Owning a house with woodland

ProDave

With that many trees you neeed:

A chainsaw.

A wood shed or 2

A wood burning stove.

Depending how much you use the stove you should be self sufficient in firewood.

Check for TPO's before felling any.

We are only 1/3 acre in total and nowhere near 50 trees but just trimming and maintaining our trees does most of our firewood needs.

amyr

AdrianC said:

Ash - look very carefully at the tips of all the branches, as best you can with them all packed in that densely. If they're looking like they're thinning and going threadbare, that's probably the early stages of dieback. It doesn't hang around once it's in. But it's the absolute best firewood around... (which is just as well, because I've got a bloody ton of it, after taking two big dying-back ashes out a few months back)

Looks just from that pic like there's probably some previously coppiced stuff that's growing back - which it will... That's ongoing fun.

Sycamore's a pain in the backside. There's nothing quite so prolific at spreading itself around.

Get yourself a good pair of loppers and a chainsaw AND GET ON A CHAINSAW COURSE.

Brilliant - thank you - great advice and we'll make sure we take time to have a proper look when we're there next.

Chainsaw course sounds great fun. We're looking forward to the various challenges. 

amyr

ProDave said:

With that many trees you neeed:

A chainsaw.

A wood shed or 2

A wood burning stove.

Depending how much you use the stove you should be self sufficient in firewood.

Check for TPO's before felling any.

We are only 1/3 acre in total and nowhere near 50 trees but just trimming and maintaining our trees does most of our firewood needs.

Brilliant - thank you. Wood shed sounds a good shout - at the moment there's just a tarp to cover any wood we fell so we'll budget for that investment. The house is heated in part by a wood burner so we'll certainly have plenty of use for it. 

AdrianC

amyr said:

Chainsaw course sounds great fun.

Far more fun than taking your hand off, at any rate.

I was told under no uncertain terms by my other half and a friend who has a pro ticket* that I was not getting a saw until I'd learnt how to use it safely. Three day course at a local agricultural college - day 1 was pretty much all classroom, day 2 was in the woods cutting fallen trees into slices, day 3 was in the woods making small trees lie down.

They don't muck about with the safety briefing - "...and this is where the pack of blood thickener is, and this is where the air ambulance will land..."

Part of said friend's insistence was because, on his first day in the woods on his own post-course, he proved to his own satisfaction how good the trousers are at stopping the chain. And spent the rest of the day picking the cloggy-fluff out.

Ashworks

Lucky you! There is plenty of advice about managing woodland, including this:

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/managing-land-wildlife/how-manage-woodland-wildlife

Yours looks fairly healthy, ie. it has a good mix of trees, shrubs and smaller plants, and some shady and more open areas. As others have said, it's worth getting the trees checked by an arboriculturalist (make sure they are Chartered, as lots of people claim to be experts but aren't) to identify any tree health and/or safety issues. If you need any major work done only use a qualified tree surgeon with proper insurance. As Adrian says, make sure you go on a course if you are planning on doing any work yourself. Check there is no TPO, no designations, and you are not in a Conservation Area, or you will need permission. Work also should be done outside the bird breeding season.

This may sound like a lot, but a healthy woodland really needs minimal management, it's more a matter of keeping it safe for people.

Good luck and enjoy!

pramsay13

I would agree with getting a survey or at least knocking on the doors of the neighbours and seeing if anyone has had one done recently. 
You probably need to be aware what trees you have, if any have issues with diseases, and if any are in danger of coming down soon. 
A decent garden like that could be great fun for children as long as it is maintained well.

Bendy_House

user1977 said:

I think that's just "a big garden with lots of trees" rather than "woodland" really.

Yeah, pfffft - I'm envious too

MysteryMe

Obviously woodland needs management  but what a depressing thread, instead of viewing natural woodland as a joy, an opportunity to observe an abundance of wildlife and being at one with nature we have endless posts about chainsaws, assumptions that all trees are about the fall down and injure people and moaning about moths!  

Woods were there long before you were, so be respectful of the wildlife. It's not just birds but bats that roost in trees, insects of all descriptions possibly amphibians under wood piles. Disturbing a bat roost, nesting birds or any protected species is a crime so before worrying about going in chainsaw course, get in a properly qualified arborist as they will not only know how best to manage the woodland but the residents of it too. 

firebubble

Seconding MsyteryMe - this looks beautiful, and will be a joy. 

Having said that:

1. Check the woodland area (yours and everyone else's) is secure from travelers, if it has any open spaces.
2. Ask your solicitor specifically to check for tree preservation orders, areas of outstanding natural beauty, ancient woodland, endangered habitat/species - anything like that which either restrict what can be done or which leads to additional obligations for you as owner. Not because you're about to turn it into a decked patio, but just for awareness.
3. As someone who has just moved to back onto woodland, the amount of insects which find their way into the house has surprised me. It's part and parcel of the lovely views, so I'm not about to napalm and squash everything that moves, and I am aware I need to learn to live with it, but I will definitely be putting insect screens on back doors and windows at some point. If anyone in your household is deathly afraid of insects, spiders, moths etc, this would be a good time to get some hypnosis to treat the fear.
4. If you love a formal garden, you may find you are competing with rabbits and deer who love to snack on young plants.

None of this should put you off by the way!

daveyjp

Don't see every tree as firewood.

If you have two larger trees adjacent it may be beneficial to lose one so they aren't competing.

A large tree may be worth more as fresh sawn timber planks, rather than logburner fuel.