Ex-Top Gear host Richard Hammond's 'brave' new Welsh life wild swimming and running

Published3 hours ago

Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond says he has swapped vintage cars for food festivals and running as he settles into life in a Welsh market town.

The 56-year-old bought a £2m Georgian mansion in Llanwenarth, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, in November 2025 following his divorce from wife Mindy after 23 years.

The presenter previously told BBC Wales he had "never been happier" since moving into the 19th Century home, and each week he has discovered a new reason to be "delighted that I live there".

With Bannau Brycheiniog - Brecon Beacons - in his back garden, Hammond told the High Performance Podcast he had taken up open water swimming as he becomes "braver" than he has ever been.

Hammond said it only took him a couple of visits to the property for him to realise that he "loved it".

"The Brecon Beacons National Park is the other side of my right-hand fence," he told the Telegraph.

"I can walk up the Sugar Loaf Mountain in an hour and 20 minutes or I could be getting measured for a new suit or buying a coffee in 20 minutes."

His home is currently being renovated to include car garages, a padel court and guest accommodation.

He recently made headlines for saying he would "find a way" to share his space with rare bats that have paused his renovation plans.

He said: "I just have to work with the bats. I like bats. You don't move to where I've moved and try to stamp all the nature out."

At the beginning of 2025, Hammond announced that he and his wife Mindy, who share two children, were separating, just three months after his father died of cancer.

It also came around the time of the final Grand Tour episode which brought his 22-year broadcasting career with Jeremy Clarkson and James May to an end.

Since then, he has been rebuilding his life in Wales, and said his energy levels had "been replenished".

"I'm now far braver and do things I would never have done," he said.

He has even joined an Abergavenny running club, bringing his 5k time down to under 25 minutes, and taken up open water swimming in the Lake District as he keeps pace with new girlfriend Keira "Kiki" Glen.

"Basically, she did a triathlon and I went to support her," he told the Telegraph.

"They were all having such a great time and buzzing afterwards, so I signed up for next year and got swept along."

While you would expect that classic cars and motor racing still feature heavily in his life, Hammond is aware that his priorities have shifted.

Rather than attending the Goodwood Revival festival this year, he was sampling cheeses and whiskies at the Abergavenny Food Festival.

Hammond is probably best-known for his time on Top Gear, which was revived in 2002, and went on to become one of the BBC's flagship shows at the time.

But he was unsure whether the formula would work today because it was a "completely different time".

In August, it was announced the show, which has been off air since Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff was seriously injured in a crash while filming four years ago, is coming back.

"The BBC will bring it back because it's an old brand, it predates us by decades," Hammond said.

"The car is the second biggest outlay people have."

Hammond's daughter Izzy has inherited her father's love of cars and the pair now co-present on the social media channel DriveTribe.

Hammond said he was "sure" she would be interested in a role on Top Gear some day.

"It'd be good to see some females on those shows," he said.

"Half the drivers are. TV has a role to play in representation. It's important, nobody's going to step into an arena unless they see somebody that represents them."

Related topics

Wales

Llanwenarth

Richard Hammond

Abergavenny

Top Gear

The Grand Tour (TV series)

Bats

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