I rent a council house but spent £65,000 on acres of woodland instead of buying a home

When Annie Westwood, 65, and her partner inherited some money from an aunt, they decided to spend £65,000 buying a three-acre plot of woodland near where they live in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. “[The inheritance] is not enough to buy a property and we are quite happy where we are,” says Annie. “We rent a council house, but we don’t want to buy it as my partner doesn’t agree with buying council houses and it’s not what we would want to buy.” Shorts The couple wanted to do something with the money though. “I was worried we would fritter it away on things and it would disappear into nothing,” Annie says. Her daughter, who loves walking and taking her children den-building outdoors, suggested buying some woodland from Woodlands.co.uk. “I have no experience of financial things,” Annie says. “I thought to own a wood you needed to buy a massive area – I never knew you could own just a little bit.” They chose a plot just off the A1, with beech trees, holly and two oak trees, a 15-minute drive from their home. “When it’s a field, it doesn’t look massive, but as a woodland it feels much bigger. We can make a clearing, put up a tent, and take some chairs and just sit and listen to things,” says Annie. “I’m working class, I’ve had an eventful life and now I want to be quiet.”The couple bought the woodland in May 2026 so have only just started to enjoy it. As well as the £65,000 purchase price, they paid £1,100 towards the conveyancing, which they found straightforward but rather expensive. “We need to do some work to the woodland so, at the moment, we’ve just been there and walked around,” says Annie. “I’m in a group with other woodland owners and they all say not to do anything for at least a year; just to visit and watch. You need to get to know a place before you do anything.” Her parcel of woodland is freehold which means she can’t live there permanently but can have a shelter, tool store or can camp. They can use the space for things like bee keeping or running a forest school – should they choose. The parcel of woodland that Annie has bought. She said it’s an investment and doesn’t expect it to return a profit soon Annie, who doesn’t have a private pension, works as a horse groom and carer and has always loved the outdoors. “I’ve worked on various yards since the kids were at school. I’ve never worked indoors except a few times when I did agency work.” For her, a big attraction is that a plot of woodland is a physical investment. “All these people buying cryptocurrency – what if the Wi-Fi goes out or the electricity goes out?” wonders Annie. “I’ll never sell it unless I’m destitute – even then I could always just live in my kids’ garden.” In the autumn, Annie plans to ask family and friends to come and help clear the woods, so they can put up a tent and make some pathways. The area is known for having a large number of deer and, consequently, ticks, so proper paths are important. Woodlands.co.uk will also pay woodland owners £300 to go on a course and learn about woodland activities, such as willow weaving and beekeeping, and this is something Annie is interested in doing. While it’s an investment, the family aren’t expecting it to turn a profit anytime soon. “We won’t make any money on it in the short term, and I’m not bothered about that. It seemed risk-free and it’s there for the future for my kids and grandkids. They can use it and sell it,” says Annie. “It’s freehold so it’s ours. My daughter said, when the sale was going through: ‘Even if it doesn’t go up in value, it’s a little part of the world that is protected and be satisfied with that.’” Annie would definitely recommend buying woodland to others. “If people look at what’s around them for sale, they will be surprised at what is close,” she says. “My partner can’t walk far but we can drive right up to [our plot] and the tracks are very good, so you don’t have to be 100 per cent. “If you find the right piece, you can go right to the door with a vehicle and you could put a wheelchair or a motorised lawnmower on it. You can do whatever makes it easy.” Annie has already met some neighbours from the adjoining plots and found it to be a welcoming, positive community. And she says her aunt would approve. “I wrote to the sister of the aunt who left us the money and said what we’d done with it, and she wrote back saying that my aunt had always dreamed of owning some woodland.”