Craftsmen in the Vale of Glamorgan describe their local style as the ‘flying’ hedge. This apt name is extended here to cover all low hedges with pleachers laid flat or nearly flat along a medium to high double-sided bank. Other common features are the use of crooks rather than stakes, and the absence of binding along the top of the hedge.
In the broad sense used here, the flying hedge is closely related to the turf hedges of the South West. The flying hedge occurs in those parts of Wales which most resemble the South West in climate and topography (see map here). These are regions of low plateaux and rolling hills with sheltered stream valleys, drier and sunnier than the mountainous areas to the north and east. Frosts are rare, but south west gales make shelter important. Farms, mainly mixed, support larger and less agile breeds of sheep than those in the mountains. Lowland sheep can be contained by high banks with a hedge on top, which heightens the barrier but need not itself be very strong. The banks also provide valuable shelter.
Cutting and laying
Lay the pleachers flat or nearly flat, depending on the local style, directly along the top of the bank. Use stems across the full width of the bank, laying into the hedgerow those which are growing out from the edges. Cut away stems which are growing out of the bank sides, unless pleachers are in short supply. The finished hedge should be nearly square in cross section, about 1’6”-2’ (450-600mm) tall and wide.
To deter sheep, lay the pleachers so that the hedge is rather wider at the top than at the bottom, with an overhang on each side.
Use of crooks
Crooks or ‘ties’ are stakes cut so that they hook sharply at the top. They can be single or double.
Crooks replace stakes in the flying hedge. The crooks are put in after a section of hedge has been laid. They are spaced every yard or so along the centre line of the hedge and driven in about 6” (150mm), until tight. They are orientated with the hooked ends running across the lie of the pleachers, so holding them down. Some craftsmen say that, where the hedge is exposed to the wind, single crooks should have their hooks facing into the wind, so that pleachers are blown tight against the stem of the hook. Others say that it doesn’t matter.
It is easier to find stems to make single crooks, but in some regions double crooks are preferred for strength. Hazel is best if available, but otherwise any suitably shaped branch cut out of the hedgerow can be used. Make sure that the wood is live when cut, or it will have little strength.
Crooks are not only used in flying hedges. Denbighshire hedgers use double crooks in addition to stakes in their version of stake and pleach. The crooks are cut long, so that they can be driven down through the 3-4’ (900-1220mm) high hedge. Stake and pleach hedgers in Gwent sometimes use single crooks to supplement their stakes in much the same way. A very mixed style is found in Carmarthenshire, where a flying hedge of medium height is laid between half-sized crops which are left near the outer edges of the hedge. The centre line is held down with crooks.
