Location: Portreath, Cornwall
Client: Westcountry Rivers Trust
Services: Cornish hedge repair, stone-facing, access control, sensitive site works
Project length: 1 day
Client Brief
Westcountry Rivers Trust asked us to carry out a small Cornish hedge repair at Portreath, beside a public footpath and close to an area of recently completed wetland restoration.
The wetland work had already been carried out, but there was a damaged section of hedge bank that was leaving the area too open. The concern was that footpath users could wander from the path into private land and into a sensitive wetland area that was not intended for public access.
So while this was a small job, it had a clear purpose: close the gap properly, protect the restored wetland, and keep the finished repair in keeping with the surrounding Cornish landscape.
THRC Solution
Repairing the Bank by Hand
The repair was around 5 metres long and was completed entirely with hand tools.
We started by cutting back the existing bank to create a clean, square face. That gave us a proper base to work from, rather than trying to patch loose stone and soil back into an uneven edge.
The front face was then rebuilt using newly sourced Cornish granite from a local quarry. Each stone was placed by hand to create a traditional stone-faced finish that matched the character of the surrounding hedge.
Once the stone-facing reached the required height, around 1 metre, the rear of the hedge was backfilled and compacted using site-won soil. This gave the repair strength and helped tie the new section back into the existing bank.
Protecting the Wetland Without Overdoing It
The aim was not to build something that looked new or heavy-handed.
This section sat beside a public footpath and next to sensitive habitat, so the repair needed to be clear enough to discourage access, but still feel like part of the existing field boundary.
The top of the hedge was left to recolonise naturally rather than being formally planted. Over time, grasses and local vegetation should soften the repair and help it blend back into the surrounding bank.
End Result
The damaged section of bank was repaired with a 5 metre traditional stone-faced Cornish hedge, built by hand using locally sourced granite and site-won soil.
The finished repair now provides a clear boundary between the public footpath and the wetland restoration area, helping protect both the habitat and the public from entering ground that was sensitive and potentially hazardous.
For THRC, this was a good example of a small job done properly. It did not need machinery, concrete or fencing. It needed a traditional repair, using the right materials, in the right place, for the right reason.
That is often the value of Cornish hedge work. It is practical, but it also protects the character of the landscape.
Services Included
- Cornish hedge repair
- Traditional stone-facing
- Local granite walling
- Hand-built hedge bank repair
- Site-won soil backfilling
- Public footpath boundary repair
- Access control
- Wetland protection
- Sensitive site works
- Westcountry Rivers Trust project delivery
