At the beginning of December I once again joined members of the South of England Hedge-laying Society (SOEHLS), this time over at Crowborough. The weather on this occasion was much kinder with cooler and drier conditions than we experienced at Byfleet a month earlier. The hedge was very much different too and on arrival we were greeted by the scene below:

A rather over-mature hedge consisting mainly of mature hawthorn, holly, and hazel laid down an interesting challenge to the team of cutters, but undeterred we got stuck in. Chainsaws were the tool of choice for this beast of a hedge, though some of the guys were happy to use axes instead. By the time we reached lunch, steady progress had been made and the hedge was starting to take shape:

A concerted effort by all got us through the finishing line and by mid-afternoon we were putting the finishing touches to our respective sections of hedge:

A huge improvement on what we were faced with in the morning and the hedge now has a chance to regenerate from the base whilst at the same time offering shelter to the stock in the adjacent field.