A Field Weekend in Herefordshire

Woodland Heritage invites members and guests to attend the annual Field Weekend
on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 June.

What’s the plan?

Attendees will have the opportunity to visit Whitney Sawmills for a tour with the Sawmill Manager, and view an exhibition of makers using Whitney Timber.

We will host An Evening with Woodland Heritage, a social event with informal dinner in central Hereford. Members will have the opportunity to meet, discuss and hear from the Chief Executive of Woodland Heritage.

On Saturday members and guests will tour historic wood pasture Moccas Park and enjoy a guided walk around an active forestry site.

All are invited to Moccas Village Hall at 12 noon on Saturday to eat picnic lunches and to compare notes.

The AGM will be held at Moccas Village hall at 1 pm on Saturday.

While there is no formal visit planned for Sunday, we will provide a list of superb venues to visit in Herefordshire to help you to make the most of being in this wonderful part of the world.

You can find a full itinerary below.

Please note:

Members can attend the field weekend daytime events for free, but will need to purchase a ticket for the Friday evening event.

Members may also purchase guest tickets at the same time as their own registration.

Non-members are welcome to sign up for a guest ticket.

The cost for guest day tickets for the weekend will be £15.

Tickets for the evening event are priced at £20 for all attendees.

Online booking for the Field Weekend has now closed.

If you would like enquire about attending, please contact office@woodlandheritage.org.

Full Itinerary

Friday 21 June - Day

Tours of Whitney Sawmills with Dermot Doyne, Sawmill Manager and exhibition of makers.

Based in Herefordshire, Whitney Sawmills is well established as a leading British sawmill. For many years they have supplied fresh sawn Oak and Douglas Fir beams as well as air- and kiln-dried timber including Oak, Ash, Sweet Chestnut, Sycamore, Cherry, Elm and Poplar.

Whitney Sawmills is part of Woodland Heritage. This vital business boosts the domestic supply of hardwood timber, maintains skills we need for our future, employs skilled and passionate people, and maintains a vital resource for productive woodlands.

Photos from Mowat & Co., ©EllieWalpole

As space is limited at the sawmill we will ask attendees to choose between visit times of 9.30 am and 1.30 pm.

Parking on the site is limited and we will ask visitors to car share where possible. We will allow 2 hours for the tour, and will allow time afterwards for viewing the exhibition.

Friday 21 June - An evening with Woodland Heritage

Left Bank, Hereford, from 6 pm

Set in the heart of historic Hereford City, the Left Bank venue overlooks the Wye River and is a stone’s throw from the cathedral.

At 6.30 pm there will be a presentation from Chief Executive John Orchard with the latest news from the Charity and plans for the year ahead.

At 7.30 pm there will be an informal hog roast dinner. Following which, guests are welcome to stay to enjoy the company of fellow members, guests and Woodland Heritage trustees and staff. You can see the evening dinner menu here.

This evening will be a ticketed event. Tickets will be £20 to include dinner. Tickets will be available to buy when you register to attend.

Photos from Left Bank Village, Hereford

Saturday 22 June

Moccas Park, Herefordshire, tour with Tom Simpson, Senior Reserve Manager, Natural England
Moccas Park is one of the largest and most diverse examples of wood pasture remaining in Britain.

Monnington Wood, part of the Moccas estate in West Herefordshire.  This beautiful lowland woodland is situated in the Wye Valley between Hereford and Hay on Wye.

The western end of the wood rises up to form ‘The Scar’ an unusual geological SSSI with a steep cliff side dramatically overlooking the River Wye, it is site which is much loved by locals and admired by users of the Wye Valley Walk. Unusually the woodland lies on what would be grade 1 agricultural soils, they are deep and fertile and give rise to some stunning forestry.

The woodland itself is a treasure of high quality oak stands, mixed conifer and broadleaved stands including a registered oak seed stand.

Scattered through the woods are remnants of early generations and with some fantastic veteran Scots Pine and towering 150 year old oak trees of superb timber quality.    

 Woodland Heritage members will be treated to a fabulous mix of  Veteran Sweet chestnut trees, a unique 380 year old Scots Pine and Yew avenue and some of the finest Oak in England.

 The visit will be courtesy of Philip and Linda Harley , the owners of Moccas Court.

Attendees may visit the two sites above in separate groups to accommodate numbers on the sites.

Photos from Natural England

All are invited to Moccas Village Hall from 12 to 2 pm to eat picnic lunches and to compare notes.

At 1 pm the Annual General Meeting will be held.

Attendees are asked to bring their own lunch and any other refreshments needed for this day. Tea and coffee facilities will be available at the hall.

Online booking for the Field Weekend has now closed.

If you would like to enquire about attending, please email office@woodlandheritage.org

The AGM

The Woodland Heritage Annual General Meeting will be held at 1 pm on Saturday 22 June at Moccas Village Hall, Moccas, Hereforshire.

The full AGM notice will be posted below when available. Please check back prior to the event. This will also be emailed to event attendees. This notice will also include a proxy vote form for those who require one.

At the AGM the minutes from the 2023 AGM will be adopted. The minutes from 2023 will be posted here when available.

