Visit to Broadoak Wood, Northumberland
Introduction by Ed Dixon
Broadoak Woods are approx. 0.5 km north of the village of Ebchester. On the east side the woods border on to the Mill Burn and to the south on to the River Derwent. All the woodland therefore is within the very southern part of the county of Northumberland. At approx. 44 hectares the woodland is a substantial and very visible feature looking north across the valley.
The woodlands included within Broadoak Wood comprise substantial areas
of ASNW, smaller areas of wet woodland and broadleaf and conifer
plantations.
The woodlands lie at an altitude of between 60 and 120 meters above sea
level and are on the interface between upland and lowland types. The
ASNW cover an area of approx. 26 hectares and are comprised of a grading
between mixed ash and sallow woods on the lower more base rich soils of
the sometimes quite steep terrain, with oak and birch woodland further
up. The dominant woodland type here is predominantly sessile oak and
birch with a varied understorey of hazel, rowan and holly.
The ASNW areas comprising Heugh Wood, Whitehill Wood & Heugh Bank Wood
had not seen any management since it passed to the present ownership in
the 1950s. Prior to this there are indications that the woods were
managed; multi-stemmed regrowth of oak indicating that there was
considerable felling approximately 80 years ago. Whitehill Wood has
evidence of some industrial workings in the past 50 years associated
with the extraction of sand & gravel, along with earlier extraction of
iron ore.
A 10-year felling licence was granted in 2020; this has allowed thinning
to be carried out and regeneration felling coupes to be created in the
ASNW. Thinning in the ASNW is to increase light levels and allow
regeneration of young oak; the canopy in much of the wood being closed
and heavily shaded. The intention is also to halo thin around some of
the larger oaks and reduce some of the multi-stemmed growth to allow
their canopies to increase, hopefully allowing greater acorn production.
There has been work carried out by a local forestry contractor to drive
an access track into the steep hillside, which has allowed extraction to
be carried out. The long-term work in the wood will be low key.
The various plantations comprising Chesterhill Wood have been planted as
restoration following extraction of sand and gravel. The age of these
plantations appears to be between 20 and 25 years old.
All work is intended to be of benefit to biodiversity but also improve
the quality of the various timber stands for the future.
Deer and Grey Squirrels are being controlled by a game shooting
syndicate to reduce tree damage and hopefully allow Red Squirrels to
return to the area.
David P’s account of our visit on November 13th 2025
On a cold, wet and potentially miserable day, three of us (Ed, Max,
David) met at the Broadoak Quarry gate and set off down a grassy lane.
As we walked and talked, we bounced from one topic to another. Ed spoke
about the character of mature oak woodland to our left, recently thinned
alder woodland to the right, then about a young oak plantation, an older
conifer plantation and so on. In that manner, much of our conversation
revolved around the site, the coppicework Ed envisions, and a range of
other topics.
In other words, as we toured the woods, we shifted topics frequently,
asking questions initially related to the character of the site, the
owners’ priorities, and the woodland management questions Ed is
evaluating. But we also touched on topics like the possible role of
Underwood – or of group/public activities generally. Given the site and
management constraints, there’s not much chance of group activity, and
no chance of public participation, though there is scope for contracted
work of various sorts. For example, there’s been a staggering amount of
tree planting in the former quarry, done with contractors. There’s also
been thinning and removal work done by a local woodcutter.
When it comes to coppicework, there seem to be several viable strands.
While there are no extensive stands of hazel that would be easily
subdivided into coupes, there are clusters that could be established as
such. There is also a plantation of young oak, plus areas of Alder and
possibly Ash that could be coppiced, and individual specimens of Cherry,
Oak, and other wood.
Questions arose in relation to this. One was ‘what’s the starting
strategy for all of this’? Others are ‘what are the end products’ and
‘where are the markets’? We batted around a variety of ideas about
those. The one that seemed viable initially was to accumulate a couple
of years worth of harvest and convert it to charcoal via the Living
Woods retort on a contract basis.
So it might be that Ed’s strategy is just to make charcoal using a hired
retort. But, Max pointed out that producers in the region may need to
develop other product lines, and that a good part of our thinking should
go into creatively developing alternatives. This fed into the idea of
having an event on Max’s land next summer.
During the latter part of our walk, we discussed a combination of more
broadly pressing issues: the lack of individuals available to manage
woodlands, the lack of training opportunities, and the absence of a
market for traditional/craft woodland products. Max highlighted that
there was no traditional coppicing industry in Durham; while it may have
existed historically for small diameter timber during the mining era,
there is no archaeo evidence of earlier coppice work in the region. He
remarked that this absence raises significant challenges for developing
a sustainable woodland culture, especially regarding training, and as
above, the uncertainty surrounding market viability.
During that bit of discussion, we considered the potential role
Underwood could play in fostering a cooperative of producers. I asked Ed
whether he knew anyone involved in similar woodland management work, to
which he replied that there were a few, but they rarely met with one
another to further any ambitions. This sparked the idea that Underwood
could serve as a platform to connect these producers, not just those
interested in crafts or woodland work, but a broader network.
We didn’t take any concrete steps around the idea of a cooperative, we
acknowledged the potential for Underwood to promote a culture
surrounding woodlands that could facilitate marketing, networking, and
other aspects of common interest. Perhaps that’s for future discussions.
In the end, the day was OK for touring a mosaic of woodland and mulling
ideas for practical activities. We walked, talked, and made sense of a
few things.