Did I just commit an illegal act???

[Lauriefairycake]

Picking up bits of twigs from the side of the road?

It borders the National Trust Land - but you have to leave the road to drive onto to the estate.

A woman in an estate landrover stopped and said make sure you don't get caught and then told me there was a sign (on the estate) not on the main road - no idea what the sign said though as she didn't say.

I was going to go into the police station and ask but I was afraid they'd arrest me

Hmm well if it is it's not exactly the crime of the century is it? Forget about it

Cant forget about it - I have to find out as we are spending the summer collecting bits of wood for out woodburner after having to spend 1200 quid for 3 months on wood/coal last winter as our solid fuel burner didn't get installed til November.

I would imagine any signs would refer to cutting down trees or plants, not picking up twigs which had already dropped to the floor! Can't see how you're doing anything naughty!

Right...

First thing - find said sign and read it.
If still not clear, phone National Trust or your local authority, explain that you want to collect some twigs from the side of the road and ask if you are allowed. Don't tell them you have already done so!

Am sure it is all fine and they will at you for worrying.

There's an old man along our road who spends all year collecting firewood from the common and hills where we live.

You see him dragging huge great branches home and, to my knowledge, he's never been arrested over it.

I reckon the woman in the landrover meant that it was illegal if it was from NT property

I can't go find the sign as then I'd have to go onto the private estate.

I could call them up as they a visitors centre in another part of the estate.

It's a 'B' road through a village and the huge 200 foot across verge seperates the estate road from the public road.

the woman was quite officious and had a very Penelope Keith tone to her voice so I'm searching the internet for rules regarding foraging for anything as I'd like to know before I go back.

There is a perfectly legal thing called windfall.
It means you can pick up any wood that has fallen on the ground and take it home.

As long as you are not cutting anything down you will be fine.
Unless they are fussy about their own windfall, but generally anyone can pick windfall up

(I did anyway)

Forget it, we was in Sandringham wood collecting logs, some guy charges up insisting we put them back, I refused, he called police. I did not hear conversation but it sounded like they told him to get stuffed and stop wasting their time, as he walked away afterwards.

Serioulsy unless you are in there with a chainsaw I doubt anyone cares

if it is private land you need to get some sort of wood ollection liscence - probably from the local council.

HI,
As long as the twigs had fallen & you hadn't "picked / plucked" them, - It's not on private property & you're not making any money from them (i.e. if you were picking wild growing berries & making Jam & selling it on,) Then you're fine.
Tell the old hag to "bog orrff!"

Actually these twigs belong to the NT and you have probably committed an act of theft.

You can collect the "Four F's" - fruit, flowers, foliage and fungi - for personal use, but not wood, so probably not a good idea to rely on this for winter fuel.

break the sign down and burn that..

helpful, aren't I

Seriously though, get stuff from highways borders and you'll be fine. NT are, erm, anal about such things.

I don't think you are allowed to take the Four Fs from NT properties either, in some places they have signs saying as much.

You need to find out from the council who that verge belongs to - if the NT land is right up to the edge of the road, then steer well clear - if it stops at the fence then the verge is fair game.

twigs? theft? haha

People arn't allowed to pick wood up from my parents land, never asked about the legal stuff though but I'm sure windfall just applies to public land.