Of Thorn & Briar: A Year with the West Country Hedgelayer

by Paul Lamb

Paul Lamb is a hedgelayer. From the end of summer until the birds nest in the spring, he maintains the ancient boundaries of the British countryside. He lives in his wagon, as many itinerant farm workers used to, and travels the south-west corner of England, restoring an important but often forgotten part of our country.

Hedgerows are a living structure, woven into the fabric of rural life, a vital aspect of man’s partnership with nature. As traditional management techniques are lost to modernisation, hedges have declined dramatically. Paul works alone and by hand to rejuvenate these linear woodlands, saving the homes of the wildlife that rely on them and bringing many other ecological benefits.

Following the rhythm of the seasons, Of Thorn & Briar describes Paul’s life on the road and the practical aspects of his job. It is about practising a craft with skill, preserving our heritage for future generations and celebrating the glory of the landscape he’s spent his life caring for.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir, Natural History, Audiobook, Biography, Environment

296 pages, Hardcover

Published April 3, 2025

Reviews

[Amy Bookseller · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 * Rounded up. It was a form of mindfulness reading this book. I found myself very relaxed reading it as it’s not taxing in anyway. It is very hedge-based though which you would probably expect 😂 but I found myself glazing over a lot when the technicalities of hedgelaying were described. Too in-depth for me so found some parts a bit boring. Loved all the nature aspects of it though.

[Rachel Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. I really enjoyed being taken through a year in Paul Lamb's life, in tune with nature like few others in our modern era. Fascinating, charming and nostalgia inducing even if for a time before I was even alive!

This is a book that I am sure I will return to when in need of a soothing read, my only criticism is I wish it were longer! I do hope that his future endeavours include writing more books!

[hazza bazza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mostly enjoyable piece of gentle nature writing, offering fascinating insights into the British landscape and our relationship with it. Prone to preaching, repetition, and a conservative bitterness which leaves a disappointing aftertaste.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never has hard work sounded so very appealing

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As advertised, this is a journey through one year with a British hedgelayer. You get a detailed view of the rhythm of the work, the practical skills, the people involved and the surrounding environment. The monthly structure of the chapters is comforting in a way.

Paul has found great purpose through this work and is a clear evangelist to the cause of more hedges, hedgelayers and a general return to more measured and compassionate use of the land, particularly in farming. I applaud him for finding that connection, something so many of us strive to achieve.

Overall, there's a lot to like in Paul's thinking. But I struggled at the many points when the book dipped into what felt to me like unhelpful nostalgia and a romanticism of the past ways of rural living. It is difficult to stick with a book when it's telling me I'm doing my life all wrong, that the only good work is manual work, etc. Though that has clearly been Paul's experience so I can't fault him for that. It made me bristle. This is definitely a personal hang-up and I suspect many will not feel this while reading the book. I don't disagree that we are doing many things wrong. The delivery just made it difficult for me to focus on his message.

[Kate Pickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Loved the characters and the countryside. Enjoyed learning about hedgerows and copices and living so closely with nature and farming. I follow Paul on Instagram and love seeing the hedgerows take shape. This book is a perfect walk through his year. Highly recommend.

[Stewart Monckton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, gentle book that has a strong message about the way we should treat the environment around us, particularly the English framing environment.

The book is about working with the characteristics of place, plants and weather, rather than trying to bend these things to our own will through the application of technology and synthetic products. This book is about the value of 'traditional management', but it is also a book that see the countryside as a working place, not a museum.

It's really rather good.

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully emotive and insightful book to read. You can really feel the passion of the author in his writing. A highighly recomended read.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful book, extremely well written, thoroughly enjoyed and sorry to finish it. Highly recommend

[Richardg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, very evocative and thought provoking.

[Hugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written account of a life outside ‘normal’ society harking back to traditions which a little known or practiced today.
This is a man totally in tune with his environment, his writing is simple but wonderfully descriptive, you feel like you are there sitting beside him by the fire listening and watching the world around you.
His story really resonated with me, as a countryside lover but also as someone who has worked for many years in an allied countryside industry. He puts into words what I feel about the environment around me.
I hope Paul realises his ambition, the skills, knowledge and passion he has needs to be passed on as now more than ever there is a yearning in many to find a more basic relationship with the environment and these rural skills need to be passed on to another generation before they are lost forever.
I genuinely lost myself in this book, different to anything else I’ve read in the last few years. Just beautiful.

[Julie Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to LibroFM and Simon & Shuster for the advanced listening & reading copies.

Like a step back in time when life was simpler and with the comfort blanket of the countryside to embrace you, Of Thorn and Briar is a gentle and heartwarming read of a year in the life of hedgelayer Paul Lamb across the western counties of England.

Amongst much tea drinking, hazel pleaching and fireside deliberating, Lamb leads us month by month through the farmlands where he is employed as an itinerant worker. He meets some classic characters and the book pays homage to the traditional ways of life that are so often disregarded in favour of more mechanical and industrial solutions.

Redolent of the beautiful telling of the eider down collectors in Norway that James Rebanks writes about in The Place of Tides, this is a lyrical ode to the countryside.

