Project Neptune, also known as Enterprise Neptune, is a long-term project of the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 to acquire or put under covenant a substantial part of the Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Northern Irish coastline. In 1999 it was relaunched as the Neptune Coastline Campaign. The Project currently looks after 710 miles (1,142.6 km) of British coastline.

The Project began in 1965, with the acquisition of Whiteford Burrows in the Gower Peninsula

Gower Peninsula

Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...

. By 1973 the project had reached its original £2 million fundraising target and looked after 338 miles (544 km) of coastline. By 1986 the National Trust had raised £8.75 million through Project Neptune.

The Project owns some of Britain's most iconic coast including land near to the Giant's Causeway

Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles northeast of the town of Bushmills...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the White Cliffs of Dover

White cliffs of Dover

The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...

. The Project has not been completely successful in achieving its ambitions, having had its £1 million bid for Land's End

Land's End

Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....

 turned down in 1981.

The Project is currently focussed on the maintenance of the coastline that it already owns, particularly with regard to coastal management

Coastal management

In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defense against flooding and erosion...

.