woodland plotholders only

[smojo]

So this topic is to explore the ins and outs of being a plotholder in a bigger woodland. I reckon it has a few advantages. Gives a sense of security knowing there are neighbours to keep an eye on things and sometimes a helping hand. Advice from more experienced folks? What else?

What might the downsides be - do you get troublesome neighbours in any way? So far I have seen no-one when I've visited my intended wood (except a guy who said his mate had a plot there)

Do you have any sort of committee or get together to discuss the overall running of the woods? Do you have a contact list of other neighbours? And do you identify your own patch by putting a sign up with the name of your wood and maybe your contact details in case there's a problem and someone needs to contact you as the owner?

[Dexter's Shed]

when we bought ours, we never saw a living soul for months, and you hear me say that on many of our video's.
but slowly we met other plot holders, and after chatting find out we all have similar views on what to do in our woods
one of our best fellow plot holders made us up a name sign

there's around 4 plot holders that enjoy being part of a group, and between us we own 9 plots, theres a few other plot holders that have answered e mails, or bumped into at the woods, that seem less inclined to "join in".
we have a facebook group only for us owners, a good place to post on your visits, others can then leave replies etc
I seem to have started a trend, as a week after us dragging goose dynasty hq into the woods, owl wood bought one, and now barnaby's wood has one too

[smojo]

Cool. Hey Dexter - by the way I'm trying to find a way on here to find your videos other than trawling through all your posts. Is there an easy way?

[Dexter's Shed]

yes mate, click on this video, then subscribe to my channel and watch via you tube

http://youtu.be/JhXOKrEZURA

you might also want to subscribe to my mates channel, as he does a lot better editing video's than me, he's our head ranger lewis

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTGz0v ... xsC3TP2eeg

[Binz]

Other advantages coudl be that a large area of wood could be better for wildlife than an isolated small patch and that being in a larger wood the surrounding trees will absorb a lot of noise from nearby roads, etc. A small wood could get more light but if your patch of a bigger wood is on the edge or has wide rides next to it that shouldn't be an issue.

[oldclaypaws]

I looked at some .co.uk woods in a block of six or so near me. They'd made good efforts to mark the boundaries with different coloured posts, and you did feel part of a more expansive area. I wouldn't have had a problem with neighbours, the reason I didnt proceed was I didnt like the actual wood; it was very boggy ('soft green areas') and choked by Rhodo's, it hadn't had maintenance for a century, a feature they tried to sell as 'unexplored'.

[SitkaSpruce]

I have positive and negative thoughts about being part of a lotted wood. I have my own entrance so often don't see any other owners but it does make me feel a bit safer to think there may be others around. There have been problems with trespass and flytipping so there being more people about hopefully helps deter this.We have had some joint events or met at events elsewhere so there is a social side to it and it's good to meet others with similar interests. We don't have any formal kind of arrangement. As was suggested you feel part of a bigger whole as your view extends into other parts of the woods and this must be good for wildlife too. I have email contact with one owner.

On the down side there can be noise so if you fancy a quiet sit in the woods, someone else may be revving away with a chainsaw. However we are in a rural area - there's often tractor noise etc. I do wonder what it will be like when all the plots are sold as it's quite a big wood and that's a bit of a concern. When all the current owners are present it does look a bit suburban with a car on every entrance. Each wood will probably be managed slightly differently and I wonder if there will be problems in the future if e.g. an area is felled - leaving another's wood wind prone.

The big positive is that I was able to buy a wood at an affordable price in an area near enough to get to. Most land here is held by big estates and when woodland is sold it is in huge and therefore expensive blocks often in very inaccessible places. I bought from Woodlands.co.uk. The wood is clearly marked out and named with a locked gate and they had levelled parking and camping areas and put some paths in so you do get something more for the extra you pay.