Buying a woodland is normally much more straightforward legally than buying a house, with no chains, no furniture to move and usually no legal charges to deal with.

We have detailed guidance on all aspects of the legal process, including recommended solicitors, laid out below.

Legal guide for England and Wales

We have written a step-by-step guide to the legal process in England and Wales: contracts, timings, payments and everything else.

Legal guide for Scotland

The buying process works slightly differently under Scottish law, so we have a separate, detailed legal guide for Scotland.

Recommended solicitors

We keep a list of recommended solicitors for woodland purchases with whom we have worked in the past, and found to be efficient and reasonably priced, and to understand woodland purchases.

Covenant

We use a covenant, a legal promise, to make sure our buyers aren’t inconvenienced by noisy activities or non-forestry vehicles causing a nuisance. The details of this agreement are documented here.

Public access rights in Scotland

The public in Scotland have a long-held traditional right to roam the landscape. Find out more about what the right to roam means for woodland owners.

Fishing and hunting rights in Scotland

There are subtle differences in how hunting, shooting and fishing rights work in Scotland when compared with the rest of Great Britain. We’ve written an article on how fishing and hunting rights in Scottish woodlands are different.