What Do You Do With A 14 Acre Wood?

Kat1e

Looking at a property that come with a 14 acre wood. Going from a postage stamp garden to something like this terrifies me. Has anyone else bought this amount of woodland and could share some pointers please? What did you do with it? Can you just leave it alone or will it need maintenance? I have absolutely no idea about this and possible costs involved and would be grateful for any info. Thank you.

martindow

The Woodland Trust would be a good starting point


https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/ancient-woodland-restoration/advice-and-support/


I'm very envious - owning land around you is the only way to control what happens there and have control over your outlook.

babyblade41

There will be lots to consider and maintenance, you are custodian for the trees and all the inhabitant s

Also you may have ROW through it for ramblers etc so check the title deeds carefully

JuzaMum

Wander around naked.

Slithery

Kat1e wrote: »

Looking at a property that come with a 14 acre wood.

That's my idea of heaven

RelievedSheff

Don't underestimate the amount of time and maintenance that woodland can take.

babyblade41

RelievedSheff wrote: »

Don't underestimate the amount of time and maintenance that woodland can take.

A friend has a 27 acre wood and it takes all his time and cost in maintenance, a cordless strimmer won't really be up to the job !!

Ozzuk

You may be able to get a grant for that much woodland. Loads of websites out there offering advice but it is a lot of work. We only have a 3 acre woodland, my partner has a chainsaw license and is ex forest ranger and we can't keep on top of that - but it is 30 mins from our house.

A woodland is a great addition to our property though, perfect for attracting wildlife and with some effort could be a really feature. Good potential for income as well depending on your skillset/background and location. Or just enjoy it!

shinytop

So what was woodland like before people and chainsaws came along? Serious question as I have no idea, what would happen if you just left it to nature?

Davesnave

babyblade41 wrote: »

A friend has a 27 acre wood and it takes all his time and cost in maintenance, a cordless strimmer won't really be up to the job !!

On the other hand, a friend of mine has similar, which he generally looks after by doing very little. It's some of the last remnants of temperate rain forest in this country, on very steep slopes, but obviously it did just fine before there were people around. It's only this person's conifers that are tended occasionally and thinned periodically as they grow. The rest is a wonderful, wild place, where you don't see a human in months and mobiles don't work....scary eh?

The level of maintenance depends on what type of wood it is, whether there are particularly significant trees there, whether you want an income from them, what obligations there might be to the public and/or the resident wildlife, plus a whole heap of other considerations that are more site specific.

So, to get the best from most woodland there needs to be some management, but you will have time to learn, grow into the job and find solutions, if you decide to take it on. For example, you may be able to locate someone who will do maintenance in exchange for the cut timber. I have a similar deal with fields, but unlike those, management and intervention isn't so frequent and tied tightly to a schedule.

bengalknights

Check if the property has a woodburner, cheap heating for life then