A Devon based charity which was set up over thirty years ago to safeguard the future of traditional country skills, is looking for a site to host its hedge laying competition, annually held in November.

The Devon Rural Skills Trust (DRST) was established at a time when crafts such as dry stone walling and hedge laying looked in very real danger of dying out.

The hedge banks and dry stone walls which are such familiar features of our South West landscape would traditionally have been built and maintained by farmers, with the skills passed down from father to son.

But, as fewer young people looked to a farming future and labour costs heightened, these skills were at risk of becoming forgotten. Thankfully in the intervening years the Trust has trained hundreds of people in a range of rural crafts, many of whom have gone on to work professionally and are themselves now instructors with DRST, passing on the same skills to the next generation of practitioners.

The Trust’s Chairman, Sandy Backus explains: “One of the key aims of our work as a charity is to ensure that these traditional skills don’t die out and our annual hedge laying competition is one of the ways in which we raise awareness about the work we do.

“Unfortunately though, in recent years we have been struggling to find suitable sites to host the competition.

“Ideally we are looking for a site in Devon which has good access for competitors’ and visitors’ cars and can provide over 200 metres of decent hedge to be steeped Devon style.

“A common problem is that many hedge banks we see have been neglected for so long that they are not really suitable for a competition.

“We do ask landowners for a contribution of £3 per metre which goes towards our organisational costs and furthering the work of the charity.”

The Devon style of hedge steeping involves partially cutting through living saplings near ground level and bending them over to lay flat along the hedge bank.

The ‘steepers’ are laid in two combs and staked into place to form a living fence.

During the competition, the hedge layers will use only hand tools such as axes, slashers and billhooks, to complete their section of hedge.

Sandy Backus concluded; “Work like hedge laying and dry stone walling has been hugely important in forming our South West landscape and is part of our regional heritage.

“The hedge laying competition is always a great day out and if anyone can help us find a site we would love to hear from them.”

If you can help please contact Sandy Backus on 01647 277230 or go to www.devonruralskillstrust.co.uk