Hello and some questions!

[Kentish Man]

Hi there,

I'm thinking about taking the plunge and buying my own woodland. I live in the South East, in Kent, so prices are expensive. Gulp.



I'm currently thinking through all the obstacles and pitfalls that may occur over time before I do decide on anything, so I'd like to hear any good advice from anyone who has purchased a wood and might have some general ideas of what to look for and what to watch out for.



At the moment, I've got my eye on a few acres of largely sweet chestnut coppice wood with some older oaks in it. Its on a slight incline and has a few dips in the middle and a large number of trees seem to have fallen over around it. I've been told this was wind damage a few years ago. The soil is apparently sand (acidic) and gravel ontop of London Clay. I'm slightly worried about some of the woodland falling in this soil during heavy rains and wondered if anything can be done to alleviate that risk?



I'm also keen on conservation and hearing the dire situation regarding bees, wondered if dense sweet chestnut coppiced woods make good homes for a colony of bees?



I've got plenty more questions I'll no doubt ask over the next few days and weeks, so I shan't bore you all with any more of them right now!



Thanks for any help!

[Darren]

Wecome to the forum.

Bees are happy in a woodland just as long as they have direct sunlight in the morning. A recently coppiced area would be fine.

[wood troll]

Hi Kentish Man,

Welcome to SWOG. I went to visit a sweet chestnut wood on pure sand today and there were no trees blown over (not even the few large pines which are prone to such), even after the gales we had over here in France last winter. I don't think you need to worry about long established trees.

Have you read the BTCV book on woodland? It is available to read online here http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/index

Have a look at the thread about chainsaws... do not buy a cheap one it is a false economy.

Bees need a water supply, it does not need to be that close, but the closer it is the more time they have to visit the flowers.

And finaly.... one of the SWOGs lives in Kent... Jillybean...

http://www.treedomwoods.co.uk/

Good luck,

wood troll

[Exeldama]

Guess we all have some specific requirements. However on the whole... Access,variety,age structure,distance,size,features, there are others factors (cost being obvious) but personally unless your looking at some commercially driven motivation i think the feel of the wood is important.

The cost obviously rises dependant on where it is, and things like water sources, views etc bit like a house.

Echoing woodtroll...stay away from cheap chainsaws unless its a temporary purchase.

I havent any direct experience of falling trees, but nature has probably coped fine before we got there so im sure it wont be a prob when you turn up. That said, dont forget fallen trees and standing dead ones are a valuable enviroment for woodland life.

Taking the plunge... hmmmm if your rich already thats all well and good, but personally i think its about what you put value on. If your like the majority of people who seem to purchase smaller woods then its the enjoyment of purpose and pleasure that attracts, you wont get rich in money owning a wood but in Life... well thats possible. My Dad bought a wood when i was a child and now i have... the memories i was given are my most treasure and i hope my children will feel our wood has given them something to...go for it, but take your time and ask and ask again . Write a list of all your likes and dislikes, but at the end of the day itswhats important to you.that matters most...

[tracy]

Welcome Kentish man. Sounds like a nice woodland!

Sounds like you are not sure yet if you want to buy a woodland, let alone this one? As Exeldama says, it will depend on your reasons for buying.

1. Inheritance tax - manage it as a little business and you are free from inheritance tax.

2. To earn a living - very difficult. Unless it is a larger wood and you can make amazing things! You can earn a little money from the woodland, but I would suggest that this not be your top goal in the beginning!

3. to care for and enjoy your bit of the world. Best reason there is ;-)and sounds like it would be your reason. If you enjoy fresh air and nature and trees - then go for it. Family, extended family and friends will love it too. Much more interesting that staying home watching telly.

I wouldn't worry about the fallen trees. If this is a chestnut coppice, then it has been there for a few hundred (at least) years and is still there. It is therefore very unlikely to fall down all of a sudden.

If you did buy it, you might like to coppice again and allow some natural regeneration to get more variety in. That would be good for bees. It could also be that the coppice trees are a bit big and need felling soon anyway. Those large ones will give you some great timber.

