The Cornish landscape is famed for a beautiful and varied coastline, however it was the discovery of Cornish hedges that remains for me one of the most remarkable aspects of this rugged place. Typically laid out in amoebic plots similar to that of a magnified cellular pattern, the hedges date back to the bronze and iron age with many more built during the Mediaeval period and subsequent centuries. A Cornish hedge is most commonly two skins of stone with soil in the centre. Some hedges have trees and shrubs planted along the top to raise their height as a means of windbreak. The soil between the two walls of stone plays host to an evolving tapestry of flora making the hedges an important contribution to the wildlife habitat of the Cornish landscape.
