The 2026 Isle of Wight Hedgelaying Competition at Atherfield Farm

2026 Isle of Wight Hedgelaying Competition

The 29th Annual Hedgelaying Competition was held on Saturday 28 February 2026 at Atherfield Farm, by kind permission of Mrs Annie Henton and Mr & Mrs R Chapman.

Lead sponsors: Landscape Therapy; Isle of Wight AONB; Pinkeye Graphics Ltd; Wightlink

Supporters: Mrs Mary Sitch

The judges were former national hedgelaying champion Alan Ashby, of Tunbridge Wells, and the Island's National Landscape lead officer, Richard Grogan.

Results

Open Class (The Denis Russell Cup)

  1. Graham West — 82
  2. Tom Murphy — 79
  3. Kingsley Hollis — 72

Novice Class (The Mary Sitch Challenge Cup)

  1. Clive Bucknole — 72
  2. Jon Jewitt — 69
  3. Gwyn Alford — 63
  4. Shaun Grant — 58

Team Class (The Landscape Therapy Challenge Cup)

  1. Bound & Laid (Alison Wright and James Cook)— 71
  2. Snip & Tuck (Peter Long and team) — 69
  3. Pleachy Binders (Ben Snow, Verity Foster, Cameron Gould) — 67
  4. The Dog's Billhooks (Jim Clinton, Liam Newton) - 66
  5. IW Coppice group (Erik Phipps, Rod Warne, Dave Hughes) — 62

Winner of the award for the best hedge laid with hand tools: Clive Bucknole

The Peter Tunks £20 note award: An award was presented on the day in memory of former supreme national champion Peter Tunks, a regular judge and great supporter of the competition, who died in 2019. The award is a £20 note for the best stakes and binding. The winner was Graham West.

Landscape Therapy Best Isle of Wight Competitor award: Tom Murphy