Coronavirus: National Trust to keep outdoor sites open
The National Trust is putting in place measures to keep its open places accessible to the public free of charge during the coronavirus crisis.
By Friday the charity is planning to have made arrangements to keep its outdoor spaces open, but will shut all houses, shops and cafes to restrict the spread of the virus from the same day.
In a statement, the National Trust said that it had to take a lot of factors into consideration, including whether the garden or park in question allows enough space for adequate social distancing.
The charity has more than 200 outdoor locations across the UK.
Chief executive Hilary McGrady said: “The National Trust was founded 125 years ago for the benefit of the entire nation. We want to honour our mission – to enable people and nature to thrive.
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“Over the coming weeks we will do all that we can to keep on providing public benefit through caring for places and giving people access wherever possible”.
“While we will close our indoor areas to help fight the spread of coronavirus, we recognise that people are likely to need access to open space and to nature, beauty and history.”
English Heritage has said that its free-to-enter spaces will remain open to the public but the rest of its properties will be shut until 1 May.
Some sites may open earlier than May, depending on how the situation evolves.
“Our first priority is the health and wellbeing of all our Members, visitors, volunteers and staff, and we hope you can understand why we have taken this unprecedented step”, the conservation society said.