Yesterday evening, I drove over to eat with an old friend towards the east of the county…
As I was passing out of Rotherfield I came upon an excellent example of how not to manage a hedge. It had been Severely flailed – just a neat, box-shaped line of shattered white wood! I will grant that it was stock-proof but aesthetically it jarringly cried out, ‘What a way to treat a hedge!’ As for its value for the all the wildlife that found it home and as veritable larder for various birds and small mammals well, that has just been wiped out for another 8 months.
Obviously most hedges need managing but not in such a callous way. It shows a significant degree of arrogance and a lack of understanding of the needs of our hard-pressed wildlife.