Richard Hammond

By Herefordshire Life on December 26th 2011

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A Jeep xplodes, a helicopter sweeps by and paintball pellets crash against the windscreen of a Porsche GT3. Inside, Richard Hammond fires the high-powered engine to life, pushing the pedal to floor, speeding away from the carnage behind. It’s just your standard scene from Top Gear At The Movies, the cult BBC show’s DVD homage to motors in Hollywood, and it’s just your standard scene from the life of Midlands-born Richard Hammond. “It’s just another day. Just work isn’t it?” laughs the 41-year-old presenter.

It may come as some surprise then that the thrill-seeking, car enthusiast – one third of the Top Gear brand alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May – favours the tranquility of the countryside. It’s here in Herefordshire the presenter has set up home with his wife and daughters, aged eight and 11, in their £2million castle – that’s right castle – away from the hustle and bustle of the city. With more than 20 acres of space, the fairytale home, Bollitree Castle in Weston-under-Penyard, offers ample room for Hammond’s ever-expanding fleet of vehicles.

“Yes, there’s a bit of space ... you could say that,” says Hammond. “But that’s why I live out in the country. I love it. I’m very lucky. I spent part of the last weekend at a garage and made sure all my bikes were ready for winter, and I gave them all a last run out before the weather turns. “The roads are beautiful where I live, so smooth,” he adds, said like the true motor enthusiast that he is.

So much for the quiet life, then. While Hammersmith-based co-presenter James May is stuck with the traffic of the city, Hammond is free to enjoy stunning scenery and fresh air. “I’m very happy to just pull a bike out and ride around with it. My daughters think I’m completely mad and can’t stop teasing me about how passionate I am, and how easy to please, but I don’t care!” he laughs.

However, as president of the Herefordshire Country Fair, Hammond’s hardly a city boy lost in the country – and it’s not just wheels and engines he’s keen on. “I run around; I run a lot. I live opposite some beautiful hills and woods, and there’s a five-mile run I do round there, as often as I can. And I really enjoy that.”

Part of the county’s charm, argues Hammond, is the fact that it’s “not one of those celebrity areas. It’s not like the Cotswolds. That’s why I love Herefordshire. It’s genuine, it’s real. The housing stock is dense enough for people who are born here to still afford to live here, so it’s not entirely populated by retired bankers and politicians.

“If I have a party at my house,” he says, neglecting to call it a castle, “then there are farmers, jam-makers and people who work in local towns. Sure, there might be a banker in there too or a London commuter, but even then you can’t commute everyday – it’s a
bit too far,” he says.

“We love venturing to places like Ross-on-Wye – a few stylish restaurants mixed in with shabby chic coffee shops. I’m not sure you get that sort of mix everywhere.”

That said, it seems unlikely Clarkson won’t be relocating from the Cotswolds anytime soon. “I wouldn’t want him to,” retorts Hammond. “In fact, I might flee back to London if he strays too far this way!”

But with a classic 1968 Mustang 290 GT – the car from one of the most famous chase scenes of all time, in the film Bullitt – and a Porsche 977 GTS holed up between the castle walls, it’s something of a wonder he ever wants come off the roads and socialise with the neighbours. “I’m a big fan of Bullitt actually,” he says. “I’ve owned both of the cars in it; I still have my 1968 Mustang – and the car pursuing is a Dodge Charger ’68 and I had one
of those.”

The scene – recreated for the DVD, alongside other legendary chases such as the white-knuckle ride from The French Connection – Hammond says, is a prime example of the long-standing relationship between motors and the movie industry. “It deserves to be examined … and,” he says, adopting his TV presenter voice, “who better to do it than Top Gear?”

Featuring a lifetime’s fill of exploding vehicles, daredevil stunts, and red-line speeds, it looks somewhat unlikely that this fanatic is going to give up the day job he loves so much. But that wasn’t always the case.

In 2006, a Top Gear stunt at an RAF base nearly ended in tragedy after Hammond lost control while bombing across the track in a ‘Vampire’ dragster – the same model that had set the British land speed record at an enormous 300.3 mph.

“It’s one of life’s experiences,” says Hammond, reflecting on the long-term effects of the crash. “All experiences change you. I’m 41. So having kids changed me, I’m sure getting married changed me; things change you in lots of ways, it’s part of life. I couldn’t possibly pin down how the crash changed me, suffice to say I am the sum of my life, aren’t I? It had an effect on my wife and daughters and, I’m sure, my further extended family. But how it’s changed all of us, I don’t know,” he adds.

“But it did put me off driving for a while. I went through a stage ... I remember really struggling. I knew I’d learned in the most graphic, miserable way possible that things can go wrong. It made me nervous for a while, and it still does sometimes. Of course it does,” he says pensively.

Yet, watching footage from the new DVD and listening to him talk, you’d never know. Hammond’s like a dizzy kid when it comes to cars. If you didn’t interrupt, he could go on talking about them for hours.

“We filmed a monumental chase scene,” he says, excitedly, “in which I was testing which car was best to escape in from some Bond-esque villain, and tested two cars – the Porsche Cayman S and BMW 1M. Which would be the best at outrunning a whole fleet of people pursuing me, on dirt bikes, Wildcats modified for military use and a helicopter? In addition, there were marksmen hiding on top of roofs firing paint balls at me!

“It’s those sorts of experiences that make the Top Gear thing so worthwhile, and the reason why I felt I had to get back in the car after the crash.

“And if ever I need a quiet moment then, in my mind, I’ve got the perfect home and the perfect county to find it in. And for as long as Clarkson remains on the other side of the county border, it will stay like that!”

Richard Hammond

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