(this date is fully booked, the next hedgelaying course with availability is on Saturday 18th March)

Taught by Clive Leeke, a nationally renowned hedgelayer, you will learn this ancient craft in good company, in a beautiful London location.

Horsenden Farm is a rural oasis that feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of urban life, while being a short tube ride to central London. At Horsenden we have a proud history of keeping rural crafts alive and employing traditional methods to manage the woodlands and the farm. Horse logging, coppicing, greenwood working, hazel weaving and hedge laying are among many rural skills practiced here – crafts that were practiced by our ancestors yet are still relevant today, and that satisfy the senses so much more than modern mechanical methods.

What is hedge laying?

Hedge laying is a centuries old traditional craft: hedges are a natural feature of our countryside providing an effective boundary as well as a wildlife habitat. Laying a hedge helps rejuvenate an ageing hedge by encouraging it to put on new growth and helps to improve its structure and strength.

What will I learn?

NB: on this course date (18th February) the stretch being laid is an intermediate hedge, so is suitable for people wanting to dig into (no pun intended!) more challenging hedge situations. The hedge is a neglected hedge being laid for the first time. As well as ordinary stems to lay, there are stems with rot at the base and roots that Clive will teach rootlaying and other relevant techniques to work with, and there will be a change in direction of the hedge at the corner.

This particular course is suitable both for beginners and also those wanting to get experience and guidance with some challenging hedge situations.

This is an intermediate course that will include techniques such as root laying, and other approaches to laying difficult sections of hedge.

Any questions, get in touch at friends@horsenden.co.uk