What Do You Do With A 14 Acre Wood?

DaftyDuck

There are grants available, indeed. However, they come with many strings attached, some of which are quite intrusive. There are far more grants (also pretty restrictive, albeit quite generous) for planting new woodland.

As others have said, woodland is time-consuming and costly to manage. You may well be restricted as to how much you can cut/clear, and there's less of a ready market for wood than you'd believe. Try selling it, and folk will point out it grew fro free... If you are going to self-manage that amount, you'll need to get good training in woodland management skills, in chainsaw safety, in environmental management. Woodland Trust are good (they have a fair amount to do with my bit), and the local Wildlife Trusts are also extremely helpful (better, in fact) - and have more volunteers, and often more money. If you do use them, make sure any volunteers are their responsibility, NOT yours - insurance for that can enter the thousands. You will need insurance regardless (especially if you border any kind of road), and that will cost. You will need to check if shooting rights are in hand or not. Rights of Way? Other rights of access or use? Common rights that go with or against the wood?You will need more than a domestic solicitor to do the conveyancing... but that won't cost you any more, just search out one with agricultural knowledge.

Don't be put off, but do go in with eyes wide open. An uncared-for wood can take decades to return to well-kempt and environmentally useful woodland. You may not, in your lifetime, see the finished result, not least because it never will be finished!

For fourteen acres you will certainly need a couple of serious petrol chainsaws, probably a small tractor and trailer (or a donkey or two - seriously, it's a possibility). You'll need safety gear, and a friend to work with, for safety. You'll probably need to allow a few weeks work a year, to maintain it, so it will either be hard work most weekends, or part of your working life. Not a major part, when you know what you are doing. Most of the work is in the cold, wet winter (but you will soon warm up).

I took on a fair amount of woodland when I took on my current little farm, and was heavily involved in wildlife management for many years before that. The local huge estate liked what I did, and has passed on responsibility for a commercial wood beside our river to me... but kept paying the bills, which is great. That's about thirty acres, and it takes a paid farm labourer a full day a week during summer to deal with issues that turn up. I haven't yet done a winter running it, but we reckon on a couple of weeks working on the fencing, the rides, getting the next year's wildlife habitat organised. That doesn't include any time from the arborist/tree feller fella. Luckily, I won't have to pay, either! On my own bit, I do do most of the tree work myself, but do need a couple of chaps for a couple of days work each year, and they cost the absolute bargain price of £300 per day.

I wouldn't change my choice. It's unbelievably rewarding. However, I start at 6am to do some before my real working day, and often finish after dark. I'm now part of a couple of butterfly reintroduction projects, have several rare water meadow plants that are unique to this county, have a few rare birds that we keep fairly quiet about locally, and regularly get visits from extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable experts. My land borders an SSSI, and I imagine it may be co-opted into that at some point, and that will bring its own interests - and expenses. You, too, may face the unexpected (huge storm/fire, through to rare species identified/exciting finds), and you need to be ready for them.

But, do not be put off. I would do it again in a flash, without hesitation. A couple of my work colleagues have launched into something similar since I did, and they haven't regretted it either.

Just do it with eyes wide open. Oh, and engage brain!

DaftyDuck

JuzaMum wrote: »

Wander around naked.

Now, there's something I haven't done!

Horseflies! Maybe I'll give it a miss. But, feel free to pop round for a wander, anytime!

DaftyDuck

shinytop wrote: »

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?

Most woodland was coppiced. It was like an industrial zone, not a quiet idyll. Most building materials, fuel, quite a portion of food, clothing material, basket-making, shoe (clogs!), roofing material, cart wheels, carts themselves, pit-props, fencing material.... all came from these woods, which were busier than the fields. Around a quarter of winter fodder for stock came from the woods.

Charcoal! Hundreds of thousands of tonnes, burned slowly in smokey Hell!

Oh, and hunting. For them Aristocats an' Royils! But, it brought money in.

It was excellent for wildlife. Look up Bradfield woods for an example.

Quiet and restful they weren't!

gingercordial

shinytop wrote: »

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?

It depends on whether it's linked to other woodland or isolated (and many other things).

In theory if this is part of a much bigger woodland you will have grazers such as deer who would keep a some of the low-level vegetation under control. They eat (destroy!) saplings. But if the woodland is cut off by fences or roads you are not going to have those deer which means doing that work yourself.

If you do have the deer they might in turn themselves become a problem. Of course before people there would have been wolves and lynx to control the deer, and so on.

To really "leave it to nature" you could let the low-level vegetation take over so it is impassable, let the trees fall as they die and rot and so on. But that could be dangerous - certainly if there are rights of way so potentially people in there to get hit by trees. And owning a 14 acre jungle is probably less attractive a prospect than owning a 14 acre nice woodland.

The problem with leaving things to nature in this country is that we've already completely changed what nature would have been, so we can't just leave things alone and hope they work anymore.

lincroft1710

Sub- divide into plots of 400 sq yds, offer each plot for sale as amenity land or "possible" development land at between £5,000 and £10,000 (depending on the area in which it is situated). 168 plots at £5K each gives you a gross of £840,000.

NB do be aware that the above may well be viewed as a Seriously Criminal And Malevolent action

mad_spaniel

keep pigs for clearance of vegetation in woodland/ soil turnover etc ?

DoaM

Kat1e wrote: »

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

Look for one with another 86 acres and you might find Pooh and Tigger.

BikingBud

Walking / Cycling / Running routes near Fourteen Acre Wood, Suffolk Coastal (IP13 9LX)
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/fourteen-acre-wood-suffolk-coastal
Speak to Sally:
https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/52.19160,1.35487,16

Xenon

JuzaMum wrote: »

Wander around naked.

I did that too - but got arrested - seems not the 'done thing' in shopping malls !

Go figure

On a serious note

How about setting up a Satanic cult - perfect meeting place

shinytop

gingercordial wrote: »

It depends on whether it's linked to other woodland or isolated (and many other things).

In theory if this is part of a much bigger woodland you will have grazers such as deer who would keep a some of the low-level vegetation under control. They eat (destroy!) saplings. But if the woodland is cut off by fences or roads you are not going to have those deer which means doing that work yourself.

If you do have the deer they might in turn themselves become a problem. Of course before people there would have been wolves and lynx to control the deer, and so on.

To really "leave it to nature" you could let the low-level vegetation take over so it is impassable, let the trees fall as they die and rot and so on. But that could be dangerous - certainly if there are rights of way so potentially people in there to get hit by trees. And owning a 14 acre jungle is probably less attractive a prospect than owning a 14 acre nice woodland.

The problem with leaving things to nature in this country is that we've already completely changed what nature would have been, so we can't just leave things alone and hope they work anymore.

thanks, obvious when explained.:T