Hedge laying

[The Heron]

I have just read an article on hedge laying in the shooting times I have seen it often but never realised how much there was to it worth a look. 

[Walker570]

Very skilful, done right and there are a number of regional styles.  We had a Pro Layer giving lessons down our lane the year before last and the people didn't look country people if you know what I mean, one was a lady probably in her 50s but all getting stuck in and the hedge looks great now.  Of course the tractor mounted hedge flail has made laying almost historical but you do see some beautifully laid hedges alongside the road occasionally.

Back in the 50s when I was just a kid, hedges where trimmed by a team of workers, siding up and bodging out. We had a couple of land girls who got the bodging out job and my grandfather and our regular far hand did the siding up with slash hooks you could shave with, they never took the top off and when the hedge reached a certain height it would be laid and the rotation would start again.  Bodging out was removing all the nettles and weed growth from the base of the hedge as we ploughed and sowed right up to the hedge side, no conservation strips back then but we always seemed to have thousands of song birds etc. so must have been doing something right.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Walker570

[Cheshirelad]

I did a bit of hedgelaying with the BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers). The actual laying was easy - it was harvesting all the hazel stakes that was a killer.