Mend the Gap: four years of planting across the Goring Gap

Date: 11th August 2026

by Belinda Bown – Senior Farm Environment Advisor, FWAG South East

Mend the Gap began in 2019 to improve parts of the Goring Gap landscape impacted by Great Western Railway electrification.

The programme integrates the North Wessex Downs and Chilterns National Landscapes, focussing on the railway corridor between Reading and Didcot.

The aim is simple: to help soften the visual impact of the large metal gantries that support the railway electrification infrastructure. Initially, a landscape architect assessed the visual landscape and prioritised views where trees and hedges could help mitigate the impact. In 2022, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) South East joined the project to manage the programme of planting.

What have we achieved so far?

Working with landowners is key to success. Each year, FWAG South East looks at planting options on the ground, considering the local landscape character, how the land is used, and what each landowner is hoping to achieve.

By March 2026, the team at FWAG South East has helped to:

Identify 60 sites with potential for planting
Engage with 95% of landowners
Plant on more than 50% of the identified sites
Plant more than 720 hedgerow trees or individual in-field trees
Plant more than 25,000 hedgerow plants

Four men in outdoor clothing kneel along a fence and plant small trees (whips) to create a hedge.

Most of the hedgerow planting uses a native mix, including 50% hawthorn and 10% blackthorn, with the rest from at least five other native species such as hazel, holly, dog rose, wayfaring tree, spindle, wild privet, and field maple. We also help landowners to select larger hedgerow trees or individual native trees that suit the local landscape, providing screening as they mature.

Planting phases: South Stoke; Goring to Purley; Moulsford to Didcot

In 2022, planting began around South Stoke, one of the villages most affected by the railway infrastructure. Working with Oxfordshire Highways, South Stoke Parish Council and local landowners, more than 2.5 km of new hedgerow and over 100 hedge trees were planted.

Image showing a map and then a photo of a field with a newly planted hedge.

In 2023, work expanded south from Goring to Purley-on-Thames. Over 1.75 km of new hedgerow and 475 new trees have been planted along this stretch, including 300 trees as part of the Sulham Estate’s wood-meadow project, Sulham Woodmeadows.

The recent phase runs from Moulsford towards Didcot. The open arable landscape around Cholsey and South Moreton brings challenges, but landowners have been constructive in helping us with planting opportunities. Over 100 trees and 0.5 km of hedgerow have been planted here.

Two photos, both showing newly planted hedges.

What we have learned along the way

We have to be adaptable. Planting cannot always be in locations originally recommended by the landscape architect. There are practical constraints as well as landowner requirements. These include land access which impacts the machinery we use, and we avoid underground utilities and sensitive features such as a Roman villa. We have to choose the right tree for the right place, considering soil, landscape type, the appropriate mulch and the species’ future resilience. This flexibility means our planting supports the aims of Mend the Gap while ensuring it works for the people who manage the land day to day.

We are fortunate to work with many supportive landowners, and we hope these relationships will continue with both FWAG South East and the National Landscapes beyond Mend the Gap. We look forward to seeing the trees mature over time and have a positive visual impact on this landscape.

Find out more about Mend the Gap