Swiss CHris

Good evening. I hope some general views can be obtained here as I have a taxing issue that as a small woodland owner, I am having issues with. Neighbour has a right of way across one side of my wood and has recently expressed a view that he wants to extract a load of oak and the only way of getting it from his property to wherever is by using the ROW. A general discussion took place and I was gleefully told that I should not worry, all the work will be undertaken by my neighbour and that some sort of arrangement can occur. All informal at present but a few issues arise. I am sorry to be somewhat lengthy here. The ROW has not been used for many many years. The land between point one and two of the ROW is very populated with some nice trees that may get in the way of his activity. The land is quite wet in places, I was informed that i need not worry as they would simply put brush down to avoid any damage. I was also told that I could get a few nice trees out of it for firewood ( I am not naive here). How should I approach discussions with my neighbour about use of the ROW as it will need a lot of work on and also the character of this part of the wood will significantly change? I am worried that he is trying to hood wink me here. I can of course be quite obstinate of course! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, is there any forester in the Mid Devon area here wanting a bit of a project as the wood needs quite a bit of work on and I simply do not have the time needed to manage the whole wood actively? Many thanks in advance Christopher

Thanks for the replies, only just looked at them after a few days, Nice to see that a bit of contention has entered my post. Was not expecting such a reply. 'It's just lopping off a few overhanging branches' - sadly not. The photographs do not do justice. Try making holes in my boundry, but hey, you need to see it to get the full picture. Said ash delivered, cutting it up tonight. Enough Ash for at least two winters. Said licence from FC delivered and Right of Way issue with the general public being sorted. Not bad a result if I say so myself. Anyone want to buy my large oak tree mentioned in other post for furniture, going to be cut up for logs if not. Cheers

Evening. Went to my wood over the weekend and the forestry Commission have been on my property, they have undertaken the work as in the photograph in 7 seperate sections of my boundry. FC are undertaking significant felling in their land and have crossed my land to get to theirs. They have a permissive right of way on my road which leads to the FC land. The negatives are as follows. 1) They did not make contact with me to discuss / gain consent to undertake such work 2) They have made a mess of my boundry, nice tight holly in places before 3) It's a bloddy mess The positives are as follows 1) After venting my views to FC they have agreed to clear up the mess and cut + stack all wood for me to burn next winter. 2) They have granted me rights to gather any wood from their land when they have finished their substantial work 3) They have also stated (not yet delivered) that they will give me a large load of the ash that they have felled. I can burn it but also if it is the size they are talking about, I can do some bartering etc with friends. Large is on the industrial scale considering the machinery they ae using. 4) An apology was given. I have not been to the wood since and am waiting for a letter from FC. The right of way issue with the general public and shooting parties is for another day. Do you think that a fair compromise has been reached?

Ok folks, my first attempt at pictures of the oak. Three pictures attached. My apologies for the poor quality, the digital camera was lost, only to have been found under car seat today. The tree is solid, your views are sought about the tree but also another point that has arisen, put into Forestry and Woodland management forum. If the pictures are not worthy of comment, please PM me and I shall email to you.

The wood is in Exbourne, close to Okehampton. Have not been able to roll it due to it being so big. Decay surely would be an issue on the bottom. Can measure it at the weekend too. Cheers CV

Evening all. Once again, this site is the greatest! I have a large oak tree down in my wood, it has been down a while (ever since I owned the wood which is now 9 years) and am looking to get it out. It must weigh two tons but is difficult to get out of the wood. the hedge would need removing or preferably a telehandler can get to it. It is very solid, needs to be kept in a barn for a couple of years and then would be wonderful for furniture etc. do not realy want to log it. Access is good, leads to FC land but is my road so you can take as long as you want when getting it out. Anyone interested. Woodland is in mid devon. PM me if interested. Cheers Chris

OK, Woodland Grant Schemes has not been considered. I am in Devon, woodland is near Exbourne if anyone knows where that is. The wood is quite dense, has not been touched for about 50 yrs. It has taken me 6 yrs at weekend to get it looking better. I have no issues with the boundry, access is good. Thanks for your quick replies. Christopher

Afternoon. I have 6 acres of Deciduous woodland comprising of mainly silver birch and hazel of varying maturity. Parts of the wood are a mess but where I have worked it's OK. I have a very poor boundry that needs repairing and to finance this, I feel that offering part of the wood, say 1/6 of the wood to someone to fell / thin in part payment for a fence. Does this sound mad? Is 1/6 enough. How is the best way to divide the wood into areas for clearing / thinning etc? How is the best way to advertise the wood up for grabs? Do people pay for the wood by the ton or area? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Christopher

Hello, am new to the site. excellent knowledge base! Yep. 6.4 acres in Devon. Old coppice woodland. Bought in 2002. Am now getting up to speed with the management but glad I heat my hose from the wood in todays climate, no central heating you see. Chris