At the end of January I was invited back to the Norfolk Estate to undertake some more hedgelaying. I had previously laid about 150 metres of hedge for the Estate three years ago, so it was nice to be asked to do some more. This time it was a short hedge of 24 metres to be laid, but it was of very good quality having been planted and grown well.

The hedge was a typical conservation mix; predominately hawthorn, but with some field maple, dogwood, spindle and blackthorn in the mix. There were, however, spiral guards to be removed beforehand.

Once I got started, the hedge was a dream to lay and there was very little excess brush to remove.

There was also the opportunity to make one or two side pleaches in order to optimise the angle at which the stems could be laid. Not always easy to do, side-pleaching is a very satisfying skill to master as it makes it possible to lay problematic stems.

In less than two days I had the hedge completed. It was a joy to lay, and although it was a fairly young hedge it still had enough brush to allow a decent build to the finished job. Best of all, it will now start to thicken up from the base and in a couple of years it will be perfect habitat for nesting birds and small mammals.

I was even able to achieve a reasonably straight stake line, something that is not always possible on older, less well managed hedgerows.

Having completed this job, there was little time to stand back and admire the work – the Estate have another 100 odd metres of hedge for me to lay elsewhere, so that should occupy me for the next couple of weeks.

Looking ahead, I have the South of England Hedgelaying Championships in February, so this hedge has been a great warm-up for that. I just hope that I get a cant of equally good quality in the competition!