Frequently Asked Questions

The questions we are most often asked about Buying a Wood are covered on this page. If you can't find what you were looking for here, try investigating our FAQ on Buying a Wood.

What sort of things can I do in my woodland?
Do I need to get anyone's permission to cut a few trees down?
What about going to the loo when I'm there?
Where can I best get details of courses to learn about woodland care, coppicing, green woodworking etc?
Am I allowed to put in more tracks and paths?
How will it work if there is a shared access track?
What maintenance contributions are usually needed for access tracks?
If there is a locked gate how will that work?

What sort of things can I do in my woodland?

You can walk, camp, climb, make camp fires, study wildlife or work with wood.

With your own wood you can do things that aren't possible in "public" woods - plant trees, make clearings and build ponds. For many woodland owners there is a satisfaction in owning a small piece of the British countryside and being able to manage it and contribute to the environment.

There are so many things that people can do in their woodlands that we have made a list!. We also run a blog which discusses just this kind of thing.

Do I need to get anyone's permission to cut a few trees down?

The Forestry Commission is the relevant authority and their rules allow all the cutting you are likely to want to do. In particular, they only count as trees those that are above 8cm at breast height. Beyond that, you can without permission cut five cubic metres of timber in any one calendar quarter. This represents about a skip full of useable timber every 3 months and so gives plenty of scope for management and glade/path creation. It is now generally seen as desirable to have some glades or clearings in woodland so you will not have problems if your cutting is sensible. In our experience the Forestry Commission is am extremely helpful organisation and the individuals at the local office are keen to help and are increasingly promoting objectives that do not just relate to growing timber.

If your woodland is subject to a TPO (tree preservation order) then other rules apply and you should get advice from the Forestry Commission before cutting anything.

What about going to the loo when I'm there?

Many people find that if they are camping in their wood for a few days it is worth making an "earth closet". This can be a hole in the ground with a strong bucket placed upside down over it. If you have a container of old ashes from the campfire you can use this instead of a flush! Other people just keep a spade and roll of loo paper available and to hand. Margaret has written an article on woodland toilets, which provides a practical guide to making one.

Where can I best get details of courses to learn about woodland care, coppicing, green woodworking etc?

There is a section of our links page with lots of good woodland courses from coppicing to school trips and charcoal burning to chair-making - the links section is at our links for various woodlands courses

The SWA (Small Woods Association) is very good on all this. They have information on their website which is linked from our main links page or you can contact them by phone.

Am I allowed to put in more tracks and paths?

Yes! Mostly this can be done without the need for any tree felling and will allow you to plan and do forestry operations and lots of other things with your woodland. Track building is great fun and almost essential for getting to know your woodland and for managing it.

How will it work if there is a shared access track?

One or two other woodland owners may have a right of way over the same access track as you. This means there is a shared interest in maintaining it. We have found that these arrangements work well. We usually retain formal ownership of such tracks but we have found that owners usually adopt it and look after it for their purposes.

What maintenance contributions are usually needed for access tracks?

People often worry about the costs of maintenance but with modern equipment (diggers, graders etc) it is surprisingly cheap to look after these tracks. We do ask for a covenant that the owner will contribute to the upkeep according to use. The one time when we did ask an owner to repair the track themselves was when the owner had badly chewed up the track with their 4-wheel drive vehicle. They saw the sense in it and got a machine in to repair/upgrade the track.

If there is a locked gate how will that work?

All owners who have a right to use the track will have a key. We are happy to send out a key as soon as contracts have been exchanged so that the buyers can get on and enjoy their wood as soon as possible. If an owner wants to have their own exclusive padlock they can put this in series with ours so that using either padlock will release the chain.