Angela Cole

He describes himself as the “ultimate Kent fan” and it’s easy to see why when you see the view Sandy Bruce-Lockhart has of the county.

Looking out of the bay window at his home near Headcorn, as far as the eye can see there are fields and trees. Only the sheep – who come and peer in at him as he looks out – and occasionally cattle, break up the rolling Weald countryside.

It’s a view which stopped the globe-trotting Bruce-Lockharts in their tracks 40 years ago and proved so addictive that Sandy and his wife Tess knew they never wanted to tear themselves away.

Refreshingly, the lure of that beautiful Kentish scenery has never lost its attraction for Sandy, and he seems as enamoured with it as he was when, at 25, he and Tess bought the predominantly fruit farm and its surrounding land.

“It was lovely to be in this spot in Headcorn,” he says, smiling as he thinks back over those early days when the couple farmed apples, kept a Guernsey herd and raised their two sons and daughter.

“Tasha used to keep hens; Mark had the calves, and they all had pet lambs over the years. It was a lovely time.

“Hard work is doing something you don’t want to do; but if you like farming and love being with your family, then it is the most wonderful life.”

It was that love of the Kentish landscape which was to bring Sandy the farmer into the political arena.

He became a Kent county councillor in 1989, while battling to protect the countryside from the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which was threatening to churn its way through fields, trees and landscape.

The route it eventually took followed the motorway.

Initially, he remembers with a wry smile, he had ticked a box saying he wanted to work one day a week. Four years in, he was leader of the then Conservative opposition and the role started to expand, but, again, it wasn’t hard work; more a labour of love.

“Obviously, it actually took over my life. But it took over my life because it is so worthwhile,” he says.

“I joined KCC with a healthy cynicism about local government, like most people, but what I found was a terrific organisation, full of people who are professional, but above all with a real commitment to Kent. That was what was attractive to me and that was what I tried to do in my nine years leading the county council.”

As KCC leader, the role became a seven-day-a-week task, but one he was happy to do. He was particularly keen to protect the county from over-development, but there were other issues too.

He said: “I think you feel it is a wonderful opportunity, if, like me, you have a passion for Kent. It is a wonderful privilege to lead a lot of people at the council who are trying to sort out what are very difficult and very real problems.

“I felt very strongly that the outside view of Kent was of a relatively affluent Southern county, which isn’t so.

“I feel very strongly that there are people in parts of Kent – particularly the east – leading very difficult and hard-pressed lives. Those people needed more help. The social challenges in Kent are huge.

“I have tried to be a voice for Kent; to try and speak out for the ordinary people in the street. I think Kent is such a wonderful and unique place. I am the ultimate Kent fan, I suppose. It is countryside; it is history; it has wonderful places and, I think, fantastic people.

“I think Kent is a very special place. Kentish people have both that fierce independence and warmth that I think is very special.

“It is something of a melting pot. It is the most glorious county with its coastline, countryside and wonderful history. There is absolutely nowhere else like Kent – nowhere in the world.”

Despite his love of the county, Lord Bruce-Lockhart is a Kent adoptee after being brought up “all over the place”, as he puts it, with his father in the Army.

He knew at school that he wanted to go into farming because he wanted to be his own boss.

From school he studied at the Royal Agricultural College and then lived in Zimbabwe and Australia. But he literally met his match when he met Tess on a boat to South Africa.

A twist of fate meant the pair ended up on the same boat to Cape Town after a friend suggested he change crossings at the last minute.

“I really did think 'this is it’ when I met her,” he said. Now doting on five granddaughters together and with another grandchild on the way, he adds: “Everything I have done is thanks to Tess.”

The pair travelled together for several years before putting down roots. Sandy’s love of the county also led him into other roles, including taking on the chairmanship of English Heritage in August 2007 after standing down from the Local Government Association.

Although he was diagnosed with cancer three months later, and is still fighting it, he has continued the work in which he believes so strongly, and, as someone who wears his love of the county on his sleeve, he is the perfect ambassador.

He said: “I feel passionately and strongly that heritage is incredibly important to us.

“We live in a rather complex world; people need to have a sense of pride. I think we all need to know where we come from; it is reassuring.

“I think when people understand more about the past it helps one to have a sense of everything.”

His sense of place is enhanced by his favourite buildings. Canterbury Cathedral is one of them because, he says, it can be inspiring “whether you’re there for a civic occasion, or for Evensong on a chilly Tuesday in November.”

Lord Bruce-Lockhart’s voice for Kent may not now be heard daily in County Hall, but it still rings out in another influential place – the House of Lords.

Created a Lord in 2006, his ill health hasn’t prevented him from giving his views. On June 11, he spoke against Europe taking more powers from the UK in the European Union (Amendment) Bill.

But when he’s not in the House of Lords or visiting sites for English Heritage, you can be sure you’ll find him at home in Headcorn, where he and Tess plan to plant another 10 acres of woodland and create extra wildlife habitats. It might sound like a big task, but you can be sure he won’t make hard work of it.