Our First Novice Hedgelaying Competition

Working closely with hedge champion Nigel Adams, an experienced hedgelayer and author of a recent book on hedgelaying, and the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, the competition was a huge success. The hedgelayers had an exhausting but exhilarating day, rejuvenating 180m of hedge collectively in just five hours!

The idea for a novice hedgelaying competition stemmed from the Four Counties Hedge Network (4CHN) group, which Wild Oxfordshire has been hosting for the past few years. The group aims to draw together organisations and individuals with interest in hedgerow conservation and management from across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire. It provides a forum for organisations and practitioners, promotes and shares best practice in hedgerow protection, planting, and management and raises awareness and appreciation of hedgerows. Being relatively new, the group is still finding its feet, but we have progressed with various hedge-related activities such as hedgelaying traineeships and the hedgelaying competition.

Whilst the 4CHN was developing a few ideas, Wild Oxfordshire and CPRE Oxfordshire were successful in getting funding for Hedgerow Heroes 2025/26, which presented the perfect opportunity to support both the 4CHN and CPRE National’s Hedgerow Heroes initiatives. Wild Oxfordshire has been working in partnership with CPRE Oxfordshire since 2020 to deliver four fantastic years of Oxfordshire Hedgerow Heroes projects, which has resulted in a whopping 11km of new hedge creation and 3km of rejuvenated hedge across Oxfordshire. This has only been achievable with the help of brilliant volunteers who work tirelessly on the ground prepping, planting and managing and all the other organisations and charities who have lent their hand. It really has developed into a massive multi-partner project over the years. THANK YOU to everyone involved - if I mentioned you all, I would be here all day, but you know who you are! You can read more about Hedgerow Heroes here: Wild Oxfordshire.

So, with funding in hand, hedgelaying competition expertise on board, and a hedge in need of rejuvenating, provided by Harcourt Arboretum in Nuneham Courtenay, we were able to get on our way and organise our first novice hedgelaying competition. Our competition was an opportunity for amateur hedgelayers to get a feel for what hedgelaying competitions are all about whilst improving their skills in a friendly and welcoming environment.  There was the thought that other ‘normal’ competitions could be perceived as a bit daunting and may put newer hedgelayers off, which is why Nigel suggested the idea for a competition for novices who had never competed or had only taken part in one or two competitions previously.

The competition began on a brisk February morning, when we welcomed 36 competitors from the Wychwood Forest Trust hedgelaying group, the Chilterns Society Rough Around the Hedges group, two Earth Trust hedgelaying groups and other keen hedgelayers not part of a group. Competitors signed up to compete in a pair or on their own, either in the Midland or South of England hedgelaying styles. Pairs were tasked to lay, stake and bind 8.5m of hedge and individuals 7m between 9:30-14:30. Everyone who entered actually turned up, which I thought was amazing! 

Throughout the morning, the clouds and gloom broke into a lovely sunny day with blue sky. Perfect hedgelaying conditions if you ask me. The atmosphere was buzzing and jolly! Over 1000 spectators turned up to marvel at the hedgelayers; volunteers delivered tea, coffee and ginger cake to keep everyone’s energy up, and Nigel and his son Jonny, alongside two staff members from Harcourt Arboretum, attended to hedgelayers in need of chainsaw help whilst offering advice and guidance on how to tackle tricky parts of the hedge. As the clock ticked on, you could feel the mood shift. The chattiness petered off, and the competitors seemed to switch gear into serious mode to get their section completed in the allotted time, not an easy feat. As the finishing horn blared, the hedgelayers could finally relax, amongst the sweat, some blood, but thankfully no tears!

Harcourt Arboretum provided a hearty meal of hot soup and rolls beneath the trees, which was gratefully received. A meal well and truly deserved. Meanwhile, the judges had assessed the hedge, and the results were in! Nigel, Jonny, Ben (Arboretum Curator & Head of Arboriculture) and I presented certificates, prizes and trophies – yes, there were trophies – to all the winners.

The 1st place and supreme winners were:

South of England style pairs – Robert Dunbar and Jeremy Handley from Chilterns Society Rough around the Hedges hedgelaying group

South of England style singles – Kai Meredith from Chilterns Society Rough around the Hedges hedgelaying group

Midland style pairs – Paddy Sexton and Jonathan Cload

Midland style singles – Manfred Pegram from Chilterns Society Rough around the Hedges hedgelaying group

Supreme single – Kai Meredith

Supreme pairs – Paddy Sexton and Jonathan Cload

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