10 CUMBRIAFebruary 2009
Cumbria's Chainsaw Specialists
Main agents for
STIHL, JONSERED and
HUSQVARNA
Large selection in stock
PLUS extensive range of Safety
Clothing and Footwear.
Bars - chains oils - files
HIRE . SALES . SPARES . REPAIRS
Allenbrook Road. Carlisle. Tel: 01228 536391
Look after your hedge
with a from Rickerby Ltd
Reshaping the future
of the hedge & verge cutting market
Carlisle
Craig Kennedy 07774 248880
Keith Graham 01228 576850
07774 259838
Penrith & South East Cumbria
David Salkeld 01768 862613
07774 259840
Service Depot
Carlisle Area, Peter Watson
07774 248345
Penrith & Cockermouth
07774 752990
West Cumbria
Steven Mitchell 01900 814876
07774 248865
Western Sales Manager
Martyn Henderson
01228 527521 07774 243843
Kendal & Lancaster
Robert Bell 07831 256115
01228 670211
You can find out for
yourselves at the 6th
North Cumberland
Style Hedgelaying
Competition on Saturday
21st February, organised
by the Solway Coast
Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty (AONB).
The competition will
begin at 8.30am for
competitors and prize
giving, at 3.00pm.
Details of the location,
near Kirkbride, can
be obtained from the
Solway Coast AONB
Unit.
Cumbria has
about 14,000 miles of
hedgerow and this
provides one of the most
important habitats for a
wide diversity of wildlife
in our countryside.
The reason for laying
hedges is practical and
simple. Hedges make
excellent barriers for
livestock, but not if they
are gappy and sparse.
A laid hedge is nearly
impenetrable and will
outlive any fence with
minimum maintenance.
H
edgelaying combines
craftsmanship and artistry and
when you see an expert at work
it provides admiration and awe.
In 55BC Julius Caesar
recorded the fact that
the "Nervi" tribe in
Flanders, "Cut into
slender trees and bent
them over so that many
branches came out along
the length; they finished
this off by inserting
brambles and briars, so
that these hedges formed
a defence like wall,
which could not only
not be penetrated but
not even seen through".
Hedgelaying as we
know it today began in
the 18th century. Open
fields were enclosed
and were marked out,
first with ditches and
then hedges. A hedge
left to grow unchecked
will eventually become
a line of trees and of
no use for retaining
livestock. Barbed wire
was unknown at that time
and so ways were sought
to make the hedges stock
proof. Once again the
skills of the hedgelayer
came to the fore.
By the 1960's hedges
were declining at an
alarming rate. Lack of
maintenance meant that
hedges became tall and
gappy with nothing at the
bottom; in effect a line of
trees. Many hedges were
grubbed out to make
larger fields that could be
more efficiently managed
by larger machinery. In
the 1970's the National
Society for Hedgelaying
was established to
promote the skills of
hedgelaying throughout
Britain.
Legislation was
introduced in 1997 to
help protect hedgerows.
The decline has now
been halted and between
1998 and 2004 over
4000km were replanted
and almost 7000km of
hedgerow restored.
Today's hedgelayers
are as much concerned
with conserving our
countryside as with
making stock proof
hedges. We now have a
much greater knowledge
of wildlife and how,
well-managed hedges
are essential to the
countryside.
Hedgelaying styles
are unique to different
areas of Britain, and
even within a county,
providing characteristic
field boundaries with
the North Cumberland
Style being a feature
of the Solway Plain
landscape. It is ideally
carried out from late
winter to early spring
before the buds burst,
and a billhook is the
ideal tool.Catering will be
provided and there will
be no admission fee, and
parking is off road.
The major funding
for the competition this
year comes from the
Solway Coast Area of
Outstanding Natural
Beauty Sustainable
Development Fund,
on behalf of Defra, and
Friends of the Lake
District. Other sponsors
so far include Cumbrian
Newspapers. For extra
information and entry
forms please contact
Rose Wolfe on 016973
33055, Monday to Friday
9 am-4.00pm. There is
a �5.00 entry fee which
is refunded on the day
and every competitor
receives a �10 cutting
fee.
HEDGE MANAGEMENT
FOR WILDLIFE
H
edgerows help define the
uniqueness of our countryside,
especially in rural Cumbria. Hedges
are one of the most important
natural habitats on many farms and so
conscientious and sympathetic management
will make all the difference to providing
a good farm environment and preserving
them in the future.
Most shrubs and
trees forming hedges
only produce flowers,
nuts and berries on
the previous seasons
growth, so cutting
every year means they
provide little food for
butterflies, insects, birds
and mammals. Wildlife
benefits immensely
from trimming alternate
winters after the seeds
and berries have been
eaten.
Trimming hedges
in rotation will ensure
a continuous food
supply on the farm.
Enhanced hedgerow
management as proposed
in the Environmental
Stewardship Scheme �
Entry Level, will reward
farmers for cutting no
more than 1/3 of hedges
in any one year.
New growth branches
out from just behind
the point where it was
last cut, so constantly
cutting the same point
will make the branches
woody. A hedge will
become thicker if cut a
few centimeters further
out than the last trim.
Laying hedges is a
traditional skill carried
out in the winter
months and styles vary
throughout the country.
In Cumbria, there are
two distinct methods
of hedgelaying: The
Cumberland and the
Westmorland.
The Cumberland
hedge is typical of north
Cumbria and is grown on
a bank. It is only about
1 foot high but can be 3
foot wide covering the
bank. It usually takes a
couple of years to mature
to be stock proof.
Traditional skills
such as hedgelaying are
`dying' crafts and there
is a very real danger that
in the future there will
be a shortage of suitably
qualified people with
the skills and experience
to actually carry out
the work required.
During 2009, Cumbria
FWAG will be hosting
hedgelaying courses for
both styles, which have
in the past always proved
to be very popular and
successful, giving the
ideal opportunity for all
to learn or improve on
this essential traditional
skill.
For further information
about our courses or
becoming a member
of Cumbria FWAG or
contact us on 01768
868104.
The 6th North Cumberland StyleThe 6th North Cumberland Style
Hedgelaying CompetitionHedgelaying Competition
on Saturday 21st Februaryon Saturday 21st February

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