-19 pandemic. A three-year business recovery plan was put in place to restore financial sustainability and ensure the trust was able to undertake repairs and maintenance delayed by the pandemic, and to continue to invest in conservation and visitor engagement activities at its properties.[17]
For the year ended 29 February 2024, the trust's total income was £69.5 million; in the same year the trust's total expenditure was £75.9 million. The trust therefore recorded an annual operating deficit of £6.4 million, however this loss was offset with investment growth of £7.9 million during the year, meaning the trust recorded a small increase in overall balance carried forward to the following year.[1]
Annual membership of the trust allows free entry to properties and "Discovery Tickets" are available for shorter term visitors. Membership also provides free entry to National Trust properties in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and many othernational trusts worldwide; members of these organisations enjoy a reciprocal right of free entry to NTS properties.[5] The trust has independent sister organisations in the United States (The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA), and Canada (The Canadian National Trust for Scotland Foundation). The organisation's membership magazine wasHeritage Scotland until 2002 when it was re-namedScotland in Trust.[19]
For the maintenance of its nature properties, the trust depends on the contributions of volunteers, with local circles of conservation volunteers working on projects during weekends. The charity also formerly organised working holidays called "Thistle Camps" on various properties, with activities undertaken includingfootpath maintenance and woodland work such asrhododendron control. However as of 2025 Thistle Camps are currently not on offer,[20] with the programme having original been suspended in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[21]
The trust owns 27 historic houses, ranging from large houses such asCulzean Castle and theHouse of Dun to humbler dwellings such as theTenement House andMoirlanich Longhouse.[9]
The trust is Scotland's largest garden owner with just under 70 gardens that cover 238 hectares and contain 13,500 varieties of plant.[22] These gardens include 35 "major gardens" with the remainder forming part of other properties. The gardens represent the full history ofScottish gardening ranging from the medieval, to the renaissance atCulross Palace, through the 18th-century picturesque atCulzean Castle and Victorian formality at theHouse of Dun to 20th-century plant collections atBrodick andInverewe.[23]
The trust is the third largest land manager in Scotland, owning 76,000 hectares of Scottish countryside including 46Munros, 8national nature reserves, more than 400 islands and islets, and significant stretches of coastline.[9][22] Trust countryside properties includeGlen Coe,Torridon andMar Lodge Estate.[24]
The trust's management of its coastal and countryside sites is guided by itsWild Land Policy which aims to preserve the land in its undeveloped state and provide access and enjoyment to the public.[25] Trust sites are home to a diverse variety of native wildlife. The Trust estimate that almost 25% of Scotland's seabirds nest on its island and coastal sites, equivalent to 8% of seabirds in Europe. The Trust's countryside properties are home to native mammal species includingred deer,pine marten,wildcat andred squirrel.[26]
Since 1957, the trust have owned and managed the archipelago ofSt Kilda, Scotland's firstWorld Heritage Site and the only World Heritage Site in the UK to be listed for both its natural and cultural significance. St Kilda and the surroundingsea stacks are home to over one million seabirds[22] as well as three species unique to the islands; theSoay sheep;St Kilda field mouse andSt Kilda wren.[27]
Across its properties the trust is responsible for the conservation and display of hundreds of thousands of objects from paintings tofurniture and domestic tools. The primary aim of the trust's curatorship is to present collections and works of art in the historic settings for which they were commissioned or acquired.[28]
During the 2023-24 financial year the trust received in 4.5 million visitors in total, including an estimated 1.8 million visitors recorded at free-to-enter countryside properties: the trust considers this figure to be below the actual number due to practical challenges of recording open access across a large countryside estate.[1] In the year 2021–21 the trust welcomed a total of 2.2 million visitors to its properties, of which 1.3 million were visits to "gated" properties (properties which non-members are required to pay for entry).[17] In 2016 the 10 most visited properties were:[29]
| # | Property | Location | Visitors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Burns Birthplace Museum | South Ayrshire | 236,000 |
| 2 | Glenfinnan Monument | Highland | 187,000 |
| 3 | Culzean Castle and Country Park | South Ayrshire | 154,000 |
| 4 | Glen Coe | Highland | 133,000 |
| 5 | Culloden | Highland | 118,000 |
| 6 | Threave Gardens | Dumfries and Galloway | 57,000 |
| 7 | Inverewe Garden | Highland | 56,000 |
| 8 | Falkland Palace | Fife | 43,000 |
| 9 | Crathes Castle and Gardens | Aberdeenshire | 42,000 |
| 10 | Drum Castle | Aberdeenshire | 25,000 |
| Organisations | |
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| Lists of attractions | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
