Thanks to Matthew Chatfield from the Isle of Wight Hedgerow Group for this report from last weekend’s Annual Isle of Wight Hedgelaying Competition. Well done to Tom Murphy who goes from strength to strength each year. Ed
The Isle of Wight Hedgelaying Competition was held this year at Calbourne Mill, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs A Chaucer. The Mill has a large field up on the Newbridge Road, which many will recall as the venue of the successful Rhythm Tree world music festival in 2010. This field has a good hawthorn hedge alongside which was this year laid by the competitors at the hedgelaying competition.
Weather didn’t deter
Despite a lot of rain the night before, the weather was fairly kind, but the ground itself was very wet indeed, meaning that some competitors ended up cutting in standing water, and several vehicles got stuck, including the Radio Solent radio car which presenter Neil Sackley had brought along to cover the event live.
Luckily there was plenty of dry car parking nearby at the Mill itself, so the numerous spectators who visited throughout the day were able to park safely and walk through the attraction to the competition site.
Twenty+ pitches
Over twenty pitches were laid, plus one inspiringly precise demonstration plot by former supreme national champion Peter Tunks, who was welcomed back for his fourth demonstration visit to the competition. The competition was vigorous in all three classes, with five Open entrants, six Novices and twelve Teams.
Throughout the day the competition was sustained by an impressive supply of hot tea and cakes from the Calbourne Mill cafe, which had temporarily decamped up to the marquee in the field, where visitors sought shelter from the elements and had the chance to enjoy some interesting displays from local organisations and sponsors of the competition.
Tom Murphy takes overall prize
The results came back promptly for once, and in contrast to recent years where there has been much debate amongst the judges. The scores reflected this, with all the winners being some way ahead on points. Winners of the Landscape Therapy Trophy in the Team class were the Wench Layers (Nat Purcell, Matt Gustar, Leigh Taylor and Di Simmons), who made an unprecedented successful defence of their title to retain the trophy they first won in 2010.
Alex Holmes with an impressive effort won the Mary Sitch Novice Cup after coming third last year. The overall Open champion and winner of the AONB Cup was Tom Murphy, of Living Landscapes, who beat second-placed Oz Hoskyns by five clear points, whilst last year’s champion, Rob Richards, languished in third place eleven points behind the winner.
The Isle of Wight Hedgerow Group is already laying plans for next years competition, which will be held on Saturday 25 February 2012. As the hedge at Calbourne was completely laid, there will be a new venue next year, so keep an eye on their website at iwhg.org to see where it is!
Full results can be found on the IWHG Website (Detailed scores)
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Isle of Wight Hedgerow Group
