Our hedgelaying courses are held during the autumn and winter months of the year. We aim to run the courses on the first Saturday of each month. (As we post the dates of future courses well in advance there is a possibility that the proposed date may clash with another major event as yet unscheduled. On the rare occasion that happens we move the course to a subsequent Saturday but will give plenty of notice if that happens.)

The course starts at nine in the morning and finishes at about four o'clock in the afternoon. We break for lunch so you will need to bring a packed lunch, plenty to drink and a flask for a mid-morning break.

The hedges we use for the course normally belong to farmers around the village of Yarcombe in East Devon. The meeting point is usually Yarcombe village hall but we will contact you with all the location details and exact timings in the week prior to the course.

As noted above, we can provide tools for the day or you are welcome to bring your own. However, we don't expect you to bring a chainsaw. From a safety point of view, it is much better for us if the use of chainsaws is restricted to the instructors. However, the teaching ratio of 2 trainees to 1 instructor does allow us to cater for hedgelayers with a little more experience in dedicated groups. In that case you may bring a saw but you must have at least a recognised cross-cutting chainsaw certificate and wear full PPE when using the saw.

Note that the weather plays a great part in scheduling these courses. If it is too wet then we postpone the course for safety reasons. If this happens we try to reschedule the course for the following Saturday if possible. It is important to supply a telephone number so we can contact you at short notice if this needs to happen.

(Also, please bear in mind that the courses are held in the Devon countryside and civilised toilet facilities are not usually available.)