Considering buying a woodlands

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suenosch

Member
Jul 1, 2009
18
0
Chester
My wife and I looked at woodlands as an activity for winter over 4 years ago. Its amazing how much variety there is. We thought that we would never find one that we actually wanted to own, and then found one that fitted our purposes. We bought it and have never regretted it. It puts a completely different perspective on life.

Its a good idea to form a check list of the things you think a woodland should provide, and look at as many as you possibly can. Our approach to structures is to keep everything as simple as possible and try to keep a small footprint. Anything that we choose to leave has very little value and is protected from the elements by a tarpaulin. That's how our wood store works. Its in a breezy spot with good protection from rain, and the wood dries out quickly there.

My impression is that when people go in for elaborate structures, they tend to run out of energy and enthusiasm after an initial burst of activity. So then they stop visiting their woodland and it becomes uncared for. Doing things with knowledge and efficiency helps a great deal to preserve energy and enthusiasm, which in turn results in application and improvement.

One of the things that you are likely to find if you own a woodland is that you do much more woodland management than you might have expected. Its not quite the same as bushcraft. There are factors like thinning, path maintenance, view maintenance and boundaries to consider. How do you encourage wildlife, and manage habitat? Its not that bushcraft is redundant, far from it. Its just that there are other factors that will assume a new importance.

We used solicitors specialising in land conveyancing. They helped a great deal, for example with things like environmental searches.

Anyway, I hope that you find what you are looking for. If you enjoy it half as much as we have enjoyed the experience so far, you will have a wonderful time.
 

Nonsuch

Life Member
Sep 19, 2008
1,862
1
Scotland, looking at mountains
I thought about this, and probably would buy if I lived in England, but in Scotland with our OAC I prefer to go and use someone else's woods! I take a canoe and paddle to a remote loch shore and have thousands of acres to myself. If you own the woods, you face problems with neds and their "fires", pilfering, vandalism, fly-tippers, plus all the woodland management chores. My friend Wane Jones's woods are regularly vandalised by the local morons.

Good luck though if that is what you want.
 

woof

Full Member
Apr 12, 2008
3,647
5
lincolnshire
Not really a viable business option!! From past experience and looking on here most "Bushy" types want to camp for free or pay as little as possible!! I own a fishery and charge £10 per 12 hrs - not many on here would pay that to camp in the woods!!!!

Lol !, thats what i figured Graham, looks like i'll be boring & purchase a property to rent out.

Rob
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,691
710
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Got a mate with some woodland in Scotland, he's got a static caravan, a touring caravan and a couple of sheds there. He's built a composting toilet that works surprisingly well and there's a good few people using it.
He's a very practical lad, his wife is also very practical (as well as being quite easy on the eyes) and they both work hard on the place to maintain it with chainsaws and so on.
Its big enough that arseing about with axes isn't really practical. Fine for recreation but chainsaws are just faster.

One point is that he gets on well with the people who live close and its far enough from the nearest village that there's not many people who are "just passing".
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,422
614
Knowhere
You don't need planning permission to build a shed in woodland you need an exemption from planning pemission :) Ie. you need to show that the shed is for forestry purposes before you build it. If you don't and they find out (If neighbours or anyone using the wood can see it expect the local authority to find out) then you need retrospective planning permission which is more difficult and costly. Forestry purposes can include shelter but the design needs to be primarily for forestry equipment and you need to show that you have been actively managing and have a forestry plan.

Yes but what is the problem there? If you build a genuinely temporary and moveable structure, and the powers that be don't like it, you just do as you are told, be a good boy and take it down. I'd be more worried about my responsibilities for maintaining the boundary fences and access than anything else.
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,422
614
Knowhere
One of the things that you are likely to find if you own a woodland is that you do much more woodland management than you might have expected. Its not quite the same as bushcraft. There are factors like thinning, path maintenance, view maintenance and boundaries to consider. How do you encourage wildlife, and manage habitat? Its not that bushcraft is redundant, far from it. Its just that there are other factors that will assume a new importance.

We used solicitors specialising in land conveyancing. They helped a great deal, for example with things like environmental searches.

Anyway, I hope that you find what you are looking for. If you enjoy it half as much as we have enjoyed the experience so far, you will have a wonderful time.

I am sure that is true enough, when my family considered the purchase of woodland more than a decade ago we went into this seriously, either my brother or I would have done a woodland management course, and we even paid for surveys on those woodlands we were particularly interested in. In the end we decided against it.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
All very good points.



In the UK at least some of the mineral rights issue is easy. If it's fuel or precious metals, you don't get the rights, they're taken by the government. Other mineral rights are in private hands and may or may not have been passed on with the land itself...

It's not all that different here. As you say some mineral rights may be passed on with the sale of the land itself or may be retained. But most states maintain some type of vested interest in the mineral rights. Mississippi for example keeps 1/2 of all mineral rights; Florida on the other hand doesn't have any mineral rights per se but rather they tax 1/2 of all proceeds from said rights so that the net effect is the same.
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,691
710
-------------
Yes but what is the problem there? If you build a genuinely temporary and moveable structure, and the powers that be don't like it, you just do as you are told, be a good boy and take it down. I'd be more worried about my responsibilities for maintaining the boundary fences and access than anything else.

Shipping containers can be converted into very good storage, office and living space. secure and comparatively easy to move about.
Masses of information about how to convert them on the link above.
 

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