What to look for when buying a wood

[jennysmate]

Catweazle, Do you mean Cobham nr.Rochester Kent? I own Elliston Bottom, the wood on the left as you enter via the gate on the crossroads leading to Cobham,Luddesdown and Cuxton.

[Catweazle]

Yes, the Southern part of Ashenbank Wood off Halfpence Lane. If you look on Google you can see it's a different colour to the rest of Ashenbank because it's really dense Sweet Chestnut coppice.

What do you do in your woods ? Is it commercial or amenity ?

[jennysmate]

Hi Catweazle,

My wood is for pleasure only, although now I've mooved to West Sussex, I dont visit it nearly enough. When I do go we have lunch in the Leather bottle, look out for me. I'm the one with the white akita dog, begging me for a chip.

I used to walk in Ashenbank wood, before I got mine, I thought it was owned by the Woodland Trust?

Sorry Tracy, I've gone off topic.

[Dennis]

Been on a course on "Managing a Small Woodland" this weekend. Some participants were there to decide whether to buy. Instructor stressed the importance of finding out why the wood is for sale. And warned of a big pitfall: what will the wood be like when you take ownership? Some woods are sold on the understanding that the vendor will clear fell first. This often carries a replanting obligation. Salutary tale: someone paid £20,000 for a wood, then had to spend £15,000 to get it planted. Further salutary warning: someone else bought a sitka spruce plantation knowing that it would be clear felled and would carry a replanting obligation. They planted oak which was rapidly overwhelmed by thousands of young sitka spruce seedlings. It took 10 men with chainsaws to clear the spruce. Think about potential public safety problems - only the brave buy next to a council estate whose kids regard the wood as "theirs". Last warning - find out about fences - cost can be crippling.

[Dennis]

A further point I forgot - we were warned that, if someone else owns the mineral rights under your land, it might as well not belong to you. Apparently they can do what they like to exploit their rights, with no obligation to the person owning the surface - not to compensate, nor even to reinstate. The message was: check mineral rights; if they will continue to belong to someone else, don't buy.