Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => General Chat => Topic started by: Paul72 on November 15, 2010
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Caught this tonight on the news, what are people's general thoughts on it? Less wild camping spots for us all?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11761894
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Meh, technically wildcamping is illegal anyways. Modern life can be really crap.
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I think I agree with Michelle McGildernew. (it's not often you'll hear me say that!)
it's short term gain, and they'd raise more cash long term if they leased them.
From our point of view, I'd be surprised if we saw any difference.
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I think I agree with Michelle McGildernew. (it's not often you'll hear me say that!)
it's short term gain, and they'd raise more cash long term if they leased them.
From our point of view, I'd be surprised if we saw any difference.
I see what you did there ;) 'Wood'nt it be great if it all stayed the same.
I was thinking about this recently and I'm not sure I find Coniferous forests that attractive. They aren't a patch on a good deciduous forest. On a landscape they provide a bit of variety but they are so uniformed and conventional. I concede they would be a whole lot drier for camping in.
Driving in the NW of Spain what struck me was the amount of land covered in trees, that said the hills would have looked more dramatic without them. We went for a drive around the volcanic area, which was wholly underwhelming because you can't see any of them for trees. That said nobody is going to start planting new forests of natural species trees, so forestry service forests are better than nothing. It is a shame we have so few natural forests, it certainly seems to be a stark contrast from how Ulster was around the time of the Plantation when "There were few towns, few roads and much of the country was thickly wooded" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation_of_Ulster) and "Most planters settled on uninhabited and unexploited land, often building up their farms and homes on overgrown terrain that has been variously described as “wilderness” and “virgin” ground." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation_of_Ulster)
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I think any forest sold to the timder indestory is sad.
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I've always wanted to have my own forest, getting a bit old to start planting my own so i'll just have to buy one instead. Now assuming my numbers come up at the weekend, which one should i buy with whatever i have left over from the mansion, yacht and tomb raider land rover ;D
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There are websites that sell off plots of forest. Unfortunately they don't cover Northern Ireland though.
I have clicked through this website like a small boy with his face pressed up against the sweet shop window ::)
http://www.woodlands.co.uk/
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Interesting artical, I think the forestry are not far from that at present. I do not think they cut the trees themselves but sell off the stands to the higest bider. I found this out after complaining about the destruction of the mourne mountain sides above rostrevor where the logers are bringing in buldozers to carve tracks up the mountainside to provide access for the extraction. Though I have tried to flag this up I have got nowhere. When mountain bikers are fround upon for eroding the tracks the bildozers are destroying the mountians big time. These hills have been vertually untouched since the last iceage and are now being destroyed. I canot understand it the mournes have a stack of european and world designetans for protection, Does anyone know whats going on?
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This has all gone quite topical now with recent announcements in England.
On a practical note here is a link to the Woodland Trust (http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/save-ancient-forests/Pages/fc-disposals-act-now.aspx?WT.mc_id=fc) where you can sign a petition against the proposed sale of England's forests. Where they go we will likely follow! We are all UK tax-payers so nothing to say we can't support this (current) cause.
I think post-sale safeguards for rights of access are not sufficient. For goodness sake we already have protection orders for trees on land for development. Does is stop developers pulling them out? No it does not, and besides trees can always get sick and then need taken out on H&S grounds.
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I think any forest sold to the timder indestory is sad.
totally agree.
the way things ar going there will be no forests left.
all forests should be protected and if need be have people patrolling them s do de forestation happens.
if the mournes became a national park which has been talked about would this stop large areas of forest being torn down.
thing i forests are not only beautiful the serve other purposes like for certain types of wildlife.
they also produce oxygen or something like that.
once are forests are gone thats it.
it really upsets me.
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Hi Darren
Things are not as bad as it may seem where the forests are concerned in the mournes. Most of them are pines and do not support very many species ,where as the broad leaf trees are by far more suitable for wildlife and probably more valuable as most of the pine are poor quality.The forestry have improved their management over the years, undertaking not to clear fell large areas and to plant broad leaf trees along water courses making wildlife coridoors which will be a great benifit to wildlife. Its the bulldozers in the mournes that I feel is most destructive.
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This just blew my mind when I saw it: http://www.carrifran.org.uk/about/ (http://www.carrifran.org.uk/about/)
I've been thinking over a few years about starting a charity (or non-profit) to promote reforestation of our country. Not necessarily all the high uplands (even though the Mournes were all covered in trees before). Even getting enough to acquire some land to start a heritage forest like Carrifran would be perfect start. Copses on small corners of land or even getting more coppicing on the go for wood pellets would still increase the % of forested land and some diversity in tree plantations and land use.
We do have a lot of arable land, which should be used for food, and better than it is, but that's another EU policy agriculture bash for another day; and there are unique wetland or heath areas that are diverse and protected; but there is still marginal land than can be comfortably acquired for forest regeneration.
The other issue is if another 'organisation' is needed? The Woodland Trust are actually quite good, but maybe they are too big, and a smaller group could try initiatives that they are unable to focus on? The expensive and difficult bit is getting the land; getting the trees selected, planted and protected takes brains and brawn; letting the forest grow and take over itself takes time.
ps. I know very little about trees other than I like them and they are fun to climb. I think I'm the right man for the job ;D
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The Conservation Volunteers may already do the above, i certainley planted many trees with them in my youth.
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Yeah, I should do some conservation work when I get more free time!
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Somewhere down the line we could offer the services of an NI Wild meet to work with Conservation Volunteers or the Woodland Trust. Of course the deal breaker would be letting us stay overnight in the forest afterwards ;D
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This just blew my mind when I saw it: http://www.carrifran.org.uk/about/ (http://www.carrifran.org.uk/about/)
Thats a great idea. Fancy going halfers on a forest ;)
I have to admit that up to a couple of years ago I was totally naive about our forests. I falsely assumed that forests like those found at Tollymore were our native forests. It was only more recently that I realised that these regular shaped plantations, dark and devoid of life, have little in common with the trees that once covered the land. Maybe thats why I was so amazed walking through some of the beautiful woodland on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond! That BBC programme "Making Scotlands Landscape" really helped to open my eyes!
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@whoRya - great idea.
@suspectmonkey - might be saving a while: We should start growing trees in yoghurt pots so we have something to plant by the time we get some land - about half a million will be a good start and save some cash! I can fit about 25 on my lawn ;D