Beech, Ash, and Oak: The Ultimate Firewood Trio

Choosing The Best Firewood Combination

When it comes to choosing reliable, high-quality firewood for stoves, log burners, and open fires, three species stand above the rest: beech, ash, and oak. These species not only offer exceptional quality but also provide reliable burn times and optimal heat output. Each has its own character, burn qualities and advantages, but together they create the perfect balance of easy ignition, clean-burning, long-lasting heat and beautiful flames to add warmth and a cosy feel to your home. Here's a breakdown of why our mix of beech, ash and oak is the holy trinity of firewood!

Beech: The Clean Burner with a Bright Flame

Burn time: ★★★★

Heat output (BTU): High

Smoke/soot: Very low

Ease of lighting: Good

Beech is a firewood known for its high density and excellent heat output. It burns with a bright, lively flame and gives off excellent heat with very little smoke. Beech has a fine grain that splits easily, and when kiln-dried, it creates a clean-burning, bright, aesthetically pleasing fire - ideal for open fireplaces and all log burners and stoves, particularly glass-fronted ones, where flame appearance is a factor.

Ash: The Dependable All-Rounder

Burn time: ★★★★

Heat output (BTU): Medium-High

Smoke/soot: Very low

Ease of lighting: Excellent

Ash is every stove, log burner or fireplace user's friend and is renowned for its exceptional burning properties. When it comes to quick ignition, hot, clean and even burning, and minimal smoke production, ash is unbeatable and perfect for daily fires and fast heating of your home. One of ash's unique features is its burn time, which can exceed that of other hardwoods, making it an efficient choice for prolonged warmth during colder months. Ash produces a rich aroma and good flames, emphasising its aesthetic appeal while keeping your home warm.

Oak: The Long-Burning Heat Champion

Burn time: ★★★★★ (very long)

Heat output (BTU): High

Smoke/soot: Very low when kiln-dried

Ease of lighting: Slower to start but well worth the wait

Oak wood is arguably the most renowned choice for firewood, and for good reason. It is dense and slow-burning, and produces minimal smoke once kiln-dried (like ours!). Once lit, kiln-dried oak produces bright flames and a steady, powerful heat that lasts for hours. It's ideal for stoves/log burners and overnight burns, where long-lasting embers keep the heat consistent and your home warm and toasty. Kiln-dried oak is the undisputed heavyweight of the firewood world.

The Perfect Mix

The combination of beech, ash, and oak in your firewood supply creates a perfect blend for optimal fires. Each of these hardwood species brings its own unique properties and strengths to the mix:

• Oak provides longevity and high, steady heat

• Ash ignites easily and maintains balance

• Beech adds bright flames and quick warmth

When burnt together, they deliver quick ignition, consistent heat with minimal smoke and soot, bright flames, and long-lasting embers. This is why kiln-dried beech, ash and oak are the winning mix for home heating.

Our hardwood logs are kiln-dried to a minimum of 18% moisture content and are Woodsure-approved under the Ready to Burn scheme - perfect for stoves, log burners and fireplaces. We offer various ways to buy, including our most popular option - bulk bags, barrow bags for those with smaller storage spaces, and full cubic metre (m3) loads if you wish to stock up for longer or have higher usage. Kindling and firelighters are also available to get things started! We deliver free to most towns & villages across Cambridgeshire to most PE and CB postcodes - you can find our handy area checkers here (for Huntingdon/Cambs) and here (for Haddenham/Ely/Cambs).