“AROUND here, we’ve got various trusts looking after nature. Well this is the Vinnie Trust,” grins Vinnie Jones, arms stretched out towards the 150 acres of Sussex he calls home. Although he is smiling broadly, Jones is deadly serious. “All this is for my grandchildren. It is so important to protect the natural world we have around us,” he says.
He might be best known as the hard-tackling professional football player turned Hollywood actor, but Jones’s boyish excitement as he points out the sparrowhawk that has made his fields her hunting ground is touching. Equally heartfelt is his sadness that the spot where he found his first skylark nest in the 1980s had to make way for the M25.
“People who live in the countryside are the key to conservation and need support. I’m trying to do my bit here by putting hedgerows back and managing things to allow ground-nesting birds to thrive, as well as helping everything from grass snakes to hedgehogs,” he explains. Jones wants to shine a light on such issues with his new series for Discovery Plus, Vinnie’s Wild Life, which airs in the autumn.
The show, which is filmed around Jones’s farm, is very much in the spirit of his successful YouTube venture, Vinnie Jones The Crafty Countryman. “I’m really hoping the new programme will reach a wide audience and show them a bit about life here and help educate. The world is very polarised. There’s lots of misconceptions and lots of shouting going on,” says Jones, sadly.
This story is from the October 2023 edition of The Field.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2023 edition of The Field.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The apple of your eye
With scores to choose from in the UK, there is a delicious apple variety for everyone - and now is the ideal time to start thinking about planting one
Art in the field
Being able to study her subjects as she races alongside them has informed Belinda Sillars work, as she explains to Janet Menzies
A silvered sword from the Saxon armoury
With weaponry from the electoral court, the more silver on show, the higher the rank of the owner
Nicole Moore
The Shooting Girl With An Afro blogger explains her passion for fieldsports and outlines the importance of sharing skills and knowledge with newcomers
'Probably the greatest detective in the world'
For 100 years, on page and screen, Hercule Poirot has captivated audiences around the globe with his supreme intellect and peculiar eccentricities
View from a Bridgerton
They were the 18th-century version of a drinks trolley and now hunt tables are popular once again, partly due to Regency-period television dramas
A brush with history
Britain is world renowned for its contribution to hair care and grooming, and, as its oldest firms will testify, heirlooms come in many forms
Practically perfect
From modest origins, the gilet has evolved into a sporting wardrobe staple, combining function and fashion to become a status symbol in its own right
Best laid plans
The ancient craft of hedgelaying is playing a central role in efforts to restore the balance of nature on our farms
Under the spell of spaniels
Our favourite working breed comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, all of which have successfully carved out their own special niche in British sport
