A good friend of mine is tragically dying of cancer. He has spent a good part of his retirement chopping and stacking logs for his home and he sees this as part of his duty to look after his wife. He has often explained to me how to make kindling and how to split logs efficiently and safely and, like me, he has always been interested in how other people stack their logs. This picture is one of his own log piles. Storing firewood is far more than piling logs in a corner. In the UK’s damp climate, how you stack and season wood makes a big difference to how well it burns. The secret is to keep it dry, to create airflow and to make it accessible. A rule of thumb among woodfuel users is that a well-stacked pile may be about 70% “solid wood” with about 30% air gaps, whereas loose heaps might drop to only 40% wood or less and are hard to handle. Stacking also allows you to go higher and a wood stack can be used as a temporary wall for a screen or a windbreak. Logs should be off the ground (often on pallets or a raised plinth) and arranged with small spaces between them rather than in a random heap. Ultimately moisture levels need to drop below 20%. Many people - such as my friend - use the straightforward “row stack” method: logs laid horizontally, tightly but with small air gaps, in rows on a raised base, with a cover on top but open sides. It’s functional, efficient, and relatively quick. However, more decorative or artistic stacks have become popular, sometimes as garden features, but also as a way of celebrating wood itself. One example is the Holz Hausen or "round house" where logs are arranged in a circular, inward-leaning structure to shed rain and encourage drying. Another system is crisscross or “grid” stacking (alternating orientations by layer) to add structural strength while allowing airflow. Sometimes hobbyists create log mosaics or colour-sorted stacks, either by colour of the wood or the bark to build visual patterns. There have even been stacks shaped as domes, cubes, or sculptures. Some “log art” images show stacked owl or heart shapes, or wood as garden sculpture. The Dull Men’s Club is a UK group celebrating “mundane” hobbies and they frequently share pictures of beautiful wood stacks. In some rural UK properties, it’s not unusual to see stacks that form entire sheds or rows along wood sheds measuring over 10 metres long. Some woodland owners will harvest and stack multiple seasons’ worth of fuel, turning their woodlot into a homegrown energy store. The Dull Men's Club website says that they do a lot "more than watch the paint dry." An emerging idea is that wood fuel is virtuous as a locally grown energy source. People with small woodlands or hedgerows may plan rotational coppicing or tree thinning with the intent to supply their own heating. The idea is: plant a tree today, in 20–40 years it's fuel, stack it well, burn it in winter. Fuel from your land, stacked carefully, can contribute to sustainability. The old saying is that it warms you three times - when you cut it, when you handle it and when you burn it. Stacking firewood is a humble but fascinating intersection of craft, utility, and sometimes artistry. Smart stacking is almost as important as the wood itself.  And for those treating wood as a renewable, grown-on-your-land fuel, it becomes a statement of independence and planning. For some people their "firewood legacy" will be more than just the years' supply of firewood they have left behind, but will also be what they have passed on to others about how to handle and store firewood.

In her first budget as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves introduced a series of tax adjustments intended to raise additional revenue. While the headline measure was an increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, two other changes have a more direct impact on woodland and forestry owners: a rise in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and a reduction in Agricultural Property Relief (APR). Capital Gains Tax: Higher Rates, Immediate Impact The increase in CGT, from 20% to 24%, is likely to influence woodland sales and ownership decisions. Unlike agricultural land, CGT on woodlands applies only to the increase in land value, not the timber growing on it. This distinction benefits woodland owners by allowing them to potentially reduce their CGT liability, provided they obtain valuations for the timber at the time of purchase and sale. However, the higher rate may discourage woodland sales, as owners now face a larger tax bill. With the effect of the rate increase being immediate, many owners may choose to hold onto their woodlands for longer, which could have an indirect impact on the supply and demand of land suitable for forestry. Agricultural Property Relief: Tightening Inheritance Tax Relief Agricultural Property Relief, or APR, is a longstanding relief mechanism that exempts certain landowners from Inheritance Tax (IHT) if the land is classified as agricultural. While it might not seem relevant to forestry, commercially managed woodlands qualify under APR, allowing woodland owners to reduce their IHT burden, often to zero. However, Reeves’ budget has placed new limits on this relief. Under the new rules, commercially managed woodlands valued up to £1 million will still benefit from IHT relief. However, for estates exceeding this value, the IHT exemption is now capped, with any value over £1 million taxed at a reduced rate of 20% rather than the usual 40%. While the cap still offers a significant tax advantage, the change is a blow to larger woodland estates, many of which previously enjoyed full exemption. How Big Landowners are Affected This shift in APR has sparked a backlash among prominent landowners. Jeremy Clarkson, known for his 1,000-acre farm, and James Dyson, who owns roughly 36,000 acres, are among those likely to be impacted. For estates of this scale, even at the reduced IHT rate, tax liabilities could amount to millions: roughly £2 million for Clarkson and up to £72 million for Dyson. However, the budget changes leave room for maneuver. Landowners can avoid these new IHT liabilities by transferring land to their heirs well in advance of their passing, with a minimum of seven years required to ensure these assets fall outside of IHT calculations. Smaller Woodland Owners: Minimal Impact For smaller woodland owners, the impact of this budget is limited. Estates under £1 million in value will retain full APR benefits, and as long as their woodlands are commercially managed—whether by having a management plan or demonstrating some level of timber income—the IHT relief will remain. Timber income remains tax-free, and woodlands are still exempt from business rates, leaving smaller owners largely untouched by the budget changes. Final Thoughts While the budget introduces challenges for some, particularly larger landowners, smaller woodland owners who manage their land commercially are less affected. The Chancellor's adjustments aim to close gaps that previously benefited wealthy estates while preserving essential reliefs for those managing woodlands as smaller, income-generating enterprises. As the dust settles, these changes may encourage long-term holding strategies among larger estates, potentially reshaping the landscape of woodland ownership and management in the UK.

