Hedgelaying championships set for Valentines day

Picture: South of England Style

Also known as the Sussex Bullock Fence, this style has twiggy bits on both sides, so is known as 'double brush'. The cut base of the pleachers (horizontals) can be seen. Sometimes a pleacher is laid almost flat at the base before the next few are laid at a normal angle.

Points to note -

Stakes are in the centre of the hedge.

Bindings are used.

The hedge is trimmed immediately after laying.

Rural craftsfolk will try to "out lay" each other during the South of England Hedgelaying Society championship on February 14.

Around 40 competitors from Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, Hampshire, Kent and Oxfordshire will demonstrate traditional skills at this annual contest, which is this year being held in Surrey.

Competitors will tackle eight to ten metre stretches of hedgerow at Sondes Place Farm, near Dorking*, and experts will judge the end result.

The basics of hedge laying are the same around the country. Hedges are "laid" by experienced people who cut partly through the stems and bend them sideways, staking them in place to form a barrier. Laying reinvigorates the trees and shrubs, as the cut stems remain alive and bush outwards. The end result is an attractive stock-proof hedge of great value to wildlife.

The South of England Hedgelaying Society promotes a traditional "South of England style" of laying and it has an active membership of around 250 people, from all walks of life.

The work carried out during the contest will help the host farmer, Bert Broom, meet objectives under the Government's Countryside Stewardship scheme, which aims to restore and enhance the farmed landscape. This event will be an impressive spectacle as more than 400metres of hedge are to be rejuventated in just five hours.

The contest will commence at 0800hrs, finishing around 1500hrs. If you require "before and after" images you are advised to arrive early!

*The event is being held at Pippbrook Meadows, west of Dorking, Surrey, RH4 3EQ. Access off A25 Westcott Road - just off Milton Court Lane.

Nat Grid Ref: OSX 515765 OSY149353