Every day, on our way to and from home, we pass many hedgerows. And, for the most part, we don’t give them a second thought.

But we should do – they are a vital and attractive part of the landscape, and support a wide variety of plants and animals. The older the hedgerow, the greater the number of native species that grow within it, and the greater the diversity of flora and fauna.

Bradford district harbours many ancient hedgerows, and to find out more about them, I join expert naturalist Les Barnett, an authority on natural history and botany.

Les, who leads courses in wild flowers and botany at Shipley College and for the adult learning provider the Workers’ Educational Association, takes me on one of the many walks on which he guides groups of students.

We set out from Les’s home in Esholt and made our way down Hollins Hill. A little way down, we turn off the main road on to a footpath bordered on each side by high hedges.

The path, Cunliffe Lane, is part of an ancient road connecting Esholt and Hawksworth, which both date from Medieval times. “The road, which links two manors, dates from about 1300, and that is reflected in the hedgerow species.

An ancient hedge can be dated using a principle of counting shrub species within a 30-metre length, explains Les. “It works on the basis that one species would form the hedge originally, and every 100 years a new species would arrive. By counting the hedge species along the 30m stretch, deducting one and multiplying by 100, you can find out the approximate age.”

The conclusion to such research should also be backed up by other factors, using references such as local maps, historic records and oral history.

As we walk along, Les, who is founder president of Bradford Urban Wildlife Trust and also of Bradford Botany Group, points out field maple, hazel – with its clusters of still-green nuts – and elder, whose flowers, says Les, are used for making cordial or wine.

“You see, we have found three species straight away,” he adds, before spotting another – blackthorn. A little way further along, I spot oak and holly, while Les draws my attention to ash, elm and dog rose. “And there’s a sloe bush,” I say, hoping to impress Les with my knowledge of he natural world. “That’s what we call blackthorn,” he replies.

There is plenty of bramble. “That you ignore, as it grows very quickly and can rapidly become established.”

By the end of the walk, we’ve seen nine species along one side of the hedegrow. “I often split the class and have one group on one side and one on the other.”

On previous walks, the same number had been counted, which, when the formula was applied, led to an age of 800 years. “You cannot take the message from the hedgerow as absolute, but this ties in with the history of the area,” says Les. “Esholt began as a nunnery which dates back to the 12th Century – the building, Esholt Old Hall, is now owned by Yorkshire Water.”

Retired cabinet maker Les developed an interest in the natural environment as a teenager. “I grew up in Otley, which was half the size it is now, and all around were open fields,” he explains. “As children, we would spend much of our time there surrounded by plants and wildlife. I’m self-taught – what I’ve learned comes from spending time in the countryside.”

His passion for wild flowers followed. “My niece did a school project about Wharfedale, and as part of it she had picked and pressed some wild flowers – you were allowed to back then. I looked at them and thought I would like to study wild flowers, and went on to do a lot of research and studies.”

He adds: “If I do something, I do it in a big way.”

Any hedge aged more than 300 years is classed as an ancient hedge. They are defined as those which were in existence before the Enclosure Acts, passed mainly between 1720 and 1840 in Britain and from the mid-17th Century in Ireland.

“The older they are, the more of a wildlife haven,” says Les, who has taught at Shipley College for 23 years.

As we make our way down the path, the hedge gets higher. Les explains how it sits in a ‘hollow-way’. “This Tarmac track would originally have been mud, and would have to be cleared by the farmer, who would pile the mud on to the sides of the path. The hedgerow would sit on top of this mound – you see the adjoining field base is now as high as your shoulder.”

A mine of information, Les explains it very clearly, making it all the more interesting.

As we make our way back up the track, he identifies wild flowers and fungi: the bright red fruit clusters of the arum – “It’s poisonous, so wash your hands when you get home,” warns Les. There was also delicate red campion, honey fungus, “which indicates a rotting tree stump,” and the mushroom panaeolus, which grows on the remains of animal dung.

“It is a very mixed ecosystem, which reflects the age of the site,” says Les.

I really enjoy the walk, the content of which harks back to a time before we all began living fast-paced lives, oblivious of the natural world around us.

Two Shipley College courses in Wild Flowers and Botany in Yorkshire with Les Barnett, begin in September. One is on Monday evenings at Beckfoot Grammar School, the other on Wednesday afternoons at Church House in Bingley. For more information, ring the college on (01274) 327222 or visit shipley.ac.uk

Hedgerows Factfile



* There are about 450,000km of hedgerows in the UK, of which 190,000km is ancient or species-rich – containing five or more native woody species on average along a 30-metre stretch.

* The Yorkshire and Humber region is estimated to have around 37,400km of ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows.

* Although most of the country’s hedges date from major periods of parliamentary enclosure, certain hedgerows are very old, in particular some that form parish boundaries have been shown to date from the ninth and 13th centuries. * Hedgerows act as wildlife corridors for many species, allowing dispersal and movement between other habitats, and can provide important connections between other habitats such as woodland and ponds.

* Across the UK there has been a drastic loss of hedgerows through removal and neglect. Around ten per cent of the nation’s hedgerows are under conservation management.