Saturday 29 December 2007

woodlands

For at least 3 or 4 years I have on occasion passed the following sign whilst out in the countryside:

Each time I passed the sign I intended to look at the website when I got home and each time I forgot. Recently I began reading a book on woodlands and it suddenly dawned on me that I had never explored the site. Ian and I spent the next 2 hours drooling over woodlands all over the country. Many of them have strict guidelines regarding what you can and can't do if you buy them, but those are there to protect the wildlife so one cannot really mind that.

Since that night we have started a savings account for a wood. Unfortunately, according to my father the prices of woods have rocketed in the last few years. Fingers crossed that they don't continue to do so.

It's amazing how many woods are for sale in the UK and the variety of wildlife and landscapes that they capture. The woods mention deer, wild boar, badgers, otters, water voles, migrating geese, ... the list goes on. You can even purchase your very own stretch of a riverbank or the edge of a Norfolk broad (http://www.woodlands.co.uk/buying-a-wood/east-anglia/ferry-lane-wood/ in particular appealed to us).

Forestry qualifies for 100% relief from inheritance tax once you have owned it for more than 2 years. This includes the value of the land and the trees.

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