Woodland Work | pine ridge woods

A Woodland Farm?...

This farm used to be for beef cattle.

It has a plantation woodland which has been neglected over many years but is now being worked under a proper woodland plan. The plantation was one of the natural habitats which attracted us to buy the property several years ago, and inspired us to consider more woodland options.

Agriculture gets a lot of bad press. Not environmental. Not economic. Livestock comes with understandable welfare costs and, at the end of the day, you are killing animals that have been in your care. We've kept poultry, pigs and sheep in the past and there's nothing about that experience makes me want to repeat it.

As nature lovers, transitioning to woodland operations was the best fit for us and for the environment. We have put in thousands of new trees where there were none before in both new designated woodland and as arboriculture planting.

Some trees are destined for commercial harvesting and sold as standing timber for lumber or wood fuel and these trees will be restocked. Such felling requires a licence from The Forestry Commission which usually comes with conditions - such as replanting. Most of our trees will only be cut as part of woodland management. Cutting for such things as thinning, health, danger, species for small diameter coppice etc does not require a felling licence and the material taken out can be used for fuel.

In all cases the trees create a permanent woodland which will not be clear-felled. Our woodlands are also mixed species broadleaf woodlands, not monoculture, giving the greatest level of diversity to wildlife.

In return, the farm becomes a nature reserve with an income stream.

New 5.3 Ha Broadleaf Woodland.

More than 8500 trees have been planted in a new section of woodland. This is a permanent woodland with some trees that will be suitable for harvesting in many decades time while leaving many other species alone to protect the environment. i.e. no mono-culture clear felling.

At the moment you will see thousands of tree tubes - some have trees already emerging at the top. The tubes will be recycled by the supplier in approx. 4 years time and turned into new tree tubes for use in another woodland project.

We have had some losses in the first year so they will be replanted this winter.

This landscape will rapidly transform into a young woodland with all the wildlife diversity that will bring.

Oaks, Wych elms, Silver Birch, Rowan, Wild Cherry, Holly to name but a few of the species that have been planted.

We are required to weed the rows between the trees so you will often see inter-row mowing taking place. In about 4 years the canopy will start to take over and the weed cover will naturally diminish so mowing can stop.

Folks often ask why so many trees and why so closely planted? This is a requirement of The Forestry Commission. The density of planting helps ensure an early covering canopy to diminish the light levels on the ground and reduce competition from weeds. In the early years some trees will naturally die off or have to be thinned out - we have to let 'survival of the fittest' act out a bit.

It's a haven for wildlife already and it can only get better. Swallows nesting on the farm loved the new plantation for catching up insects and many birds could be seen this summer sitting atop of the plastic tubes.

Essential Woodland Work 2025/6

Over the last 2 years we have been consulting with Tilhill Forestry, The Forestry Commission, National Grid Electricity Distribution and ecologists to come up with a plan for our existing mature woodland plantation.

As the term 'plantation' suggests - the woodland was planted as a crop. This was around 60-70 years ago but was largely neglected over the years.

Trees were regularly falling down in the woods and we have not allowed guests to enter the woods for safety reasons. Ash die back has impacted our Ash trees, Beech trees suffer from a multitude of diseases now and the soft woods have reached a maturity where they are now under stress and need to be worked.

A major concern is that 11000V power lines run alongside the woodland and are now at risk of having trees fall on them.

Our objective is to manage this woodland so that it

remains a permanent feature on the landscape, retaining as much of it as possible and replanting / regenerating woodland where required.
protects our property from Westerly winds,
creates a better and more diverse habitat for wildlife,
becomes safer to enter, you can never be 100% as even unsuspecting trees can suddenly surprise you,
removes the threat to the power lines.

To do all these things the following ESSENTIAL works have been, or will be, undertaken : -

Large trees which are a threat to the power lines have be removed
Ash trees are being removed unless they have been identified as potential bat roosts. The woodland zone which housed most of our Ash will become an area for English and Red Oaks plus assorted woody shrubs.
A more diverse range of appropriate hardwood broadleaf trees, including flowering, will be planted with smaller species near the power lines, and small leaved lime / wild cherry where the softwoods are removed towards the Pig and Whistle pub.
All other hardwood species of existing trees, mainly Beech, will remain in situ but they will be thinned for woodland regeneration with Hornbeam. Potential bat roosts protected.

The work is zoned so some areas of the woodland will see little change while other zones will have major work. This work is essential for safety and to ensure a healthy, diverse woodland on the site. We have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette!

Part of this woodland was named 'Nut Bush Hill' on an old map. Hazelnut readily grow on the farm and especially along Lime Kiln Way - all planted by birds and squirrels but perhaps a hazel coppice here once upon a time?

Lime Kiln Way

According to some old deeds we have, there was a lime kiln near the Pig and Whistle pub. We have a disused limestone quarry nearby too which would have been the source for the stone. We therefore refer to the section of woodland between the Pig and Whistle car park and which along the Gatcombe Brook as 'Lime Kiln Way'. Some is old broad leaf woodland which we are leaving to nature as much as we can. The rest we planted as mixed woodland. It's sloping ground with limestone under a shallow soil in most places. Many of the trees and shrubs will likely be coppiced in this area. With public access through this area woodland is certainly the best fit, no livestock and no chance of dog attack.

No evidence remains for the lime kiln which may be under the car park or incorporated into the Gatcombe Bridge. I'll do some more digging and see if I can find its exact location.

There is a major water trunk main in part of the grounds (underground) bringing water from reservoirs to Littlehempston Water Treatment Works.

A cautionary note on trees - old trees are great for the environment but they can fall or drop limbs without warning. This area has a lot of old trees. The risk of being near a fall or drop is very low but please stay on the path and be aware - especially in high winds. Some of these trees are protected from being worked because they are in a zone for National Grid approval or have environmental protection.

I have also heard the field referred to as 'Tedding field' - a likely reference to using the slope and brook for cleaning and 'tedding' wool fleeces.

Upham Barrier

Many screening trees have also been planted between our farm and the hamlet of Uphempston - hence we refer to it as the Upham Barrier - with fond memories of Clive Dunn in Dad's Army. It's mixed woodland with some experimental planting. As part of our planning proposal, this areas design is well suited to bats. There is a private track through it to the public highway which shall become a 'bat tunnel' in time. As a polite reminder to some folks in Uphempston, a public highway is there for anyone to use. Our track is private for our guests only.

Lumber Log Chip

The environment gets preserved and nothing gets wasted with woodland operations.

Our woodland is permanent. Lumber goes for necessary construction, logs go for fuel, chip goes for fuel or soil conditioner. The woodland sucks up carbon dioxide when growing and a lot of this carbon will stay in the woodland as it gets incorporated into the soil. Woodland is certainly one of the more environmental 'agricultural' practices.