17 teams of local volunteers competed to be crowned Surrey's hedgelaying champions on Sunday 25th February, restoring some 100 metres of hedgerow to well managed condition in the process.
Surrey Wildlife Trust's second annual Beginners Hedgelaying Competition, this year's event took place on Landbarn Farm near Dorking, a tenanted National Trust Farm at the foot of Denbies Hillside. Part of the Surrey Wildlife Trust's National Lottery Heritage Fund Hedgerow Heritage project, it contributed to the Trust's efforts to restore, renew and create hedgerows in the North Downs and Surrey Hills.
Working at record pace for over six hours, using traditional tools such as billhooks (sharp cutting knives) and beadles (traditional wooden mallets), competitors set to work laying allocated sections of Field Maple and prickly Hawthorn in the South of England style (there are many regional hedgelaying techniques across the UK). Proceedings were overseen by expert judge Paul Matthews from Hedges & Hurdles, who was also on hand to provide tips and advice to the novice hedgelayers, some of whom had never laid a hedge before!
At first glance it appeared a destructive process, with the main stems of each individual plant partially cut, or 'pleached', in a diagonal fashion near the base. This allowed the plants to be bent over horizontally whilst maintaining the flow of sap and nutrients to the remainder of the plant.
The participants then inserted wooden stakes into the middle of the hedges to offer stability. Binders, cut from willow or hazel, were then woven in and out of the stakes to help to secure everything in place. New shoots will sprout from the base of the plant stems during the growing season as the newly laid hedgerow naturally regenerates.
As dusk approached, the tired and somewhat soggy competitors gathered to hear the results of the contest. First place was awarded to Peter Day and Paul Bristowe, second place went to Adam and Shaun Waddell, third to Ellen Baugh and Sam Riley and fourth place to Keith Lightfoot and Richard Acton. Each team received a sustainably produced wooden trophy for their efforts.
But it wasn’t just about competition. Well-managed hedgerows are a vital component of the countryside ecosystem in the UK; they are nature super-highways connecting other habitats and provide food, shelter and breeding space for a huge number of bird, mammal and insect species. With a recent report naming Surrey as one of the English counties with the fewest remaining hedgerows, the Trust's work to restore and create these green arteries is more important than ever.
Surrey Wildlife Trust's Hedgerow Heritage Project Manager Katy Fielding said:
"Sunday's competitors pulled out all the stops to help restore 100 meters of hedgerow and we were inspired to see men and women of all ages, including several young people, showing how a traditional craft can be applied in the 21st century to help connect and protect Surrey's nature.
“Hedgelaying is a vital skill that we must pass on to the next generation if we are to maintain and expand Surrey’s hedgerows into the future, and we want to say a huge thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and lottery players for making this project possible.”
