Hi Guys

[oldclaypaws]

Zoopla has 31 properties on Leashaw with an average value of £450,000.

The wood is pocket money in that neighbourhood.

[Bearwood]

Hi Boxerman,

I've stayed away from this discussion for a while for a couple of reasons, mainly because I've been too busy, but also because you've had a lot of excellent information already...

Nevertheless, I can give you some encouragement as I searched the same area when I was looking for woodland and found one in South Derbyshire for a reasonable price. I think we paid £4500 or so per acre of 15 year old plantation (although there are 200+ year old specimens of ash on the periphery).

I can suggest that if you look towards Staffordshire, NW Leicestershire and South Derbyshire, you will find reasonably priced examples come up frequently as farmers are releasing swathes of land planted with the assistance and under the guise of National Forest/EWG schemes. These examples have earned their money for the farmers who have now taken the grant payments and wish to dispose of the land because it must remain woodland for a further 30 years before it can be felled )

[Lincswood]

Hi Boxerman, as a fellow motorcyclist, BeeMer rider and relatively new woodland owner, I can tell you that getting my little wood was the best thing I've ever done, even if I did take a risk and stick it on the mortgage! I figured that whatever I paid for it would seem minimal a few decades down the line...
I'm currently writing this from Paris, where I'm stuck working, after a stint in Valencia and Amsterdam before that. I can tell you that I can't wait to get back to the wood when I return to the UK on Sunday.
If you're ever riding out in the Lincolnshire direction, I would be happy to show you around it, if it helps you make up your mind. And by the way, my 79-year-old father loves helping me felling, splitting, stacking and - of course - burning the wood, so you've hopefully got at least a couple of decades still left in the tank!

[boxerman]

Thanks for those suggestions, Bearwood. It is interesting to note that they do come up at cheaper prices. However, I'm coming into this fully knowing that it'll be 2 or 3 years before I'm likely to be able to find the funding which gives me time to learn a few basics and try and understand the whys and wherefores of some of what's involved and needed. Whether I'd be happy with a 15 year old plantation I don't know - my dream has always been based on the beauty and splendour of Ancient Woodland but in practice that's unlikely to happen because of cost and availability. I have time to keep an eye on what's available, visit a few woods to get the feel of what works for me and what doesn't and who knows what bargains may jump out if I'm not rushing (forever optimistic.....)

Many thanks for the offer, Lincswood - I do think one of the first things I need to be doing is visiting a few woods to get a feel for things so you may well hear from me before to long to try and arrange a visit - could be very useful.

Many thanks to all who have replied with their positive comments - I think you've cleared most of my doubts about the practicalities of this and I'm now pretty convinced that it's a route I want to go - all I need is the funds.....

[oldclaypaws]

You could do a lot worse than keeping an eye on woodlands4sale, they add woods every week and seem quite geared towards people after smaller woods. I can see quite a few pleasant 2 acre ancient wood sections they've sold in the £15K- £20K price bracket- at a fixed price. By comparison, auctions can get your hopes up and be disappointing; if you like it, so will others. Our wood was intensely fought over and went for 4 times estimate at auction, higher prices than the surrounding prime agricultural land. The underbidder wanted the timber, which is high £ value, but also has a high ecological value that should be cherished.

Woodlands.co.uk seem typically to have 'larger small woods', (if that's not a contradiction) at around 4-5 acres and typically about £45K.

You'd still get a rewarding experience from 2 acres, although if it was possible to stretch to just a bit more, I reckon 3 - 5 acres is a nice size to have. Can't imagine what 40 acres would be like, a bit daunting- most of it would have to fend for itself, that would be a full time job to look after and you'd need quite a bit of kit to do a thorough job (?). I've friends with 48 acres on steep ground, they're in their 60's. They spend much of their time observing wildlife, by the time they've walked round once (it took us about 1.5 hours), they're shattered !

A possibility to consider is trying to join with a couple of pals to get one jointly, or to get a feel without spending anything, volunteer for a local wildlife / countryside group; they do stuff like clearing paths on reserves, maintaining hedges, etc- you'd spend time in woods, make pals, get fit, and get a flavour without the £££.

[Dexter's Shed]

we bought ours from woodland4sale, now the sales pages tell you the price shown is set in stone, so we paid the amount, one of our neighbours however made offers on both his plots, and got them at quite a discount, I suppose the old saying is true, you don't ask, you don't get

his first plot saved him enough to buy a very nice landy defender, and the second he paid for stock fencing around the boundary

[boxerman]

Well, I've spent much of the last week pondering over what everyone here has said and you've convinced me that this vague, 50 year old dream, isn't as silly as I wondered if it might be..... OK, I know I'm only going to get one side of the view from here as you're all addicts anyway but I think the decision is now made - it's just a question of what and when.

What I finally end up with will probably bear no resemblance to what I'd see as my ideal because of costs, locations etc. but it would be good to get views, additions, criticisms etc of my view of the perfect wood from this distance if anyone would care to offer them..

1) No more than 30 - 60 minutes from home.
2) 4 - 5 acres of Ancient Woodland. (I am in the right location for that but suspect none will appear).
3) Small stream or pond.
4) No TPO's and not SSSI.
5) No public footpaths running through the property.
6) Good, dry and firm access road.
7) Full shooting and mineral rights.
8) Freehold property - really not interested in leasehold even if it is 999 years.

I'm sure there's a 1001 other things that I've not considered so please feel to suggest them or to shoot me down in flames..... I'm on a learning curve here!

[oldclaypaws]

The downside to streams and ponds or river banks is they can come accompanied by boggy bits and seasonal flooding, especially if on slow draining level ground, so it can inhibit access, and bring biting beasties like midges and mozzies. Avoid woods on steep inclines- too much like hard work. (Thats a significant %, many woods are there because they can't be used for agriculture due to the nature of the ground). You might want to avoid AONB's and National Parks; although scenic, strict planning = no shed/cabin. Best to have a mix of tree species and ages rather than all similar. Also good to have established hedges / boundaries rather than open sides. Try to pick one out of earshot of busy roads, and avoid close proximity to 'popular' residential areas, the local kids will be using it to get up to all sorts of mischief. Coniferous are cheaper but darker, less wildlife and less seasonal interest; whereas broadleaves change virtually week by week and support a wealth of different birds, mammals and flora. No harm in visiting as many woods for sale within range as possible, just to get a feel for what's on offer, vendors are usually happy for potential buyers to wander round, you dont have to reveal your bank balance, just say your interested in buying a wood.

If you apply all these criteria along with affordability, the choice can be thin and patience is required, just as well you're saving as the hunt can take years, took me about 4 years to find the right one.

[Dexter's Shed]

1) No more than 30 - 60 minutes from home.

shouldn't be a problem, ours is about 40 minutes


3) Small stream or pond.

you can always add a pond yourself


4) No TPO's and not SSSI.

ancient woodland will have TPO's on them, but dont worry, your still allowed to carry out woodland management and cut stuff down without asking approval

5) No public footpaths running through the property.

good choice, ours has one on a boundary, but not through

6) Good, dry and firm access road.

ours was in the summer, gets very muddy in the wet/winter, you'll need an excuse anyway to buy that 4x4

7) Full shooting and mineral rights.

that's quite funny, as I wanted full sporting rights, being a pest controller and owning lots of guns and rifles, woods have a strange affect on you, in 14 months I've only shot a few squirrels


there's a few answers from me!

[SimonFisher]

ancient woodland will have TPO's on them, but dont worry, your still allowed to carry out woodland management and cut stuff down without asking approval

Not necessarily - ours is ancient woodland and there are no TPOs.