Want to have a go at hedgelaying yourself?

The best way to learn hedgelaying is by booking on a Natural Break with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.  The BTCV run very inexpensive and enjoyable weekend and week-long working holidays featuring a wide range of practical conservation work including hedgelaying.  Their training and instruction and overall emphasis on safety is normally very good.  A BTCV weekend hedgelaying project should be enough to get you started with the basics of hedgelaying though you may want to come back for more!

BTCV volunteers normally lay hedges in pairs with up to a dozen or so volunteers per project.  If you have not done hedgelaying before you may wish to pick a BTCV break which explicitly states that an experienced hedgelayer will be on hand.  If you pick a BTCV hedgelaying weekend in Buckinghamshire then I will usually be the instructor.

Accommodation is typically village hall or bunkhouse style.  If you pick a local project, you can make your own way each day if you prefer, but you will miss out on the social side of the project.

You can reach the BTCV website at www.btcv.org or ring them for a brochure on 01491-839766.  Their address is 36, St Mary's Street, Wallingford, Oxon, OX10 0EU.

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