Should close distance be a priority when buying

[smojo]

Hi Folks, just joined here and thinking of buying a small woodland for my own pleasure and bushcraft activities. Hoping to find some answers. I wrote this in my introduction

I'm 62 now and although I love the idea of my own small private wood, it's a new venture and I know very little about the actual reality of owning and maintaining one. I have some doubts and I will be pretty much on my own with it as I have no friends or family members who are into this kind of thing. So before I go ahead and commit I'd like to ask a few questions and hopefully get some feedback from you folks.

I have seen a very attractive woodland for sale but it's about two and a half hours drive from my home. I don't mind driving but wonder if the time involved would eventually become a hindrance plus the ever increasing cost of fuel. I'm retired so have plenty of spare time and guess I'd probably like to visit at least every two weeks. Do you think distance should be considered a priority when choosing a location?

[oldclaypaws]

Not everyone is fortunate like myself to have found a wood within spitting distance-3 miles, in many cases there may simply be no woods available close to you or you might live in an urban area. (The chances of finding a small wood for sale in Chelsea are not high)

Yes fuel ain't cheap and it also takes time to get there. On the other hand if you like camping, going for the weekend to a magical location makes the distance worth while.

I'd suggest the nearer you can find a wood, the more likely it is you'll go there frequently, but there is the question of availability. You should be able to put a caravan or 'shelter' in a wood, so longer distances and weekend trips could be worth it for a 'special' location, such as a hidden valley with a babbling brook running through. Beware woods in National Parks, they come with tight planning strings- sheds and caravans can be no-no's.

[Dexter's Shed]

hi and welcome to the forum smojo, where about's are you from, maybe someone on here, if close enough would invite you to their woods to see any work involved, we have days when we get to the woods with good intentions to do a job, only to sit there all day, good conversation,relaxing and stress free.
me personally, I'd say look for somewhere a maximum of an hour away, hours is 40 minutes away, I too thought visits would be once a fortnight, but once you own a wood, you get this invisible pull that makes you want to spend every spare minute there, and therefore I reckon that much driving would not only cost in money, but also stress, thats 5 hours less time in the woods,lol

[Wendelspanswick]

We looked at woods that were anything from 50 minutes to 2.5 hrs away, in the end we were lucky enough to find our perfect location 30 minutes away.
I think buying a wood further away just means you need to be more organised, you cannot just pop home if you forget something. You would definetly need secure/hidden storage if you had a distance to travel.
Hopefully someone who travels further will be along to tell you their experience.

[Zenith]

I bought my woodland last September, at age 64, so am in a similar position to you. I had looked for a woodland for a long time, but they were always too far away. I eventually go one which is 8 miles from my home.

I'm so glad I waited because I can decide on the spur of the moment to go there, whereas if it had been further away I don't think I would have visited it so much.

My advice would be to keep looking on the various woodlands for sale sites until you get one within reasonable travelling distance and will then be able to enjoy it fully.

Let us know where you live and then perhaps people on this forum can help by keeping an eye open for anything that becomes available.

[timandsq]

Hi All
We are newbies too. Had the woodland for two years, both in early 60's and its 10 miles away. I am in heaven - distance is critical - when I stay over for the night I could be a million miles away from home. Can pop over for an afternoons logging whenever and as often as weather permits. Looking forward to getting info from the website.
good luck and best wishes
Tim and Sue

[SitkaSpruce]

I think you need to find the balance between the right wood for you and distance. There's a limited supply of woods for sale and it's very tempting just to buy as soon as something vaguely suitable comes up. For me 2.5 hrs away would be too far. My wood is 20miles away, and takes 30-40 mins to get to. I can also get there by train with a bit of a hike at the end. It does feel like too far at times even then. Other woods came up for sale later that were 10miles nearer but the time to get there is still 30mins and there's no public transport. I also like the area around my wood and as others have said feel happy there. The area around is important too- I knew the area a little from working nearby for a time, so find out more about the general area and what's going on.

[smojo]

Hey thanks a lot everyone. You know I'm pretty convinced now that distance is an issue. The one I saw was beautiful and I fell in love with it but as I said it's over an hour's drive. I can see that people get really hooked on their woods and I know for sure I would too. I'd want to go once a week for a few hours as well as stay over for a day or two camping. I do also have other hobbies and commitments so flexibility on when to go is important too. So yes I think I need to look at somewhere within an hour's drive.

For those who asked, I live in Ilkley, West Yorkshire and if anyone knows of any woods for sale in the area I'd be grateful if you could let me know. My budget is about £35K so I guess sizewise that's maybe about 3-4 acres

cheers, David (aka smojo)

[oldclaypaws]

Theres this one coming up for auction shortly which is 19 minutes away from Ilkley, 15 acres of deciduous bordering a reservoir, sounds pleasant. Estimate of £20k sounds ludicrously low to attract interest, but you never know..... Good excuse for a drive out and wander round, its always fun exploring woods for sale and it gives you a good feel for whats available.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44645783.html

[Andy M]

I think distance was very important for us - we are forty minutes away and day trips are easy and even a half day is fine. You never know what might happen - two day before completing on ours two years ago I had an unexpected diagnosis from my doctor so I am unable to do all the things we had planned for many years, but in the bad weeks I can at least get up to the woods and sit and enjoy them. On good days we can go on the spur of the moment and get on with all the small development jobs eg planting, path clearing and firewood harvesting.

We were looking for a woodland to buy for several years as there is not much available in Norfolk - we considered travelling some distance but felt that the fuel consumption was not on (from a green POV rather than financial) and are so pleased to be close.

As it turns out, the whole family enjoy our 4 acres and I expect it will remain in the family for many years.

woodland grows slowly so there are very few tasks that need to be done immediately - I can often get help from friends and pay back with a load of firewood!