woodland for sale

An excellent mixture of mature broadleaf and conifer with both amenity and commercial potential, well placed within reach of major road networks, in the Kent Downs National Landscape.Exact Location, viewing Instructions and further details can be found in our brochure below.Stacklands Wood is situated just south of the village of West Kingsdown in semi-rural Kent, yet is only 25 miles east of central London. Kent is known as ‘The Garden of England’ due to its lush green landscapes of which Stacklands is a fine example. Access is through a pair of timber gates with plenty of parking space just inside. Located largely over loamy, clay, and flinty soils that are level in the north with slopes further west and south, the canopy to the northeast comprises large oak, beech, ash, cherry, and hornbeam with a scattering of Scots pine. These are accompanied by smaller stemmed birch, ash, rowan, sycamore, holly and hazel below. Moving towards the middle of the northern section of the woodland is an area of impressively large sweet chestnut coppice - a new custodian could find a number of uses for this, perhaps for post and rail fencing, firewood and maybe even the odd sawlog. Sweet chestnut can make a good alternative to oak, as it is fairly easily worked. The subsequent stools following any felling operation could be brought back into a planned rotation crop for other markets in the future - bean poles and hurdle fencing perhaps. The chestnut is accompanied by hornbeam, oak, hazel coppice and yew. Midway along the western side of the woodland is a stand of lofty western red cedar and a smattering of Scots pine, adding a pleasant contrast to the overall species composition. The year-round tree cover makes this a good spot to set up a workbench to improve one’s bushcraft skills, perhaps felling one or two stems to create some additional space in order to do so. Further south and east, hawthorn, ash, oak and cherry make up the southern section of this horseshoe shaped woodland.The north of Stacklands is designated as an Ancient Woodland, with ground dwelling Indicators of this classification including pollinators such as bluebells, primrose, yellow archangel, dog’s mercury and wood anemone. These create a colourful tableau in the warmer months and an interesting contrast to the rest of the woodland.Several existing rides and paths to the north could be fairly easily linked up with the entrance gates, creating easy access for ongoing management. These would certainly be useful for tractors with forwarder trailers to winch logs from a selective felling. Access to the south could be improved with a little clearance, or alternatively left as it is for amenity adventures like wild camping - patches of laurel throughout the woodland make a natural privacy screen.The mammal population includes deer (sika, muntjac and fallow are all known to be present), badger, hare, wood mouse and fox. Looking to the treetops and skies beyond, owl, buzzard, skylark, green woodpecker, lesser redpoll and many fine songbirds have also been identified on our forester's visits.The sale of this magnificent woodland as a whole presents a wealth of opportunities for someone looking for a larger offering to manage, benefitting from a Forestry Commission Felling Licence, a Management Plan, and broad rides throughout which enable good internal access. It would equally make a sound investment for someone seeking a standalone sanctuary for family adventures. Of course, Stacklands is big enough for a bit of both! Our Forester's ThoughtsSam says..."This is a woodland with lots of possibilities for both recreational and management activities – plenty to keep a new owner occupied for many years to come.I would certainly enjoy the amenity value of Stacklands with my family and friends, whilst getting to know the woodland throughout the seasons. Overnight stays in the warmer weather, BBQs, den building all come to mind.In terms of bringing the woodland back into active management, I would give some serious consideration to clearing a wide ride from the gate to link to the existing network, with the next objective to fairly heavily thin the mature sweet chestnut coppice to reintroduce a useful rotation crop. A range of extraction methods to transfer to the gate could be considered - low impact horse logging, nimble all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or mini forwarders could be an option.”Please remember that some management operations require approval and/or a licence.