Owning a house with woodland

Norman_Castle

I'd want to know what obligations and restrictions both you and the neighbouring owners have with regards to use and maintenence of this land. What you own may be comparatively small but its likely it is viewed as part of the larger woodland.

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob

I would call it a woodland.... first couple of posts seemed like jealousy..."its not a woodland, its a garden...." 

Anyway, congratulations. What a fantastic place to explore

ka7e

It looks like a lovely plot! The one thing that would concern me is if there is a local hunt that might come on to the land. I know villages near us have problems with hounds running through gardens etc. Technically they should only be drag hunting, but once hounds get a scent they can be "unruly".

RAS

Talk to your neighbours and see if any of them are interested in combining forces to plan maintenance. The woodland will be better for integrated management than piecemeal, so even if only some work together it's a bonus. Also if you are using chain saws, arrange a noisy day every so often so everyone's peace is not disturbed by chainsaws every weekend.

Some of that looks like overgrown coppice. It might have been developed with standards, or might have been overtaken by sycamore. Ask the neighbours if anyone has done any research on the history of the wood?

Ben Law is a good read.

And having met some of the coppice workers at a Show, I learned that Elm can be usefully and effectively managed. The beetle needs bark of a certain depth before it can attack the tree. As long as you coppice the trunks before they reach the required diameter, you can protect it from Dutch Elm disease and provide an almost continuous supply of small diameter growth to support wildlife.  Based on the remnants here, it needs taking out at about 6in/15cm. Of course, the council lads here take out the side shoots and leave the singles until they are dead and then remove. Which has the opposite effect. So look for elm on your land and try and manage it.

Newnoel

We have a largish plot at just under 3 acres, about 1/3 of which is covered in trees. This allowed us to claim mixed use Stamp Duty rates, which saved tens of thousands in tax. Worth asking your solicitor about.

Section62

MysteryMe said:

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. 

The point is this isn't "natural woodland" - it provides the diverse habitats it does as a result of decades if not centuries of human management - if you don't continue that management then nature will take over and only the 'fittest' will survive.

So to maintain those habitats someone needs to do some management - either a qualified professional, or the owner, after gaining competence in doing the task which I absolutely agree with AdrianC requires attending a chainsaw course (plus investment in all the necessary PPE) before even thinking about buying a chainsaw.

You might think those posts "endless", but the point is so important it bears repeating many times.

AdrianC

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob said:

I would call it a woodland.... first couple of posts seemed like jealousy..."its not a woodland, its a garden...." 

We have an acre and a half, about 2/3 of which is trees.

I wouldn't call it woodland.

Davesnave

AdrianC said:

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob said:

I would call it a woodland.... first couple of posts seemed like jealousy..."its not a woodland, its a garden...." 

We have an acre and a half, about 2/3 of which is trees.

I wouldn't call it woodland.

We have 5.5 acres and 0.5 acres of trees. I'd call those whatever I like. 'cos they're ours.

I'd make most of the land woodland if that wouldn't destroy the value of the property to horsey folk. But hey, the Climate Agenda is upon us, so that may sort things in a few years anyway. Can't see the middle classes owning large animals like that in the future, unless they start eating them!

Davesnave

RAS said:I learned that Elm can be usefully and effectively managed. The beetle needs bark of a certain depth before it can attack the tree. As long as you coppice the trunks before they reach the required diameter, you can protect it from Dutch Elm disease and provide an almost continuous supply of small diameter growth to support wildlife.  Based on the remnants here, it needs taking out at about 6in/15cm. Of course, the council lads here take out the side shoots and leave the singles until they are dead and then remove. Which has the opposite effect. So look for elm on your land and try and manage it.

I manage 80m of elm hedge and this is correct. A stem the previous owner let go at the front got to about 20' and was then attacked and killed, taking about 15' of hedge with it. We quickly whipped down some others. Wych elms seem to do better.

As a continuation of earlier posts, I'd recommend a good battery chainsaw for general maintenance nowadays. Mine has a 14" bar and has taken down trees of nearly that girth. The lack of loud noise aids concentration.....and you do need to concentrate!

AdrianC

Davesnave said:

As a continuation of earlier posts, I'd recommend a good battery chainsaw for general maintenance nowadays. Mine has a 14" bar and has taken down trees of nearly that girth. The lack of loud noise aids concentration.....and you do need to concentrate!

I did some hedgelaying with the local wildlife trust a while back, and they were using electric chainsaws.

TBH, they scared me far more than a petrol one, precisely because of the lack of noise. With a petrol one, you just know it's going to bite. The electric one was too stealthy.