about the land
Brampton Willows has been constructing handcrafted willow fencing, sculptures and structures across the gardens of Suffolk and Norfolk for almost 40 years. We talk to owner, Louis Champain, of award-winning garden design and landscaping business Champain Landscapes, to find out what magic he intends to weave in 2023. Brampton Willows was originally founded by Robert Yates, a chartered surveyor who returned to Suffolk to run his family farm just outside Halesworth. A forward-thinking man, Robert decided to plant several acres of unproductive marshy land with willow beds, known as osiers, which he harvested and sold to a local basket maker. Before long, Robert began to experiment with weaving the willow rods himself and in 1988, he set up the company, specialising in creating bespoke willow fencing and one-off designs. A skilled craftsman, his work was highly sought after
and he undertook a variety of interesting projects, including weaving huge wave-like cross-country jumps at both Burghley and Badminton Horse Trials. Louis bought the business off Robert in 2019, having worked with him previously on several bespoke garden designs with his company Champain Landscapes. As well as retaining the contract to use the willow harvested from the original 18-acre site, Louis also inherited a very skilled workforce including Darren Jordan, who, with 17 years’ 47