Becoming a member

We would encourage anyone interested in attending to become a member of Woodland Heritage to support the charity. You can find a link below to sign-up for membership.

Charlie Dedman is undertaking a challenging 630 mile trek to raise funds for the charity Woodland Heritage. From 1st April 2024, taking 2.5 months out from his work as a furniture designer for Hampshire firm Gaze Burvill, 32-year-old Charlie from Petersfield in Hampshire will walk from Minehead to South Haven Port along the South West Coast Path, fondly known as the Salt Path.

About Charlie and his trek

You can follow Charlie’s adventure via his instragram page @charlesdedman

Being involved in the furniture industry, woodlands, trees and timber are close to Charlie’s heart:

“Growing up on the edge of the South Downs National park, and son of a property restorer, I have always been surrounded by nature and processes that complement it.”

“Now 8 years into a furniture design career at Gaze Burvill, who produce the finest outdoor furniture, I am hitting pause on CAD, emails and deadlines and hitting the 630 mile South West Coast Path for a new life affirming challenge.”

Through its pioneering new woodland in Somerset, research funding and educational courses, Woodland Heritage is helping create a UK more self-sufficient in timber grown in healthy, well-managed woodlands that benefit people and wildlife.

Along the way, highlights of Charlie’s trek include the rugged Valley of the Rocks, the cobbles of Clovelly, Rick Stein’s Padstow Fish n Chips and The Minack Theatre grand stage.

John Orchard, chief executive of Woodland Heritage said:

“Charlie is an inspiration! We all love trees and woodlands. But it’s surprising less than half of British woodlands are sustainably managed and the UK is the second largest importer of forest products in the world. During a climate crisis, we simply aren’t making the most of what we have.

“To change this is a long road. Even longer than the 630 miles Charlie will be covering to support Woodland Heritage. Good luck Charlie, we’re rooting for you!”

The ever popular Woodland to Workshop course is back for 2023 welcoming new tutors and locations for an information and experience packed three-day course.

Please register your interest for Tuesday 3rd - Thursday 5th October 2023 by completing the application form below.

Please note the new location for the course base is proposed as NMITE (New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering) in Hereford. This is to be confirmed.

An innovative course linking ‘tree growers with wood users’, to broaden horizons and raise awareness by educating participants from the forest through to the workshop and beyond.

Supported by knowledgeable practitioners and eminent speakers from the industry.

Based in the woodland, timber yard, sawmill and joinery workshop.

Numbers will be restricted to enable a ‘hands on’ and highly interactive approach, ensuring a learning opportunity of enduring quality.

Some subsidised places will be available to deserving and committed individuals.

For further information or an application form in a different format please contact:
woodlandtoworkshop@woodlandheritage.org

Woodland Heritage
Whitney Sawmills
Old Station Yard
Whitney-on-Wye
HR3 6EZ

Woodland Heritage’s Annual
Field Day Raffle

Saturday 16 September to Monday 16 october 2023

At the Annual Field Day, we launched a fundraising raffle. Enter below for your chance to win £100 worth of trees!

Woodland Heritage member Mr Geoff Locke at Mount Pleasant Farm and Forestry is offering the chance to win £100 worth of trees from his tree nursery. The prize winner can select from a range of 10 trees, shrubs and climbers up to a value of £100.00. 

All proceeds will go to Woodland Heritage. 

The plants offered are from an annual list prepared each October. For Geoff’s full list of trees please e mail him at glmpff@gmail.com

Please note: the prize will only be available for collection from GL13 9DU. The plants will all be bare rooted and must be collected by prior appointment between Nov 2023 and March 2024.

First Prize! £100 worth of trees!

The prize winner can select one of each from a range of 10 trees, shrubs and climbers up to a value of £100.00. 

The plants offered will be from a select list offered by the grower. Some of these plants are quite rare and are all grown on their own roots.  Those offered are:

Alnus incana ‘Laciniata’

Paulownia tomentosa 

Prunus padus ‘Colorata’

Prunus spinosa ‘Purpurea’

Zelcova carpinifolia 

Sequoia sempervirens ‘Cantab’ 

Quercus canariensis 

Fig ‘Brown Turkey’ 

Corylus maxima purpurea 

Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ 

Please note: the prize will only be available for collection from GL13 9DU. The plants will all be bare rooted and must be collected by prior appointment between Nov 2023 and March 2024.

All are of a size to fit in a car (average height as supplied approx. 1.5 – 2 metres) The normal price charged by Geoff for the above trees average about £25.00 each.

We are also offering 2 Woodland Heritage memberships as 2nd and 3rd Prizes. 

Woodland Heritage are offering 1 years' membership for the winner or a friend. If you are a member, you will be offered one year personal, individual membership to gift to a friend. 

If you are not already a member, you will be offered one year's personal, individual membership free. If you would like to, there is the option to gift this to a friend.

If you would like any further information, please contact Annabel at office@woodlandheritage.org

Woodland Heritage’s members and their guests are invited to enjoy its 2022 Field Weekend. Mainly set within the Lake District World Heritage Site, the three days shold be both educational and entertaining, and the Trustees and staff look forward to welcoming you to this unique event

The itinerary can be downloaded here

Book in via our online form or send us an email to book in