AN award winning forestry estate covering more than 200 hectares and owned by the renowned wine writer Hugh Johnson has come to market for offers over £3,750,000.
The Johnson family has managed the Cae Gwian Forestry Estate, located at Bontddu, Barmouth on the Afon Mawddach estuary in Gwynedd, since 1991. Uniquely, it offers a combination of a Snowdonia National Park location and an outstanding commercial forest.
Rated one of the best medium-sized forests in Wales, it also features a 19th century gold and copper mine – no longer in use - with the mine office building having been rebuilt by the Johnson family.
Hugh is considered the world's best-selling wine writer and is proud of the estate, which won gold for the Best Managed Woodland category 51-200ha and Gold Best Conifer Planting or Restocking under 10 years old at the Royal Welsh Show in 2019.
Mr Johnson has been personally involved in developing the estate and said: "Cae Gwian is an unusual forest of exceptional beauty and charm, stretching over two hill ranges, one overlooking the estuary of the River Mawdach, the higher one overlooking the first, a green valley grazed by sheep between, and beyond the rocky massif of Cader Idris to the south and the Irish Sea to the west.
“We have owned Cae Gwian since 1991 and managed it through Tilhill Forestry as a productive estate, cropping and replanting commercial species but steadily increasing the variety of trees and the proportion of broadleaves.
“It was planted, largely with Sitka spruce and Japanese larch, in the early 1960s. The lower areas retain vestiges of old oak woodland. Stone walls reflect its history as pasture, and in the centre are the remains of a 19th century goldmine (though it produced more copper than gold). Its water supply, the Afan Dwynant, flows through the heart of the property, while the leat that turned the water wheel of the mine supplies water to four old stone cottages scattered through the trees.
“We rebuilt the old mine office building with its splendid fireplace as our shelter and picnic place. We also made two large ponds; the higher one our tranquil swimming place in the hills. Cae Gwian has not only proved a good investment; it has been our family resort for a generation."
Most of the forest has either been thinned or felled in recent years and an all-weather, well-engineered road system can be used for timber market even in the depths of winter.
Tilhill Forestry has recently produced a management plan for the whole estate and this is currently approved for the felling of 10ha of mature crop.
A new owner will be able to review this plan and either adopt it or create a new one subject to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) approval.
Mike Tustin, director at Tustins, said: “This is a unique opportunity to own a magnificent slice of rural Wales. The special combination of a Snowdonia National Park location and all the ingredients of an outstanding commercial forest should be attractive to those whose desire to own a fast growing forestry asset.”
Cae Gwian Forestry Estate is on the market with Tustins with a guide price of offers over £3,750,000.
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