The Bede Howell Award for Excellence in Silviculture 2025
Congratulations to Gold winner Buckland Wood and to Silver winner Haddeo Woodlands.
Sponsored by Tilhill, this award recognises and encourages exemplary silviculture in commercial woodland or compartments of established crops where wood production (quality timber or other commercial products) is the primary aim.
Gold winner: Buckland Wood
"Everywhere at Buckland there has been careful planning, with landscape, timber production and nature conservation all considered. Establishment and management have been meticulous and regular, resulting in some first class productive stands of conifer and oak timber, which have regularly produced a financial surplus and have a great future ahead of them."
The Bede Howell Award for Excellence in Silviculture, sponsored by Tilhill, had the most entries and strongest competition. Gold was awarded to Buckland Wood, where Ralph Nicholson’s quarter-century vision has transformed 40 hectares of arable land into exceptional timber stands. Zero evidence of squirrel damage in vulnerable crops is a testament to Nicholson’s rigorous control efforts.
The judges noted the meticulous planning at Buckland, where landscape, timber production and nature conservation all come into play. The enterprise recently introduced a new on-site sawmill, built entirely from estate timber and serving his son Robin Nicholson’s glulam construction business, Buckland Timber.
Silver winner: Haddeo Woodlands
It must have been a daunting prospect but Bernard tackled the access problem by installing nearly 25 miles of forestry tracks, zig-zagging the slopes: without these no timber harvesting could be managed. Even now most of the timber has to be winched to the track side but with the network installed it is only a short distance to the nearest forest road. The Haddeo woodlands are a fine example of growing quality timber on a difficult site. Bernard was a close second to Buckland Wood in this year’s competition.
Runner-up Haddeo Woodlands was praised as a “fine example of growing quality timber on a difficult site”. Bernard and Catherine Dru’s 320-hectare operation required installing nearly 25 miles of zig-zagging forestry tracks across steep valley sides to make timber harvesting possible. In spite of these complex conditions, the estate produces impressive stands of oak and younger conifers.
The couple also demonstrated resilience and creativity when facing difficulties marketing their oak. Establishing a high-end oak flooring company, they showcase the unique qualities of their French-origin oak in period and listed properties.
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