Birling Gap and Brownsea Island among National Trust sites under threat from climate change
Watch: Drone footage shows extent of coastal erosion on Birling Gap
Cliffs in East Sussex and an island in Dorset are among the National Trust sites most at risk from climate change.
The National Trust has now launched a "game changer" map revealing several stately homes, landscapes and coastline that are all at different levels of risk from climate change.
The mapping tool outlines threats posed by climate impacts including extreme heat and humidity, landslides, high winds, and floods, and how they could change by 2060.
The map is based on a "worst-case scenario" of a failure to drive down carbon emissions over the coming decades, but is intended to be a flagging tool to highlight potential hazards in the area of a heritage or countryside site.
In 2014, the chalk cliffs at Birling Gap suffered seven years’ worth of erosion in just two months, in part due to heavy storms.
The rate of erosion, although naturally occurring due to the geology of the area, will only increase with more storms, rainfall and higher sea levels.
Brownsea Island in Dorset has also suffered extensive coastal erosion in recent years due to increased frequency of storms and high tides.
The National Trust is looking at options for the future including movable lengths of metal stairs designed to be fixed into slopes of varying angles, so that they can shift as the coast shifts.
The map will ensure trees are planted in the places and where they are most needed, with 50,000 having been planted in the last 12 months including in north Devon, Lancashire, north Wales and Dorset.
The next phase of the project will build on work to identify and act in areas in which homes for wildlife are at risk and where species reintroduction like beavers may help the environment.
It could also see government bodies from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland plot the heritage locations they care for to illustrate the threat to the whole UK historic environment.