LATER LIFE: Richard’s conservation skills keep him busy in the countryside…

After retiring in 2004, Richard Hayes wanted to keep busy rather than just putting his feet up, so he started helping out with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), and subsequently the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), learning a wide range of skills to help keep the local countryside in good order. 

“At first I got into drystone walling,” he recalls. “I was mainly doing repairs to existing walls wherever needed, and I picked up the skills as I went along. Over time we did many other different jobs, such as hedge laying, maintaining footpaths, installing kissing gates, bridge building, drainage ditches and repairing riverbanks. I’ve also planted thousands of trees over the years!”

Richard’s volunteering even brought him a brush with a local celebrity, when his team were sent to do a job for the poet and comedian Pam Ayres. “I’m pleased to say I helped to dredge Pam Ayres’ pond,”he recalls proudly. “I didn’t really get to speak to her much as she wasn’t around a lot whilst we were doing the work, but it was certainly one of my more memorable jobs.”

Richard has continued to volunteer twice a week with the conservation group for the last 20 years, and although he plans to step back after recently turning 80, he knows he will miss it. He says: “They’re a great group of guys, and we always have some good banter as well as doing an important job for the countryside. I like to keep active so it’s been a great way to enjoy the outdoors and stay fit.”

On his active life at Lewis Carroll Lodge, he adds: “I never use the lift, and I love cycling around Cheltenham which I still do regularly. We’re in a great location here in the heart of this great townand I love our apartment. I may be stepping back from the conservation work, but I still plan to enjoy life and keep myself busy for plenty more years to come!”