BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

April 2020 BBC Wildlife 67

Hedgerowsthatgrewaround

earlyeldsareamongthe

oldeststructuresinBritain.

Above:a painted

ladyrestsamid

thebramblesof

a hedgerow.

up, creating thicker growth that forms a
far better barrier than a line of trees. The
potential that these bushy, woody plants
had for keeping animals away from crops
would have been immediately apparent to
early farmers, and so the first rudimentary
hedgerows were born – carved from
ancient woodland.
These clearances and enclosures of fields
continued little by little over hundreds of
years, and wherever there are fields, there
must be boundaries. The hedgerows that
grew up and were maintained around these
early fields are thought to be among the
Tu r n e r : B r i d g e m a n I M a g e s ; p r i m r o s e : S t e v e Ta y l o r /A l a m y ; r o a d : N i c k Tu r n e r /n a t u r e p l. c o m ; painted lady: Peter Entwistle/FLPA; spindle: Dave Watts/naturepl.com oldest structures in Britain, with perhaps a

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SPINDLE

Euonymus europaea

An indicator of an ancient

hedgerow. Red leaves

in autumn are followed

by neon seeds

and casings.

HEDGEROWS