Distance from home is a very important one to look at. Many other things in a woodland can be adapted and improved (like tracks) but you can't lift it up and take it nearer to home. Some people love to travel a long way to their wood to get a proper holiday. Others like to be able to pop in for a day. I would say that is one of the biggest issues to get right!

all the best and keep the questions coming. You are welcome to visit us in our woodland and pepper us with questions (E Sussex) or I am sure those in Kent would be happy to help you as well

Tracy

[Binz]

HI Kentish Man. Our wood is in weald of kent, chestnut coppice with oak standards. The chestnut wasnt coppiced for quite a while (up to 30 years) and some of the overstood chestnut are blown over fully or at an angle. If you are owning woodland for wildlife and lesure that doesnt matter too much IMHO, so long as they are safe they can just carry on growing where they lie (getting blown over doesn't often seem to kill them). Be mindful when sawing leaning trees that they can split suddenly while you are sawing.

http://ewar-woowar.blogspot.com/

Binz

[Darren]

With regards to the bees. If there isn't a local water source you can leave a tray of water near by with gravel so they don't drown.

[jillybean]

Hi Kentish Man! sound advice from the swoggers. I personally read a lot of books about woodlands, Ben Law, Oliver Rackham, Colin Tudge, Julian Evans, (there are many more), and visited many woods for sale before finding my one. Got involved in reading this forum regularly to see what issues arose. Distance from home is a big issue, In my desperation I almost bought one near Sevenoaks, it would have been a big mistake, unless one is able to move closer. Youre welcome to visit me at the wood, contact me through the website, and that goes for anyone else who wants to come and take a look around.

[Kentish Man]

Thanks for all your varied responses - it really is great to get feedback from people who have some practical experience in these matters : )



To answer why I want to buy a woodlands is fairly simple and I hope its one that many of you felt when you became interested in woodlands in the first place. The reason is that I would love to own a part of our (by-enlarge) wonderful country and to try where I can, to take an active part in conservation as far as possible in my available leisure time. Sure must beat watching TV for fun!



Being realistic, I'm not totally altruistic though and although my heart just says 'go for it man!', my head is telling me to be serious and to think about the consequences of owning a woodland in terms of finances (and paperwork - more questions on that later). I would have to raise a mortgage to fund the purchase and although the comparitive cost to our home is I guess bordering on modest, money is alas, always an issue in life. And to be clear - I'm certainly not loaded - if I was, I wouldn't think twice!



Exeldama has listed a very good number of important attributes in the whole equation and the woodlands in question ticks a large number of those boxes - distance from home (30 mins), good access, age structure, variety (so-so, in my opinion). The feel is good and the size just right. The other points - views, etc are not really an issue to me - its being somewhere that feels a bit private and peaceful - and safe, that are important to me and all get good ratings in this wood.



If I can give my head a turn on the issue of buying a woodland for a moment or two, I'd like to ask a few "investment type questions" - the ones I don't like to really think about, but know I should try to glean answers for...



Commercial value - i.e., how do you technically "value" a wood? I.e., practically speaking in terms of acreage and tree composition. Is it a case of count the trees or calculate the tree density and age range of the standard trees in addition to the coppice underwood, or is it largely just a guess. I'm just trying to ascertain, how a price is figured other than just in terms of similar market value.



I'd also like to know how woodlands stand up over time in terms of retaining that market value. There's a plethora of data available for housing, but not specifically (as far as I have found), on woodlands. For example, has anyone's woodlands here increased in real terms over the years? Also, to what extent does adding value like the forestry equivalent of adding a new bathroom to a house add financially?



Well, that takes the enjoyment out of it somewhat having written all that down, but I'd be a fool, I guess, not to think about these things...



As always, there's plenty more where they came from, but for now, thank you for reading!

[tracy]

Hi Kentish Man

Good questions! I guess a wood is 'valuable' if someone wants it. Tree quality - in small woods may not have much to do with it. Trees that look good don't always have a commercial value.

Ponds, access, soil, location - they all add up. The market value is the value, as I guess you suspect.

I believe that the value of small woods has gone up significantly in the last few years. Personally I think they will hold their value now for some time, and increase perhaps too as local timber and wood fuel become more in demand - and as people begin to take climate change more seriously.

You can add value to your woodland, so to speak, if you have a glade, keep good access, create a pond ( in the right circumstances) perhaps plant or let a variety of local species regenerate.

Hope this helps!