I think oldclaypaws raised an interesting point in the discussion on the thread 'prior notification for a shed' - are people really putting up sheds for 'forestry purposes' or as modest holiday homes?
Prior to owning a woodland I too dreamt of our little 'cabin in the wood', but now we own a woodland I think very differently. I understand planners getting upset with the way some people misuse the planning laws. Who can blame them for getting stricter - something that then affects genuine applications? But I still see the huge benefit of having some sort of shelter.
Last winter, before we had a shed, we relied on a tarp and a Kelly Kettle. Whilst that was great to protect us from the rain it didn't shelter us from the biting wind, so we invested in a windbreak. It didn't help much, we still froze everytime we stopped to make a hot drink on the Kelly Kettle. Next we bought a cheap pop-up tent and large thermos flask - definitely an improvement - one minute to put up and put away; totally windproof and waterproof.
But now we have a shed, are we tempted to make it into a little holiday home? ... No... Much of the work in the wood is done in the cold winter months. The days are short and by the time the dark draws in (4pm) we are ready to go home to a hot bath and comfortable bed. We are going to put a small gas hob in the shed because it will enable us to make a quick hot drink or heat up a couple of tins of beans, etc - the days are short so we don't want to spend time messing around with small fires etc. We are also planning to put in a small woodburner just so we can warm up when we do take a break. More than once we have been forced home early because we got too chilled (and that is despite numerous layers of clothing, but maybe that is because our wood is still largely a naturally regenerating site and does not have much shelter).
That is not to say we do not want to sleep down the wood. But that is more likely to be in the summer months and the whole family prefer the idea of camping. Tents around a firepit is more attractive than squeezing into a shed. The 28 days we are allowed to do that are more than sufficient for a working family. But it will be good to know that the shed is there to act as a dry day shelter if the weather turns wet.
Sheds are expensive to build (you can quickly be talking several thousand pounds). Our 6m x 4m one seems huge for a family of 7, all our wellies, handtools, tables/chairs, etc. We are planning to insulate it this winter but even going for seconds quality materials this is going to set us back about £500. If money is no object then this is not an issue, but for most of us it is - large is not necessarily the best.
I know this post is likely to raise some objections, but I also know that my thoughts on sheds before we bought our wood were influenced by the romantic descriptions of cabins in the woods. Perhaps, people sharing how they benefit from their sheds, would help those still planning to put one up to be more realistic.
