In 2016, Englefield Estate Forestry completed the sensitive thinning and extraction of timber from a native woodland close to the River Thames in the village of Purley. Tim Metcalfe, the owner of the woodland, heard about our services when he attended a presentation by our Forestry Manager, Rich Edwards, about the benefits of woodland management for wildlife, people and the local economy.

Rich took care of the whole process; it started with a walk around the woodland with Tim to find out what the long-term plans were for the woodland, then applying to and liaising with the Forestry Commission for the felling licence. Once this was in place, Rich planned and supervised the harvesting operation which was carried out by our highly experienced harvesting contracting team.

The timber was graded for different markets, with the high-quality sawlogs being sold to a sawmill and the lower quality timber being neatly stacked for seasoning to be converted into logs on the farm by their in-house firewood business.

Now the thinning work has been completed the retained trees in the woodland will develop broader crowns and continue to flourish.