2019 Cotswolds Hedgelaying Championship – Saturday 8th November
Professional and amateur hedgelayers from across the country will battle it out against each other in the new look Cotswolds Hedgelaying Championship on Saturday 9 November. Organised by the Cotswolds Conservation Board, and hosted at Whichford Hill Farm near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, the championship encourages young and veteran hedgelayers to compete independently or in pairs to lay up to ten yards of hedge.
This annual event is an opportunity to watch this traditional countryside craft at its very best. Witness the skills and craftmanship of competitors as they tame wild hedges into fantastic examples of perfect hedgerow. Hedgerows are a defining characteristic of a rural landscape – as well as creating boundaries between areas of land, they are also ideal habitat for a huge range of wildlife.
Entry is to the event as a spectator is free. The hedgelaying starts at 9:30am and finishes at 2pm. Winners will be announced later in the afternoon with winners announced at around 4pm at the Norman Knight Pub in Whichford.
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Notes to editors:
- The event is open to press and photographers.
- Nearest postcodes for the field where the competition is taking place and the Norman Knight Pub hosting the prize giving are as follows:
- Post-code in closest proximity to competition field: OX15 5BX
- Norman Knight Pub, Whichford: CV36 5PE
- For more information about the Championship, and rural skills courses and workshops across the Cotswolds AONB, visit https://www.cotswoldsruralskills.org.uk/competitions/ or www.cotswoldsruralskills.org.uk
- The Cotswolds was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966 in recognition of its rich, diverse and high quality landscape. www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk
- The Cotswolds AONB is looked after by the Cotswolds Conservation Board – an independent organisation established in 2004 which has 37 members – 15 nominated by local authorities, 8 by parish councils and 14 appointed by the Secretary of State.
- The Cotswolds is the third largest protected landscape in England after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks and represents 10% of the total AONB area in the UK. It covers 2,038 square kilometres (790 square miles), stretching from Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the north, through Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, down to Bath and Wiltshire in the south.
- The land management position statements are for use by local authorities, government agencies, land agents, advisers, land managers, farmers and the public. They, along with the planning and transport position statements are available on the Cotswolds Conservation Board’s website.
- Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), along with National Parks, are considered to be the most special landscapes in the country and belong to an international family of protected areas. There are 38 AONBs in England and Wales, and a further eight in Northern Ireland. For further details, visit: www.landscapesforlife.org.uk. For details of the 15 National Parks in England and Wales visit: www.nationalparks.gov.uk