Think you have probably answered your own question. But as always it depends what you want. You might want to google Lodge Hill Lane planning - there looks to be a huge development planned taking in the old MOD land. I wish I had read
http://www.woodlands.co.uk/owning-a-woo ... ters/2.pdf before I bought my wood. This might still be the wood for you- it's a good price and you get a decent area of land, but it has bridleway access all round- and as you have found is wet- that's not necessarily bad- you would just plant different trees, and the wildlife in wet woods can be v interesting. I think you should always remember it's the land you are buying- the trees already there are a bonus- they may die- or get disease- or you may chop them down. But the land and the access and the surroundings are the same. Also be aware of local planning and what you think may happen in the future in that area- new housing? new roads? wind farms? I'm in a rural area- it can be very quiet- like last Easter Sunday- but there's normally something going on- and you have to be prepared for that- in my area it recently has been tractors working, a huge felling going on in neighbouring wood, the hunt out and about- with visits from random hounds, a huge military exercise audible for miles around.
I had v little available to choose from - most land here is part of big estates- the only woodland coming up for sale was from woodlands and woods4sale buying large woods from estate land and selling them on. Each of these market bits of a wood at a time, and I went and looked at each one as they came up- and got to know the area over about a year till the bit I liked the look of came up for sale. I too had no idea about what I was looking at and indeed the "Norway spruces" that were on the sales document- are Sitka but it took me nearly a year- and a chat with a Forestry Commision man to find this out! Probably no wood will be perfect- I wish mine were nearer.
I suggest you keep looking at different woods for sale- you'll know when you find the right one for you- I never expected to buy a conifer wood- but I did!
Oh and it's normal to fall down in woods!- I do it all the time- they're full of fallen bits of wood and roots to fall over.
