Searching for woodland to rent

[Fieldarcher]

Not sure if this is the correct forum, so apologies if it is in the wrong place.

We are a group of archers searching for suitable woodland to house a field archery club and hoping someone here maybe able to help.
Field archery is a discipline of archery where targets are set in woodland rather than an open field, which is more commonly associated when archery is mentioned. This provides a unique experience for the archer to test their abilities in a natural environment. It is important to stress that we do not hunt animals in any form.
We are searching for supportive landlords who we can work with to create a field archery woodland in the West Midlands area,

What we can offer a landlord? Field archery is far less intrusive and noisy to the environment than other activities often practiced in woodland like paintball or motor-cross. We seek to maintain the woodland with the goal being to set targets in a natural environment working with the terrain and landscape. A key part of field archery is working with the terrain to make the most of it whilst retaining the natural charm and beauty.

I've included a link to an online blog (Off the Arrow Shelf) which provides a useful insight into field archery from the archers prospective. Along with a link National Field Archery Society website one of the governing bodies where you will be able to see the regulations and policies.
National Field Archery Society - http://www.nfas.net/home.asp
Off the Arrow Shelf - https://offthearrowshelf.wordpress.com/
Thank you for your time and should you have any questions or wish to clarify anything please don't hesitate to contact me.

 

[newbie]

Hi
Sounds interesting, although I'm in Lancashire so no good for you.
How much woodland would be required and approximately what kind of income could be generated from this?
I like the idea of limited noise compared to other field sports

 

[Fieldarcher]

Hi
Sounds interesting, although I'm in Lancashire so no good for you.
How much woodland would be required and approximately what kind of income could be generated from this?
I like the idea of limited noise compared to other field sports

Well to be honest it won’t make you a millionaire

This is going to sound like I am pleading poverty here so apologies in advance. Income comes in the form of rent paid for the use of the land. Club rents are an annual income and the amount of rent is dependent on the understanding with the landlord and clubs. If club run events e.g. local archery competitions etc they might rent additional woodland or a field for camping or parking.

I’ll try and give some examples as it might help, these are based on clubs I have been involved in the midlands

Club 1 Access to the woods was limited to Saturdays dawn to dusk and occasional Wednesday afternoons. No structures were allowed on site other than a small shed which housed replacement faces and a camping style loo. There was very limited parking. They paid approximately £400-£500 for an annual rent for about 4 acres of broad leaf hill side woodland.

Club 2 had access 7 days a week dawn to dusk, they were allowed to have a couple of huts for storage and loos. Once a year they would rent an adjoining field to act as additional parking for when they ran a competition shoot (this would be a separate amount that I’m not sure of). My understanding was the club was responsible for maintaining the wood for the landlord. This would include clearing fallen trees, maintaining the stone walls surrounding the wood, drainage / stream and water flows. They paid approximately £600 -£700 for an annual rent for about 7-8 acres of hill side woodland (this may sound cheap but the wood had quite a lot of outlay and work involved in maintaining the land so the owner offset the rent for work done)

If you work on the principle of £80 to £120 an acre it seems about right. Some pay considerably more up to a couple of thousand a year (approx. £200 -£300 per acre, but these tend to be in areas where there are higher demands on woodland.

Of the two examples I’ve given the first was a small narrow strip of land on a hillside. The second though larger was at the end of what can best be described as a dirt track so harvesting of wood was not practical and issues of vandalism that the owner had encountered over the years prior to the club taking on the wood worked in the clubs favour as it meant the owner had people in the area keeping an eye on his land and motivated to keep it safe. Sadly that club lost 2 shelters/ huts to vandals and arsonists in the early days.

I hope this answers your question. As I said it won’t make you a millionaire, but does mean you would generate an income from an activity that is quieter and less damaging to the environment .

 

[newbie]

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed reply. Sounds interesting. I will have a ponder

 

[Fieldarcher]

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed reply. Sounds interesting. I will have a ponder

your welcome, have a good weekend