Stock fencing only works if the line stays tight and the strainers never move. Across the bridge into the South West — Bristol, Somerset and the Forest of Dean side — there is plenty of equestrian and smallholding work, and for the right job Ben travels for it. Ben builds stock runs the way they should be built — not the way that is quick.
Across the South West, BP Contracting takes on stock fencing as rural and agricultural work on the kind of runs that justify the trip. Across the bridge into the South West — Bristol, Somerset and the Forest of Dean side — there is plenty of equestrian and smallholding work, and for the right job Ben travels for it.
The South West — over the Severn into Gloucestershire, Somerset and the Bristol fringe — is rich equestrian and smallholding country, with a lot of horse paddocks, liveries and hobby farms wanting safe post and rail, paddock divisions and ménage work. The Prince of Wales Bridge puts a good slice of it within practical reach of Bridgend, so for the right job the travel makes sense.
A stock fence lives or dies on its strainer assemblies. Ben sets full creosoted strainer posts with properly braced struts at every corner, end and change of direction, then strains the netting and line wire tight between them so the boundary holds its tension through years of stock leaning on it and weather working at it. Skip the bracing and the whole run goes slack within a season.
Between the strainers go HC4-treated intermediate posts at the right spacing for the ground and the stock, with the netting tensioned by hand or monkey-strainer and stapled so it cannot ride up or sag. Add a strand or two of plain or barbed line wire on top where the job calls for it. It is unglamorous, methodical work — and it is exactly the bit cheaper outfits cut.
Ben has put in everything from a few hundred metres of replacement boundary up to 1,000m grant-spec runs across whole holdings. Sheep netting, cattle and high-tensile stock netting, on wet ground, on slopes, with tracked-machine access where the ground will not take a quad — the kind of stock fencing that is still tight ten years on.
Whether your stock fencing job in the South West is a single boundary or a large run, the approach is the same: Ben surveys it, quotes a fixed itemised price, and builds it to a spec that lasts. Get in touch with the location and a rough idea of the job and he will tell you straight whether he can travel for it.
A stock fence built on creosoted strainers and HC4 intermediates, strained properly, will hold for 20 years or more. The strainer assemblies are what decide it — set and braced right, they never move, and the line stays tight. Cheap untreated posts and unbraced strainers are why a bargain run sags within a couple of years.
Yes. Ben has put in grant-funded stock fencing to the required spec — correct post types, treatments, spacings and strainer assemblies — including 1,000m+ runs. If your scheme has a specification to meet, bring it to the site visit and the quote is built around it.
Stock netting is woven wire mesh strained between posts — the economical, hard-wearing choice for sheep and cattle over long boundaries. Post and rail is timber rails on posts — a stronger, more visible barrier favoured for horses, paddock divisions and entrances. Many holdings use both: netting for the long runs, post and rail at the yard and gateways.
For the right job, yes — Gloucestershire, Somerset and the Bristol fringe are within practical reach over the Prince of Wales Bridge, and there is plenty of equestrian and smallholding work there that suits BP. Tell Ben the location and the job and he will confirm whether he can travel for it.
More on our common questions page.
Stock netting strained tight on creosote strainers and HC4 intermediates — built to hold livestock for the long haul.
Stock fencing →Traditional timber post and rail for paddocks, horses and entrances — morticed, strong and squared off.
Post and rail fencing →Farm boundaries, grant-spec runs, stock netting and gates — proper agricultural fencing for working land.
Agricultural fencing →Galvanised and timber field gates hung to swing clean and latch true off a quad or a tractor.
Field gates →See all the areas we cover, or read our common questions.
No call-out fee, no obligation. Tell Ben what you are after and he will arrange a free site visit, then quote you a fixed price.