I could see such a thing working in London too. Only issue being in the UK, if you want to go anywhere else outside London it becomes harder.
Iâm not so sure it would work in London.
There was talk a while back about making Oxford St closed to private vehicles during the day, and taxi/delivery drivers (who would have been exempt anyway) made a right fucking rukkus about not being able drive there
Yeah, I agree those living there would be up in arms about the idea but every time Iâve been in central London the idea of needing a car feels utterly stupid.
1 Like
Yo KopstarâŚ
Good to see a potential, yet conscientious forester in the making :0)
As with purchasing any woodland, large or small⌠would be good to list down the overall intentions, referenced by timeline span, then again, by your ultimate endgame intentions.
Well that is the method I would use anyhow.
Soooooo, as I was told many years ago:
âSoftwood Plantations are just Another Cash Crop⌠Similar to a Field of Grain or VegetablesââŚ
Unlike enchanting story-book images of conjecture, of what real forests teaming with wildlife should be, these monoculture sites are predominately dark, dank soulless unwelcoming places, devoid of any wildlife activity whatsoever⌠due in main, to the planting stipulations at the time to harvest a sawlog only agenda/demand, so in reality, this environment is to be expected.
However, at the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the ancient forests and woodlands. Glen Affric is a prime example of Native Pinewood Conservation at its best, which obviously, requires constant restoration and protection, from both tree disease and invasive species such as Rhododendron (which can very quickly take over an entire woodland habitat, hence whole colonies of plants and wildlife disappear)âŚ
Might be worth looking into Woodlands.Co.Uk. These will have various woodlands for sale of differing size and structure in your part of the world. They will offer advice and guidance against what they have on their books, as well as a host secondary support schemes to Joe Public first time buyers of woodlands.
Whether it is purely an investment journey you intend to take with your children with little time invested, or lasting legacy intentions of broad/narrow leaf hardwoods, that offer a panoply of autumnal colours from a pre-determined âtree mappingâ and replanting, fully inclusive of a rides network, glades and installed âEdge Effectâ should determine your thought patterns, again at the initial purchase choice. Landscape conditions, adjacent farmers fields spraying pesticides, natural drainage etc will all have to be considered carefully. Soil composition can always be improved if needs be, but if the diversity of foliage has been present over past years, shouldnât prove to be a problem for any replanting purposes⌠AND, if replanting is going to be on the agenda, consider the problems that deer, rabbits and other wildlife will pose to new saplings⌠But hey-ho, it is all part of the fun eh :0)
Seriously though, please beware⌠for decades down the line, in the UK, real caution needs to be adhered to now, for serious problems such as Ash Dieback, Dutch Elm disease and many others, are gaining a real foothold in all forestry at the moment. The pest and beetle attacks in the North American forestry are extremely serious, with graphs and mapping outlining that a slow burn problem 50yrs ago, can suddenly become epidemic proportion at a later date⌠removing any value the woodland holds, in one fell swoopâŚ!
3 Likes
Agree totally about the needing of a car.
Have lived in London since 2006 and never driven in that time. I do rarely use a taxi/Uber if working Xmas, but apart from that tube and buses are more than enough to get around London.
1 Like
Thatâs exactly where I am looking! 4 acres, nothing too big, but an investment for the kids (aged 4 and 9) that they can help explore, maintain, nurture, and go camping (with me and their mum for now but also with mates or together when theyâre older) thatâs not too far from home (10 minutes drive).
2 Likes
Thatâs Brilliant :0)
In Scotland they have a scheme called⌠Thousand Huts Campaign
Interesting information within their portfolio that may suit your goal 
1 Like
I worked for a state government forestry agency in Tasmania for a bit that existed to promote tree farms on private land. Mostly E.nitens (with and without Radiata nurse crops), E.globulus, P.radiata, C.lusitanica rotated every 10-20 years for pulpwood. and yes the plantations themselves are pretty awful - use of 1080 poison and shooting is pretty common, though the former I hope has been completely outlawed these days. Plus the last thing these plantation owners want is a Wedge-Tail Eagle nesting in their trees just before they are to be felled.
2 Likes
The situation in Tasmania is terrible. Some of the most ancient and magnificent forests in the world are under threat.
Do you know about this foundation?
1 Like
Most of the old growth logging was done by what used to be called Forestry Tas - never worked for those baddiesđ, though private forestry in Tasmania mostly involved a deal with one of the big forestry companies like Gunns, so I guess we were a step better but not much better.
As for Bob Brown, yep I voted for him often. Might seem strange but I certainly donât approve of large scale old-growth logging. But some people do go too far in the other direction as well. Many old growth Eucalypt forests wouldnât exist without natural and (indigenous) man-made burns for example.
1 Like
Can I just sayâŚ
Those snarly Eucalyptus are THE most difficult trees on the globe to split for firewoodâŚ
What an experience that was trying to resize themâŚ!
Golden rule for me was to split when green. For certain species they go rock hard once dry.
