Shepherds hut transport for Chelsea Flower Show 2023
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London. Held at Chelsea since 1912, the show is attended by members of the British Royal Family.
Early on in the year, Crane Away was approached by one of our regular customers, Plankbridge Shepherd Huts, to assist them with the safe transportation of two very special huts and assistance with siting. Plankbridge, based in West Dorset, is undoubtedly the pioneer of the shepherds hut revival. It’s a privilege to be trusted with what can only be described as true craftsmanship and artisan finishings.
Transporting the first shepherds hut
Our first trip to Chelsea was on set-up day. The first hut to be transported was for the Plankbridge trade stand. The lodge is a 20ft hut and we were easily able to winch this onto our specialist wafer deck trailer. The benefit of having a trailer that is so close to the floor is that low branches are no threat to the chimney flu or delicate tin roof. With our experience of driving in London, the journey was event free. Once arrived at the site, we communicated with the friendly event staff and found our way to where we needed to go. This is where you need a careful driver, the event is extremely busy and space is limited.
Set-up on site was seamless; we met the rest of the Plankbridge team and worked together to site the hut. We had seen some unprecedented levels of rainfall prior to the event and ground conditions were soft. However, with careful planning and with the benefit of also taking our digger, we were able to gently guide the hut into the perfect position. Our work was done, and we left the Plankbridge team to finish setting up their stand whilst we made the journey back to Dorchester, ready for another trip the following morning.
Moving the RHS Bothy
Day two was a prestigious day indeed. Crane Away were to be entrusted with a very special load. Created in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the RHS Bothy will be launched in the centre of the Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show as a venue for a series of RHS interviews with women in horticulture. We will later move it to the Orchard at RHS Garden Wisley, the flagship garden of the RHS, where it will make a striking centrepiece as part of an exciting project to reimagine edible growing at RHS Garden Wisley.
After another uneventful journey, we arrived in London with the Bothy. Once through security clearance, we pulled into the grand pavilion. We carefully removed the chaining gear and the Bothy was meticulously unloaded, this time by JCB loader. We then stayed onsite and assisted the Plankbridge team with installation in pride of place in front of the obelisk – a monument honouring soldiers in the 1849 Battle of Chillianwala in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The tent is built over and around the monument for the show.
Removal of the shepherds huts
After celebratory ice creams all round, we made the trip back to Dorset. We wish all exhibitors the best for the show and look forward to being reunited with both huts at the end of the month!
