Urban Long Forest
Urban Long Forest: £777k Project Launches to Save Wales’ Hedgerows
Published 12 May 2026 · Reading time: 5 minutes
Wales has just secured a major win for its countryside. Keep Wales Tidy has been awarded a £777,628 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to launch the Urban Long Forest project, a three-year programme to restore the hedgerows and ancient trees that knit together the Welsh landscape. For anyone planning a holiday in Wales, it’s news worth paying attention to: these green corridors are part of what makes the Welsh countryside look the way it does.
Why hedgerows matter to Wales
Hedgerows are easy to take for granted. You see them from the train heading to Snowdonia, on a coastal drive through Pembrokeshire, or walking the lanes around Hay-on-Wye. They are also one of the hardest-working features in the British landscape.
A single well-managed hedgerow can shelter dormice, hedgehogs, song thrushes, bumblebees and slow worms. It acts as a wildlife motorway, linking woods and fields that would otherwise be isolated. It locks carbon into the soil, slows rainfall runoff, and gives shape to the patchwork of fields, lanes and commons that visitors come to Wales to see.
The numbers behind the launch tell their own story. According to the Welsh Government’s Protection of Hedgerows in Wales report, roughly a quarter of Welsh hedgerows disappeared in just six years between 1984 and 1990. In built-up areas, the pressure has not let up since: neglect, poor management and development continue to chip away at what’s left. That’s where Urban Long Forest comes in.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Project name | Urban Long Forest / Coedwig Hir Drefol |
| Lead organisation | Keep Wales Tidy |
| Funder | The National Lottery Heritage Fund |
| Grant total | £777,628 |
| Duration | April 2026 – June 2029 (3 years, 3 months) |
| Focus areas | Cardiff, Caerphilly, Neath Port Talbot, Wrexham |
| Project partners | Coed Cadw (Woodland Trust in Wales), Adult Learning Wales, Llais y Goedwig, local authorities |
| Main activities | Hedgerow restoration, ancient tree protection, community planting, accredited heritage craft courses |
| Hedgerow loss in Wales | Approx. 25% lost between 1984 and 1990 (Welsh Government, 2025) |
Four communities, one shared landscape
Urban Long Forest is deliberately urban. The project picks four contrasting places — two in south Wales, one in the valleys and one in the north-east — where hedgerows are most at risk of being lost or quietly forgotten between car parks, school fields and housing estates.
Cardiff
Wales’ capital might be best known for its castles and restaurant scene, but it also has a quieter, greener side. Hedgerows wind through Bute Park, around the Wenallt and across the city’s outer suburbs. If you’re putting together a Cardiff city break itinerary, look out for hedge-lined walking routes once the project’s interpretation panels go in.
Caerphilly
Sitting at the foot of the south Wales valleys, Caerphilly is a county where countryside and town sit side by side. The famous Caerphilly Castle draws visitors into the centre, while the surrounding green wedges and lanes are exactly the kind of urban-edge habitat the project is built to protect.
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot is a hidden gem for outdoor lovers — a guide to Neath on this site already covers waterfalls, woods and quiet trails. Restoring hedgerows here means knitting back together corridors between the coast, the Afan Forest Park edge and the housing belts in between.
Wrexham
In north-east Wales, Wrexham has rapidly become one of the country’s most-talked-about destinations. A visit to Wrexham is increasingly more than a football match: the surrounding countryside, ancient field boundaries and old farm hedges are now part of a flagship conservation effort.
What it means for visitors to Wales
If you’re booking a trip in 2026, 2027 or 2028, you’ll start to see the project’s fingerprints across the four areas. Expect new community planting days you can join on a weekend break, accredited heritage craft courses run by Adult Learning Wales (think weaving, patchwork and bookbinding inspired by hedgerow plants), and interpretation work that makes urban green corridors easier to find and follow.
It also slots neatly into the slow-travel side of a Welsh holiday. If you’re already drawn to eco-tourism in Wales, hedgerow walks are a small, low-impact way to spend an afternoon between bigger adventures. Pair a morning at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, an afternoon spotting wildlife on a hedge-edge path, and an evening at a farm stay, and you’ve got a perfect low-key day.
“Hedgerows have been overlooked for too long, but they are one of our most powerful tools in responding to the climate and nature emergencies. Urban Long Forest will help communities rediscover their value and take action to protect them.” — Owen Derbyshire, Chief Executive, Keep Wales Tidy
Who’s behind the project
Keep Wales Tidy is leading delivery, but the line-up of partners is part of what makes Urban Long Forest interesting:
- Coed Cadw — the Woodland Trust in Wales, focused on tree equity and recognition of ancient and veteran trees in urban areas.
- Adult Learning Wales — delivering accredited courses in traditional and heritage crafts, including sustainable textile and paper techniques shaped by hedgerow inspiration.
- Llais y Goedwig — the network for community woodlands in Wales, linking existing woods with new and restored hedgerow corridors.
- Local authorities in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Neath Port Talbot and Wrexham.
The project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has pledged to invest £3.6 billion of National Lottery players’ money in heritage projects across the UK over the next decade.
Want to get involved?
Join a community planting day, sign up for a heritage craft course, or simply walk a hedgerow on your next trip to Wales.
Visit the Urban Long Forest hub →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Urban Long Forest project?
It’s a £777,628 conservation project led by Keep Wales Tidy and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Running from April 2026 to June 2029, it restores hedgerows and ancient trees in four urban areas of Wales: Cardiff, Caerphilly, Neath Port Talbot and Wrexham.
Why are Welsh hedgerows so important?
Hedgerows are biodiversity highways. They link fragmented habitats, shelter birds, mammals and pollinators, lock away carbon, and define the countryside that millions of people travel to Wales to see. Around 25% of Welsh hedgerows were lost between 1984 and 1990, which is why this work is urgent.
Where in Wales will the project take place?
It focuses on four urban areas: Cardiff in south Wales, Caerphilly in the south Wales valleys, Neath Port Talbot on the south Wales coast, and Wrexham in north-east Wales.
How can visitors to Wales get involved?
Visitors and residents can join community planting days, take accredited heritage craft courses through Adult Learning Wales, and follow signposted hedgerow walks once interpretation goes in. Full details are on the Keep Wales Tidy website.
Where else in Wales can I see great hedgerows on holiday?
Nearly everywhere — but especially on a Welsh road trip, along the lanes of Carmarthenshire, around the Brecon Beacons, and across the Gower Peninsula.
Keep exploring
Planning a greener trip to Wales? These guides go well with this one:
- A guide to eco-tourism in Wales
- Nature and landscapes in Wales
- Where to see wildlife in Wales
- Best walking routes in Wales
- The most beautiful places in Wales
- 45 fun facts about Wales
Source: press release issued by Keep Wales Tidy, May 2026. Image credits: Keep Wales Tidy. The Urban Long Forest / Coedwig Hir Drefol logo and project name are the property of Keep Wales Tidy.
Pembrokeshire-born travel writer and founder of Wales.org. Born in Haverfordwest, now based in Hertfordshire — covering Welsh castles, national parks, festivals and family staycations across all 22 Welsh counties.