Mesquite is the name given to a number of leguminous shrubs or trees that belong to the genus Prosopis. Many of these plants are native to southern parts of the United  States and Mexico, though one species is native to South America - Argentina. Generally, they are plants of very dry (arid or xeric) regions.  They have the capacity to form very long, deep roots that seek water deep underground. The trees / shrubs are deciduous and their leaves are pinnate (a compound form of leaf); they are also thorny.  The trees produce flowers through Spring and Summer, and the seeds (beans) form in pods.  The trees can be used as a source of timber (for furniture, and in the past ship building). Read more...

For some years now, the United Nations has promoted an ‘international day of forests’.  Essentially, the day is a celebration of forests and woodlands; it seeks to raise awareness and importance of all types of woodland (large or small).  Woodlands and forests offer a wide range of ‘ecological services’ : Read more...

A small contingent set off from Woodlands HQ in SE London to visit Kew Gardens.  A trip to Kew is always a pleasure but there were a number of things that had induced us to face the rigours of the South Circular - notably The restoration of the temperate house The exhibition of “a legacy of ancient oaks” by Mark Frith A visit to the gallery of Marianne North’s paintings / work It was a beautiful sunny but autumnal day  We arrived and accessed the car park near the river via Ferry Lane (where there are a good number of disabled spaces - which is not always the case at certain public venues / attractions).  A short walk took us to the Brentford Gate and into the gardens.  For those with limited mobility (or stamina), there is a Kew Explorer stop nearby.   Here you can board the Kew Explorer Land train which runs each day between 11 am and 3 pm.  A complete tour of the Gardens takes  about 40 minutes and ticket holders can get on and off at any stop on the route, re-boarding the ‘train’ when ready. Read more...

In these days when just about anything is available, delivered to your door with just a few taps on an app, I have introduced my own delivery service for some of our woodland owners – delivering to their woods rather than their homes.   The product or maybe that should be by-product, is sawdust, all neatly bagged up and deposited where it is most needed namely close by their composting loos. Not the sort of thing that is going to qualify me for a slot on Dragons Den, but satisfying in that (a) a “waste” product is put to good use and (b) the woodland owners are very appreciative. How did it start? Read more...

The worst thing about cutting logs with a chainsaw is all the bending down and picking up, stacking and generally time spent not actually cutting. Richard Bowness and Steve Tonkin have solved the problem - they make a sawhorse with a set of ingenious "cups" that space out branches for cutting and holding the cut logs. There is a hinge so that the cut logs can then be tipped into a wheelbarrow. "Actually," explains Steve, "the name 'truncator' was suggested by our patent agent but it describes well what this device does - helps to cut up trunks and also truncates the task. We make the cups out of recycled plastic from old car batteries: this sort of plastic is particularly strong and doesn't splinter if it gets caught by a chainsaw." Read more...

Beech woodland is native to Southern England and Wales (roughly, south of a line drawn from The Wash to the The Severn).  However, in some parts of the country, beech has been planted systematically, for example, John Holliday of Staffordshire planted some 94000 beech in 1791.  Beech is found throughout Central and Western Europe. It is generally found on freely draining (drier) soils (chalks, limestones and light loams) such as found in the Cotswolds, Chilterns and the Downs. Read more...