[Patrick Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle memoir covering something (coppicing and hedge laying) I've learnt to do since retiring, interacting with the land fulfils something basic in me and even the hardest day remains satisfying. You can't get rich from Paul's work but you perhaps gain something more valuable? He touches on concepts of community and ties to the land that James Rebanks refers to, a form of hefting to a place or area. There's little capitalism and media can do to touch such lifestyles and I'm an example of people learning and trying to perpetuate the traditional crafts and management that restore ecosystems. "Industrial" farming has a place, however the loss of mixed and small family farms manages the environment and rural communities and there should be a way of protecting traditional approaches in countryside management because that protects the ability of nature to bounce back.

[Mark Bowden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book and I do up to a point. It is not badly written but it is not particularly well written either - a bit flat. The author gives some useful insights into the qualities of various tree species; I would have liked more of this and more about his choice of tools, about why he favours one type of billhook over another for instance, rather than repetition about the endless mugs of tea on which he seems to subsist. Lamb takes us through the seasons of the year in an engaging way; having some experience of working outdoors in winter I admire his dedication to pressing on in all weathers. He also ruminates on the need for him to pass on his skills and how he might achieve this; I very much hope that he will succeed in this endeavour.

[Sarah Ensor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, yearlong meditation on human labour and how by shaping our environment, people deepened the richness of biodiversity in our surroundings. Then post Second World War we blew it by grubbing up many hedgerows to maximise profit from industrial farming.

Lamb shows how hard the work is and how hedgers need a community of other workers and landowners or managers to support them. We eventually learn why Lamb lives in a converted horse box, solaced though he is by nature. We need more hedgers and more affordable homes in the countryside. But more than this, the broad networks that sustained Lamb and his work show the potential for our countryside to be populated, with plenty of work and providing real food security. 

[First Principles · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child of the West Country I found this book warm, engaging and comforting. His life harks back to another age when we were much more in tune with our environment. It’s a popular Zen philosophy that problems for us begin when we see ourselves as detached from where we came. This book is a lesson in both being aware of where we are and our place in the wider cycle. Paul’s ability to note and recognise every tiny aspect of the seasons and the changes that occur over a year is a lesson to everyone in how to act when we are alone. I only hope his instagram success doesn’t change the way he does this!

[Mr P · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and absorbing journey through the year of a master craftsman. A detailed insight into the lonely life of a true woodsman. For someone who left school with no qualifications Paul writes with great clarity, eloquence and passion. He shows that it is not necessary to accumulate material possessions to feel richly rewarded by life. This is a must read for anyone who cares about nature and wants to see the traditional crafts continue. The future of hedge laying and hurdle making is safe in Paul’s hands.

[Mezzie Elen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for curling up on the sofa with a cuppa ( and with maybe a blanket and crackling fire) .
It’s a little sparse in places but there is beauty here, in reading Paul’s notes on an unfolding year and a life spent so closely entwined with nature.
Here we follow him as he travels, the folk he meets, ( for some are long time friends) as his carefully planned diary of work which follow the seasons round.
Definitely a keeper.
Worth buying your own copy.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting insights into life of a land worker.

nice no-frills nature writing

main critique is probably around the unnuanced idealisation of hard work - and the lack of commentary on the communities that preceded the 'hardworking' family farm. Lamb writes as if this form of country work has existed since time immemorial but more reflection on impacts of enclosures on countryside work and life would have brought the book from good to great imo

[Kathryn Culley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler: the book is about hedges. There. Be warned.

This is a gentle, meandering, meditative book, following Paul through a season of repairing, planting and maintaining hedges around the south west of England. I now know more than I ever thought I needed to before reading this, but like H for Hawk, this is going to stay with me for a long time. And I suspect make me tempted to change the boundary at the end of my garden

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book, it’s a slow story of working with the seasons in a craft that is still alive despite the modern shift in farming and landscapes. My only criticism, having read this on kindle is that there are no pictures to show the types of hedging he talks about. Not sure if this is different in the hardback.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, a year in Paul’s life as a hedge layer, I felt I was standing watching him at work at times. Wonderful detail on nature and wildlife. Really makes me look at hedges in a different way! I’m sure I will reread this at some point. I hope this is the first of many books by a very talented writer.

[Stuart Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this great book in a week. I'm familiar with the topic and some of the areas so reading this down to earth story of a year in his life was a real pleasure. He's not the most lyrical of writers, but tells the story of his life and year in his own words and I'm so glad that he put pen to paper to record his way of life so well.

[Mike Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the best books that I have read for many a year, a lovely look into the world of managing the English countryside. I appreciate it more as I did some hedge-laying in the midland style as a Cotswold volunteer warden.
Thanks also to my daughter who gave the book to me as a birthday present.

[Carrie Pailthorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Took me a while to get into it, but when I did, his descriptions of working outside in the winter made me want to get outside immediately. But it's January and the evenings are long and dark so I had to make do with just reading about it on work days

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute joy to read.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this and really enjoyed it. I knew next to nothing about hedgerows beforehand and I’m grateful to have learned while listening to Paul’s relaxing voice tell his story.

[Pers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and thought-provoking book.

[Winton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and a joy to read!

[Millie Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks Paul, now I’m crying and want to become a hedgelayer. The most beautiful book