850 acres of woodland
means having over a million
trees to look after.

Our aim is to grow a 15 pence plant into a beautiful tall tree with a big butt! Good timber also looks good and we are happy for the woods to be enjoyed via the Winton Walks network of paths around the Estate.

The five-strong Forestry team has passion and pride for their job, and this shows in the improvements being made to the woodlands. The trees are thinned and pruned to improve timber quality, and the paths and bridges are built to last. Wildlife is encouraged as much as possible, and positive measures are taken to create and conserve habitats. When the trees are felled, the wood is processed for furniture at the top end, and woodchips are developed for heating from the lowest grade.We plant more than we fell and very little is wasted.

Tree planting
Tree species choice on Winton varies to suit soil conditions, landscape and expected markets. Saltoun Big Wood was bought in 1995 as a large block of commercial forestry to add to the many, but small belts on Winton. Much planting was done from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, so most of the woodlands are now in mid-rotation before maturity at 60 to 120 years old. In 2006 100 acres of farmland around Wintonhill were planted with 86,000 trees, two-thirds of which were broadleaves.

Biofuel
We make woodchips from the tops of trees and the poorer spindly trees in order to supply heat for hot water and for space heating. We dry the chips and burn about 300 tonnes of woodchips a year to heat Winton House and currently also heat 5 cottages. With regular washing, warmth, lower fuel costs and tidier woods, everybody is happy!