hello from bristol

[cColville]

Hi I am Chris Colville.
My wife and I have been planning on buying a woodland for several years and in the meantime I have become a tree surgeon and completed a placement with avon wildlife trust to learn about conservation and completed a conservation management qualification too, My wife has also become a forest school leader.

After looking at Scotland for a long time for woodlands(as I intended to move closer to home) we have decided we want to stay near bristol/cardiff and hope to buy a woodland in Monmouthsire in the near future.

If anyone knows of anyway me me to find woodlands for sale in the county please let me know as it'd be very helpful, I currently look primarily on john clegg and co chartered surveyors website and uk land and farm websites.

also if anyone wants assistance in their woodlands from an experience chainsaw user and woodland worker feel free to contact me.

thank you
Chris Colville

[SimonFisher]

Hello and welcome.

There's http://www.woodlands.co.uk/

[Stephen1]

Hello Chris
If I were you and was planning to stay in the Bristol area for a while I'd have a long think before buying a woodland in Wales. The access legislation is under review in Wales and it's odds on that effectively the 'right to roam' is going to be extended to woodland - which means everyone will be able to walk anywhere they want within woodland in wales within a couple of years. If you want any privacy in your wood then buy east of the border- of course the same is going to happen in England soon enough, but I suspect it's at least 5-7 years away there- perhaps more if Labour don't get in at the next election.

[cColville]

thanks simon.
unfortunately I dont intend to buy with woodlands.co.uk as i find their woodlands tend to be overpriced and come with a lot of rules through their purchase agreement which would stop me from doing several things that I would be able to do if I bought property through almost any other method.
it appears to me that they buy a much larger woodland, subdivide it, put in a track and some gates then sell the divisions at greatly inflated prices.
I have not looked into their properties for several years but this is the impression I took from them back then.
I may be wrong, of course.

thanks for the warning stephen.
I am not overly concerned with the right to roam laws, they usually come in hand with a responsibility of access policy and in my experience most of the people who are likely to use these rights are fairly decent about it. I was previously looking for woodland in Scotland as I wanted to move closer to home, so I've always taken right to roam laws for granted and as you say they will be in England eventually as well. 5-7 years is precious little in tree years.
Also I feel with the use of permissive paths and notices boards, fences and strategically planted screening vegetation you may be able to maintain your privacy in specific parts of the wood.

thanks for your responses.

[Dexter's Shed]

sounds like we have another shooter, welcome

[oldclaypaws]

everyone will be able to walk anywhere they want within woodland in wales within a couple of years. If you want any privacy in your wood then buy east of the border- of course the same is going to happen in England soon enough

That's quite a potentially daunting prospect for those of us who've had thefts and don't want uninvited and unknown parties wandering round our woods. Any clarification on what sized parcels of land this might apply to, and if small woods without any existing access are protected from this. Surely there will still be 'private property', you can't have every paddock, copse, etc open to all and sundry. If it did open up every plot to potential entrants I'd predict chaos, rampant theft and confrontations galore.

[The Barrowers]

I wonder how Lord of the Manor would like ever man and his dog walking around his estate as they feel can be done now with hounds and horses, trampling over other valuable property

[davetb]

Hi Chris,
We live in Cardiff and own a woodland about 4 miles North of Monmouth.
We are a few hundred metres into England.
We bought it through Cleggs - 39 acres.
It's been a great experience.
The weather over the winter has been so horrific we haven't been up for several months.
Champing at the bit to get back up there.
It would be good to get in contact and have a chat about local woods / wildlife / management etc.
You'd be welcome to come and visit.
Cheers, Dave

[oldclaypaws]

unfortunately I dont intend to buy with woodlands.co.uk as i find their woodlands tend to be overpriced and come with a lot of rules through their purchase agreement which would stop me from doing several things that I would be able to do if I bought property through almost any other method.
it appears to me that they buy a much larger woodland, subdivide it, put in a track and some gates then sell the divisions at greatly inflated prices.

I think that's slightly unfair. The rules are designed to protect the majority from activities that might spoil it for everyone else.

Yes, they buy 'in bulk', split, and then have a mark up. Ever bought anything from Tesco? Think you'll find their mark up on fruit and veg is something like 400%.

I've seen a minority of .co.uk woods for sale for several years, so they have a lot of capital tied up, they don't always double their money in weeks, and they have costs such as staff.

Few of us could afford a big plot, and indeed don't want that much, so I think they've seen a market opportunity to provide something a lot of people want, sold it in an accessible package, and provide after sales support for buyers with a lot of information, instructive 'TV' clips, and this forum!

No, I didn't get my wood from them, but did view a few. Apart from describing a swamp as 'soft green area abundant in flora and insects', I thought they were pretty approachable.

Its a free market, they aren't doing anything wrong and have introduced hundreds to woodland ownership, so I reckon they are OK. If they've made a few quid in the process, its reward for a good idea.

[cColville]

hi davetb great to hear from you.
would definitely like to meet, I been looking on cleggs for a while, they seem like a good place.
when the weather turns give me a shout

hi dextershed, I've only dabbled a little with shooting but definitely intend to do more.