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!

Our new stove showroom

If you've been to visit us at Westcombes this week, you may have wondered what's going on! We're currently renovating one of the upstairs showrooms into a new room which will be just for stoves.  We've been laying a new floor there and so the remaining space in our three other showrooms in the shop is rather over-busy with our huge range of stoves and fireplaces.

Most of the major work is now done, so it's a bit less dusty and we're on our way to having a lovely new showroom for our stoves so we hope you will bear with us until the work is done.

Chilli Penguin

We first came across the Chilli Penguins at the Hearth and Home show in Harrogate, and we fell in love with them at first sight.  We admit, the quirky name did catch our attention, but we knew right away that these stylish British-made stoves were something our customers would appreciate.

Chilli Penguin make their stoves to order in Wales, and they're a top of the range, high-performance product.  We were delighted to take stock of our first Chilli Penguins yesterday, and they are now on display in the stoves showrooms here at Westcombes.

The Chilli Penguin range is fairly small, and you can always spot them by their distinctive penguin logo.  They come in 5 kW and 8 kW versions,  and the smaller models can be used on canal boats - you can even choose one with an oven box so you can cook on it!  There's also a little stove in the range which has been specifically designed for use in log cabins, yurts and beach huts - perfect for a garden shed or studio.

Chilli Penguins come in a variety of beautiful colours to complement any home.  Come along and have a look  - we'd be delighted to know what you think!