Abbeystead is a sporting and conservation estate in the Forest of Bowland National Landscape (formerly known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)), Lancashire.
The estate consists of heather moorland and upland hill farms that principally farm beef and sheep, producing dairy products.
More than two thirds of the estate is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) which we carefully manage, striving to protect, enhance and restore its sensitive environmental habitats.
More than 8,000 hectares of moorland is managed sustainably, helping moorland birds and waders to flourish. The estate is home to some of the strongest populations in the UK of red listed species such as curlew, lapwing and redshank.
Curlew are one of the UK’s most endangered birds and, if nothing changes, they could disappear from southern England and Wales within the next decade. Habitat enhancing projects have been carried out at Abbeystead to provide the ideal conditions for curlew and other at-risk moorland species to thrive.
Watch our film to learn more about how we’re leading the way in curlew conservation: