Woodlands.co.uk

Woodlands.co.uk: small woodlands for sale across Britain

Woodlands.co.uk is a family-founded business that buys larger woodlands and divides them into smaller, manageable plots for sale. The company states it has been working for over twenty years to bring woodland ownership to more people, and that it has created and sold hundreds of small woods across Britain with the help of Local Managers.

The operation began with the family's own purchase of a small wood thirty-six years ago, an experience that led them to start the company so that others could own a wood of their own. The business is run by Woodland Investment Management Ltd.

How the woodlands are prepared

Woodlands.co.uk purchases many acres of woodland around the UK and then creates more manageable plots from them. The company states that it ensures good access and, wherever possible, uses natural boundaries such as streams, historic woodbanks, or long-established paths and tracks. Existing tracks are cleared and graded, sometimes revealing old paths hidden beneath undergrowth, and new pathways are sometimes made. Boundaries are marked clearly but inconspicuously, and secure gates are installed.

The company does not divide a wood to the point where any one plot is too small, and it requires purchasers to enter into a covenant that prevents them from doing so either.

Woods and land offered

The website lists woodlands for sale across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, organised by region. It also offers tree planting land and other land for sale, including lakes and rivers, and meadows and fields. At the time of writing, the new woodlands section showed examples such as Silverwald Wood near Knaresborough in North Yorkshire, Harepath Wood near Truro in Cornwall, Haventhorpe Wood near Hartlepool in County Durham, Soames Meadow in Benenden, Kent, and Pheasant Meadow and Partridge Meadow near Penrith in Cumbria. These listings included details such as acreage, a short description and an asking price.

Buying and owning a woodland

The site provides guidance on why to buy a woodland, choosing a woodland, how to buy, legal and finance guides, and how the company supports its buyers. It also covers owning a wood, with practical guides on planning legislation, trees and tree felling, access, tracks and boundaries, insurance, and woodland grants. A recommended solicitors section and a covenant are also part of the buying information.

For owners, the site addresses activities such as looking after a wood, shelters and sheds, loos and water, wildlife conservation, camping and bushcraft, and planting your own wood.

Selling a woodland

Woodlands.co.uk invites owners to sell a wood to the company, with a dedicated section explaining the process.

Resources and community

The website includes a blog, WoodlandsTV videos, tree and wild flower identification guides, a monthly mushroom feature, and practical guides on subjects such as pests and diseases, unusual and exotic trees, foraging, traditional skills and wood as fuel. It also offers a suppliers directory, Living Woods Magazine, books and magazines, courses, free posters, and information on the Small Woodlands Owners Group, an informal online network of woodland owners throughout Britain that the company says it has sponsored. The company also mentions meeting people at Regional Wood Fairs and has a stand at these events.

The stated objectives of Woodlands.co.uk are to spread woodland ownership more widely, to give people wider knowledge and understanding of woodlands through its website, to encourage adventurous and creative activities in a woodland setting, and to make woodlands more available for use by small organised groups.