How to cut very tough creeper on ground + brushcutter advice

I am a novice wanting advice on a woody stemmed plant covering a large expanse of ground in my garden in the southern Med. It might be ivy as there are ivy leaves climbing up two surrounding hedges but the very dense stuff on the ground is woody and tough, up to 30cm deep in places and c. 25 sqm area.

I am not there myself but am told that the normally efficient strimmer used to control most of the garden isn't cutting it (literally); they are managing to cut through it manually with pruners but it's very labour intensive. The also tried hedgetrimmer, but not strong enough.

They have suggested that I get a brushcutter for some other thicker growth in the garden but say that it could not be used for this ground growth as it would damage the machine.
Any ideas on how this could be tackled in a less labour-intensive way (I don't want any petrol or corded machines and am not planning any planting here? We also have a reciprocating saw, no idea if that would help or it too might get damaged.

I did find this on an RHS page about ivy (which they say has some benefits and isn't the demon it's often portrayed as even on trees): "Dig up all stems and woody roots. This may be difficult on heavy soils or where vegetation is very dense."
But when they say 'dig up', I'm not entirely sure how the mean...

Also, any recommendations for a quite powerful cordless brushcutter; I need to get it on Amazon but a search for brushcutters mostly brings up strimmers and I'm still not entirely clear about the difference.
Many thanks

 

If it is what I suspect and a vine type weed we had in Italy, then it is hard to cut. I’ve seen locals (mad indeed) pour petrol on it and set it alight (not recommended ). It creeps and can be traced back and removed (dug up - best solution), but I note you don’t want to spend too much time on it. Brush cutters and strimmer’s are the same thing, but tend to be called the former in a lot of places. If it’s a lot of land, then two stroke petrol is probably the best and what you need. First off I would find from your neighbours where the best service shop is and go visit it! Likely they also sell, and if they are any good will sell the best i.e. Sthil. There are a few others, but not sure if linked e.g. McCulloch & Husqvarna. Some you can mount metal blade which work well, but are a tad dangerous. I found quadrangle line to be superb, but make sure the machine you get can take thicker line. Alternatively, if rural and have good neighbours with a tractor, pay them to rip it out if possible! It will come back.

 

Try an electric saw to get rid of most of it then dig the soil around the roots to loosen them. Strong rope attached to it and a vehicle if possible and pull out what you can. Then buy some root destroying chemicals and cover with plastic bags to protect wild life. Good luck.

 

I have woodland with lots of ivy and thick bramble stems that I am trying to control. I have found that using a hedge trimmer to clear the tall wavy stems, and then a brush cutter low down works. A brush cutter normally has the metal blade - it's necessary for these robust and wiry stems. It's safe for your feet because the shaft is long. I have the Ryobi one plus system. My brush cutter also came with a separate head to turn it into a strimmer (with standard spool of plastic line) but I never use that bit. I find my strength runs out before the battery, but you need to think of getting multiple ones.