Rural Heritage

John Craven is at the National Hedgelaying Championships as competitors go chainsaw to chainsaw, billhook to billhook in a bid to claim the coveted title as they set about specific regional styles and work against the clock. John gets a lesson in the Midland Bullock style and finds out why hedgerows are so important to our countryside. He also discovers the Cornish hedge tradition reckoned to be as old as the pyramids, and he delves into the Countryfile archives to celebrate rural heritage skills, revisiting the time Anita Rani met a traditional cricket bat maker and when Matt Baker helped with the ancient craft of wheelwrighting.