Clydesdale Wood comprises sweet chestnut coppice, with ash, hazel, willow, hornbeam, birch, holly and oak. The chestnut was last coppiced between 2015 and 2018, therefore will be at full maturity in 10 – 12 years’ time. There are some small pockets of mature sweet chestnut, and the occasional mature ash. Some ash near the ride stop entrance was recently cut and stacked. This will season well and provide firewood for a wood burner. In the coming years this woodland has enormous potential to provide a steady and sustainable supply of excellent firewood.

It is worth noting that Woodlands.co.uk offer £300 towards a course for a new owner. This would provide the opportunity to learn the skills required to resume coppicing in the future. The wood could be used for green wood working - working with unseasoned wood to make walking sticks, wooden mallets, door stops, spoons – or for the more ambitious, chairs! The practice of making chairs from green wood is known as bodging.

Clydesdale Wood has been designated as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) by Natural England. This is woodland that has been under constant tree cover since at least 1600AD. It is valued as a rich reserve of biodiversity. There is a draft Management Plan for Newlands Wood (of which Clydesdale Wood is a part) – details of this are available upon request. It is noted in management plan that stands are generally well stocked; the chestnut is of good quality, and they would lend themselves to management on a relatively short rotation, providing timber for either commercial or private use.

There is plenty of opportunity to enhance the habitat for wildlife here, from the simple provision of bird and bat boxes to the management of the tree cover and ground flora.

- An ancient semi-natural mixed woodland within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

- Good quality chestnut coppice providing a lifetime supply of firewood.

- Great access and a convenient shared timber stacking area to facilitate the management of the wood.

Access to Clydesdale Wood is via double metal gates off Court Lane (an owner will be provided a key for this locked gate). A stoned track leads to the ride stop entrance to Clydesdale Wood. Here owners are able to drive in and park a car within the wood itself.

There are no public footpaths within the wood. The North Downs Way is accessible approx. 1 mile from the wood.

The wood is sold with the sporting rights.

The owner of Clydesdale Wood will be asked to enter a covenant to ensure the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of the wood.

For anyone looking for a bolthole to escape modern life, Clydesdale Wood offers an easily manageable woodland ideal for the family woodland owner. Family camping, making dens, building campfires, bushcraft, small scale timber production are all activities that could be enjoyed in the woodland. The simple act of spending time in a wood you own is relaxing. Away from the toil of everyday life it is easy just to sit and be calm. Woods grow slowly, there is no rush.

It seems likely that what would have originally been an oak woodland with hornbeam coppice was converted to mainly sweet chestnut coppice in the late 19th century (as there are not many very large coppice stools in evidence).

The wood is approx. 1 mile from the Kent Showground, home to the annual Kent County Show. Held in July, this well-established show includes animals, horses, vintage vehicles and retail stands for a celebration of the best in the county. Maidstone is approximately 5 miles south-west of the wood.