Please note that although this page is called the Green Wood Shop, we are not a shop in the true sense of the word! We are only open to the public by prior arrangement as we spend much of our time out and about in the woods.

Materials

All the materials used in the Green Wood Shop are sourced in England – none of it is imported.  Our willow is either grown and harvested organically by ourselves here at Bore Place or brought up from the withy beds in Somerset and Devon.  Our hazel is also grown here at Bore Place and is harvested as part of an ancient coppice restoration project currently being run in conjunction with the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Grant Scheme.  Any oak that is used is also grown here at Bore Place, and has been harvested as part of active woodland management.  Where it is planked, this has been done using a local mobile saw mill, so the oak has literally travelled zero miles by the time we are using it in our workshop.  Finally, where we use Sweet Chestnut, this has been harvested sustainably in Kent.

Order times

As most of our products are made to order, we carry very little in stock.  However, it’s always worth contacting us just in case. We tend to harvest our materials after leaf fall (November time), and then make our products until the material has run out.  Some years the materials last until September, but other years we have no material left in June. We don’t cut in the summer for several reasons. Firstly (and most importantly), cutting rods in summer is much more intrusive to wildlife as nesting and plant growth is in full swing.  In winter, wildlife and wild plants are dormant. The coppice itself also grows better and more productively if cut in the winter.  We actively manage woodland, and restore ancient coppice, to improve the quality and viability of the wood.  Improving the quantity and quality of the coppice also improves the quality and diversity of wildlife that can inhabit it. Finally, the coppice wood is full of sap in summer – so is very wet and heavy to work with, and due to the higher sugar content, may well be quicker to rot.

This does mean that there may be a fairly extensive stretch of time during the summer when it will not be possible to undertake commissions.  However, it’s always worth contacting me with a view to booking your job in for the winter.

Delivery

Where delivery is applicable (ie not for our continuous weave fencing!), we can deliver locally within about 30 miles of the workshop.  However, we do need to charge for this.  Any courier service used for delivery beyond this distance must be organised by the customer, and is done so entirely at their own risk.