One cold and misty December morning, shortly before Christmas, we set off for a weekend of woodcarving and sculpture.  Read more...

Buying a woodland as partners or a group can make it possible for people to buy woodlands who couldn’t otherwise afford to do so.  It also has the advantage of shared responsibility for ownership - sharing the work and decision-making on woodland management. Choosing The Right People for Buying a Woodland Jointly Choosing the right people with whom to buy is extremely important and it is a good idea to talk in detail through what each person wants from the woodland and what each person feels he or she can contribute.  It is also very important to discuss what would happen if someone should want to leave the ownership group, or indeed what would happen if they were forced to give up ownership for financial or personal reasons.  Usually you would want the others to have a right to buy the share of the departing owner, but you will need to decide who in the group has first option and at what price.  If none of the other owners should want to buy them out, what restrictions if any are there to be on the person to whom they sell?  You will also want a way of  making shared decisions when not everyone agrees, especially over what will be permitted in the wood and when to sell. Read more...

People who have not owned forestry or agricultural land can often find it hard to visualise what an acre looks like. This is an attempt to help you visualise how big an area one acre is. Read more...

Traditional stone gateposts last forever.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the metal gate hangings that are set into them.  These will eventually rust away.  The following notes give some ideas and hints on how to replace the metalware.  Read more...

A cruck frame is one where the structure of the building depends on two or more 'A-frames' which go from the top of the building down to the ground.  These frames are usually constructed of curved timbers (the cruck blades) using the natural shape of a tree and in many cases the tree is sliced long-ways down the middle so that whatever the shape of the curve the two sides are symmetrical.  The two beams are joined together at the top by a 'collar' or tie-beam. Cruck barns probably evolved in Anglo Saxon times and the earliest archaeological evidence comes from 4th century excavations in Buckinghamshire, but this building technique really came into its own in medieval times. Large halls were built in towns and villages and a large cruck barn also became a sign of an individual farm's prosperity. The barns could be easily divided into sections or bays and threshing would have been done indoors. Read more...

Tracy Pepler relates her experiences on a basket weaving course in Kent.  Let us know if you've been on a course you'd recommend to woodland owners:- Read more...

What better way to be in touch with our beautiful countryside than to enjoy the best wild and cultivated produce that the season has to offer.  Connect with nature for the best nutritional value, low food miles and fantastic flavours.  Read more...

“Green burials” of various sorts are increasingly popular - many people want to escape from what they perceive to be the conveyor-belt experience of some crematoria and the impersonality of cemeteries and churchyards. Read more...