A Week on the Estate: Hedge Laying, Moat Clearing & Produce Galore
It’s hard to believe we’re already half-way through autumn. The nights are drawing in, there’s a crisp chill in the air, the trees are decked with golden leaves and the clocks go back in a fortnight.
Out on the land, it’s National Hedgerow Week. Thomas helped expert hedge-layer Matthew Davey and his team hand-lay 150m of new hedgerow over at Harden’s Gap. A little autumn rain didn’t dampen the team’s spirits as they tackled this important job. Estate records show 170 fields in 1888 and 96 in 2018, a pattern consistent with post-war farming practices. We’ve been working hard to reverse this trend and do better for nature.
We’re progressively replacing fencing with hedgerows that will act as wildlife corridors, both hosting and spreading biodiversity. According to Hedgelink, not only do our hedgerows protect against pollution and absorb carbon, but they also host 80% of our woodland birds, hedgehogs, dormice, butterflies and most bat species. Since 2019, we’ve planted 6km and we’re still going strong.
Keeping watercourses efficient and unobstructed is a vital aspect of estate management. The Saturday Club helped Hall Steward Clint remove the season’s first deadfall from the moat. It was a useful job done well and all earned their lunch. To find out more about maintaining a rural estate day-to-day, you can catch up with Clint’s blog HERE.
