Easter Opening

We are OPEN today - Saturday 19 April - until 6pm.

We will be CLOSED on the Bank Holiday Monday.

Unfortunately, all three of our phone lines are currently down. You can get in touch with us by email - enquiries@westcombes.co.uk or by calling the shop mobile on 07587 178481

Our phone lines

Apologies to anyone trying to get through to us by phone. Unfortunately there is a fault on the line which BT Open Reach are apparently aware of and are trying to fix. The line went down on Thursday morning and we were promised it would take a maximum of 48 hours to fix.

At the time of writing, it is still not up and running. Talk Talk, our provider, are helpfully closed at Bank Holidays and weekends. We are extremely unhappy with the service which is affecting all three lines into the shop and would like to pass on our apologies to all our customers.

We can assure you that will be looking into finding a new provider once the Bank Holiday is over!

Picking up wood

There was an interesting item recently on BBC Radio Four's You and Yours programme about wood theft from forests.  Although many people think it's fine to pick up any wood which you may see lying around if you're out on a walk in woods or a forest, it is actually theft and you  need to get permission from the landowner before collecting wood. Apparently, some offices of the Forestry Commission offer members of the public the possibility of purchasing the rather wonderfully titled Firewood Scavenging Permit which will allow you to pick up wood for your woodburner. Rotting wood is an important part of the forest ecosystem, which is why landowners don't want it all taken away.

It is, however, legal to pick up drift wood from a public beach below the high water mark!

We'd always advise caution when using wood you've picked up yourself anyway as you need to leave it to dry out first and this takes a long time. We sell moisture meters at Westcombes which will help you to work out when your wood is ready to use.  Never use unseasoned, damp wood as it will not burn properly, will produce a lot of smoke and can clog up your chimney and stain the glass.

We sell a range of kiln-dried logs, kindling and flamers which we always recommend to our customers as you will find it easier to light your stove and it will burn more effectively and efficiently.

Happy New Year

We wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to all our customers past and present, and to wish you all a very happy 2014.

It has been a busy year for us, and we've been extending our range of woodburners, stoves and fireplaces (now we just need to find time to add them all to the website!)

Our wonderful logs, kindling and flamers have proved popular along with our smokeless coal, and it has been great to see so many of you coming back to stock up on fuel.

Happy New Year from all the team at Westcombes!

Christmas and New Year

Please note that we are closed between Christmas and the New Year and will be reopening on January 2.

We would like to wish all our customers a very merry Christmas and send best wishes for a happy 2014.

Sweeps on TV...

We were delighted to see a fascinating item about our recommended sweeps on TV yesterday!  The Pearce family have been sweeping chimneys for hundreds of years and have some amazing stories to tell.  You can catch the item featuring them on the BBC's One Show by clicking the link below - but it's only there for a few days, so don't delay!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03ktcgb/The_One_Show_10_12_2013/

Special offer on our kiln-dried logs this autumn

It's not quite cold enough to put the heating on, but getting home after a day in this wet weather nothing is more welcoming than a warming fire or stove. We've had more and more of our regular customers coming over the last few days to stock up on kiln-dried logs and kindling, and we wanted to let you all know about our new offer on logs.

If you come into the shop to buy your logs and can take ten bags or more, we are now selling them at a discounted rate of £5.50 a bag. For fewer than ten bags, they are still priced at a competitive £6.

We've been selling kiln-dried logs at Westcombes for a couple of years now, and we've found that practically every customer who has come in to buy a bag has returned   for more. They really are completely different from the bags of logs you may be used to buying at your local garage which are often damp and unseasoned. Our kiln-dried logs contain very little moisture which makes them easier to light, and means a cleaner burn - which will help reduce the chance of smoking and a stained glass window in your stove.

Come and try a bag next time you're passing - we're sure you'll see the difference!