YOU MAY have noticed more and more pockets of beautifully laid hedges as you travel the countryside. Hedgelaying is back or, at least, we are seeing some shoots of revival of this ancient craft. Earlier this year, I achieved a long-held ambition to have a section of hedge laid. It was only about 50 yards – or two and a half chains, a measurement I last encountered as an estate management student at the Royal Agricultural College in the early 1980s – ostensibly to let light into my kitchen garden but also to do a small bit for wildlife.
With a bit more education, I hope to do the next section myself but this was done in Midland style by David Jupe, a local gardener who was taught as a boy by the now-defunct Oxfordshire Hedgelaying Group. Technically it is a craft but his work is borderline art. The result is amazing: a patchy, leggy hedge that was probably untouched for 20 years has been reinvigorated. It is tight so not only stockproof but I dare say a weasel, let alone a fox, would struggle to find its way in or my dogs a way out. The newly returned daylight on the garden has given rise to orchids, cornflower, ox-eye daisies, agrimony, cowslip and corn marigold, none of which were present last year.
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Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av The Field.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Rory Stewart - The former Cabinet minister and hit podcast host talks to Alec Marsh about the parlous state of British politics, land management and his deep love of the countryside
The gently spoken 51-year-old former Conservative Cabinet minister is a countryman at heart. That's clear: he even changes into a tweed waistcoat for the interview, which takes place at his London home and begins with a question about his precise career status. Having resigned from the Commons and the Conservative Party in 2019, the former diplomat and soldier has reinvented himself, first with an unconventional but promising run as an independent for the London mayoralty (abandoned because of COVID19 in 2020) and then as a media figure, co-hosting one of the country's most popular podcasts, The Rest Is Politics, alongside Alastair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor.
Fodder
Local fare with the feel-good factor.
Celebrating the game changers
Once served only in the traditional manner, the fruits of our forays now find their way into all manner of diverse and delicious dishes, say Neil and Serena Cross
The first civil engineer
John Smeaton left an indelible mark on the field of engineering and, three centuries after his birth, his legacy remains as strong as ever
School spirits
From grey ladies and ghostly gardeners to more malign entities, public schools are a rich repository of unnatural phenomena
'A long way from Piccadilly or Pall Mall'
Marking 150 years since the birth of Sir Winston Churchill, Dr Conor Farrington explores this eminent statesman’s often-overlooked 1907 tour of British East Africa: a journey rich with enchanting natural beauty and sporting adventure
Top of the pups
Canines in all their guises were celebrated at The Field Top Dog Awards lunch at Defender Burghley Horse Trials whether eager on the peg, patient at home or perpetually making mischief
Angling for success
It’s never too early to shape up for next season’s salmon and trout, and these top fishing schools are here to help
Talking scents
The canine nose is an astonishingly complex piece of biotechnology that man has harnessed for sustenance and sport for thousands of years
Wall-to-wall excitement
Criss-crossed by formidable drystone walls, the High Peak Harriers’ scenic country provides a day out with an exhilarating difference
