Mike,
I can only speak from personal experience. Our two woods are part of a larger wood that were sub-divided and sold initially by Woodlands (Woodland Investment Managent Ltd / Woodlands.co.uk), though in our case our purchases were from the individuals who had bought from Woodlands and then decided to sell after a few years. Our woods are ancient though much of it replanted after the storms that affected southern England in the late eighties. I'm curious as to your comment about having a perimeter hedge. For the most part we're bordered by other similar plots. We've never considered any need for a perimeter hedge for reasons of privacy or security. The boundary is marked by posts and we've never had any problems. One of our woods does have about a kilometre of deer fence enclosing part of it that we put in a few years ago - but that's because we're coppicing, and deer exclusion is almost essential where we are if it's to succeeed and new growth allowed to thrive. What's your thinking behind needing a permeter hedge?
What's your budget for buying woodland? It could just be that you're not going to get what you want in the location you're looking for what you're prepared to spend
There are limits as to how much you can fell for personal use (5 cubic metres per quarter). Anything else will need a Felling License which is only likely to be granted if the work is part of a bigger plan - in our case coppice restoration. Replanting could also be a valid part of the plan. Of the twenty acres we currently have, I'd say over half of it is overdue for more thinning - both to benefit the remaining trees and to give us a source of firewood.
The coppice restoration work we did about four years ago has been fantastic to watch progress over the seasons since then, and thinning some small oaks in one area in Winter 2013/2014 is already producing a noticeable difference to the woodland floor.
Simon
