Local people spent 4 days in March learning and developing their hedgelaying skills at North Nook near Beacon Fell with expert tutor Dave Padley. Landowner Peter also joined in and will be continuing to lay other hedges on his farm. The hedges were laid in Lancashire & Westmorland Style which is specifically designed to keep in sheep and lambs being 1 m high and 1 m wide and densely packed with material.  Hedges and the skill of hedgelaying declined after the 2nd WW as farming intensified and mechanisation increased. The National Hedgelaying Society was formed in the 1970s to try and prevent the loss of these traditional skills. Thankfully, due to the changes that reward farmers for maintaining and reinstating traditional boundaries that support wildlife and promote biodiversity, maintenance of hedgerows is now part of good farming practice and the skills of the hedge layer are in great demand. 

Why lay hedges?

Hedgerows have either evolved or been planted to create and maintain stock proof boundaries.  They are also excellent wildlife habitats and corridors and form part of the fabric of the landscape. Left unmanaged, however, a hedgerow will continue to grow upwards and outwards and eventually become a line of trees.

A well-managed hedgerow is thick and bushy, an impenetrable barrier to sheep and cattle and a haven for wildlife. Laying a hedge encourages regeneration keeping the hedge bushy and healthy. Once a hedge has been laid, regular trimming will keep it in good order for up to 50 years when it may be appropriate to lay the hedge again, or perhaps coppice it.

To find more about hedgerows and the different styles of management go the National Hedgelaying Society website http://www.hedgelaying.org.uk/styles.htm

The Forest of Bowland AONB runs a Traditional Boundaries programme that includes grant aid towards positive management of drystone walls and hedgerows.  Also as part of this programme training courses and support towards competitions in the skills of drystone walling and hedgelaying are run.

For more information on opportunities to attend a training course contact Martin Charlesworth on 01200 448000  martin [dot] charlesworth [at] lancashire [dot] gov [dot] uk