We had a momento log with a thousand marks in it. It was a test similar to drawing Excalibur from the stone to determine who was the true log splitter. I donât think it ever got split.
If the wood is straight and clear of knots? No problems. But many gums like to twist which makes splitting difficult.
Itâs no wonder many wood splitting champs are from Australia, and in particular, Tassie. 
1 Like
Yep can agree to that. Trying to split them many moons ago when I lived in Australia. Thereâs also the type of redwood which was pretty evil as well. Proper gnarly stuff. Used to scare the crap out of me going the garage to get logs. Dark garage away from the house, and I was convinced there was snakes living in the log store. It was certainly full of spiders.
In the UK the pine forests we have all over the place. That timber is pretty difficult as well. Itâs basically a knotted mess.
Iâve often wondered about these UK pine forest plantations. Itâs basically intensely farmed wood in areas where no other tree will grow. Theyâre often pretty devoid of any real wildlife but I donât know what effect it has on the existing upland environment. Plus when they do fell the trees it basically looks like a disaster zone and thereâs no chance of returning to the original landscape in any hurry.
1 Like
Nice fire-pit⌠Like a Vikings hall :0)
You are probably aware already, but fencing and other reclaimed timber carries the danger of having been coated at some stage with preservatives, old paint etc⌠Be careful when burning as the emissions could be carcinogenic, which is not really something you want children to be around.
It is good that it is outdoors and the smoke is going straight up without swirling aroundâŚ
9/10 for the firepit lay-out though, if you get some thin stainless steel folded in channel form to place along the four sided top⌠then I guess it would warrant full marks in my book anyhow 
Donât ya mean Straya :0)
Anyone that even attempts to split certain eucalyptus is already a champion in my books! :0)
My understanding is that to make life easier splitting for firewood, yes it has to be green, BUT, it has to be done at the same time the tree is cut down (with a chainsaw or similar), for even after 24hrs, if you try and sink a maul into it⌠it is likely to bounce back to do its best to hit you on the bonce⌠
Apparently, the absolute worse scenario, is if these certain eucs have grown in a windy environment, as it is the swirling wing that encourages the fibres to twist and gnarlâŚ!
All interesting stuff ehâŚ
1 Like
Iâve had many an evening with different capping stones in the pit to see which is the most resilient. Currently done with the best I could find. As for stainless, yes it would work but the spark / spit protection of the stones works better. But a good plan 
The apocalyptic scenery will undoubtedly be the result of a brutal post clearfell harvest. Sawlog only recovery agenda, will result in these discarded and abandoned residues being left to rot down âfor the good of the soilâ, which is normally spouted very loud from the purse string holders of any Forestry Commission, or Private Landowner guardians responsible for bottom-line profit and loss accountability against the harvesting worksâŚ!!
The reality is somewhat different however.
Biomass âleftoversâ are usually mentioned within the same breath as being useful for bioenergy use. So why not, as the Calorific Value (CV) of the small twigs, branches and foliage (brash+ slash), is 200% higher than weight equivalent to the main bole (sawlog), yet unfortunately, even going down this road, it is met with opposition for various reasons:
- Without a specific resizing process, the remnants have very little value to an end-user market
- The fuel guzzling, heavy axel soil compacting/damaging heavy duty logging equipment of harvester, trailers or 500HP shredders commissioned for the works for example, are incapable of resizing methods to suit certain configuration/geometry specifications for efficient bioenergy use in a CHP plant⌠(Correct pyrolysis and size of fibre for good MWh returns)
- Second, even third stage forestry floor recovery operations would be required to clear the original landscapes, hence, the eco argument value defence. These additional clearance tasks, would render the profit margins from sawlog recovery virtually worthless.
- The rotting down of these residues on a forest floor, create toxic methane emissions to atmosphere far higher than the emissions that would be created from burning these same remnants in a controlled furnace like environment.
- etc etc
Bottom line remains though⌠as in most walks of life, money dictates the rules of play.
From your perspective, if you do have a wood burning stove, these post clearfell sites are an absolute bounty for collecting years and years worth of firewood in one fell swoop⌠If the remnants are on Forestry Commission land, you can even apply for a firewood permit/licence, and legally collect all you need as long as industrial style machinery is not used in the recovery⌠a man in a van N_N, and your fireplace fuel prayers are answered⌠:0))
2 Likes
It really is an excellent fire-pit you have though⌠I have seen one capped with Engineering brick and lined with similar firebrick to retain the heat, but then the guy did work in a similar industrial environment⌠sort of a case of him bringing his work home with himâŚ! :0)
1 Like
yes and thanks. As I suspected. Iâd actually state that the reality is even worse than you describe.
Firstly these sites are not the easiest to access. So loggers will create quarries to harvest stone to form access tracks simply to provide access to the sites. Worth noting that in Wales much of this is undertaken by the NRW. Walesâ equivalent to the Environment Agency.
I would be certainly looking at these areas for wood. Thereâs loads of it around my way up here.