Maintenance man's 40 years of dedication honoured at awards

Peter Foster is the estate maintenance manager at Wallops Wood Cottages, a self-catering company, in Droxford in the Meon Valley.

He was nominated for the Unsung Hero Award at the recent Beautiful South Tourism Awards for Excellence and was delighted to win.

Peter, from Hambledon, said: ‘It’s the team that’s made me a hero, it’s a joint effort – it’s what everyone does to pull together.

‘I have enjoyed every moment working here. If I had my time over again I would do it all again. Each day is a different job and I can’t emphasise it enough how much I enjoy it.

‘The views are absolutely gorgeous and the wildlife you see here is beautiful – badgers, rabbits, buzzards – each day is beautiful, sunsets and sunrises, even on a frosty morning.

‘It keeps me interested every day.’

Peter, 55, is approaching his 40th work anniversary at Wallops Wood, having joined the company in May 1981.

He started work when the estate farmed chickens and eggs, and was responsible for rearing the pullets.

When the farm closed in 2006 and the conversion to holiday cottages started, he became responsible for site maintenance.

Currently closed due to Covid-19, Wallops Wood Cottages is hoping for a busy season once it is able to reopen.

The business was also proud to win silver for the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism category at the awards.

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Owners Andrew and Katherine Graham said: ‘We are delighted to win Silver for the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award, and that Peter has been recognised as an Unsung Hero; he deserves it. We simply couldn’t do without him.’

Wallops Wood Cottages has been awarded a host of accolades and honours for its work over the past 12 months, including Green Tourism Gold, Visit England’s We’re Good to Go and the AA’s COVID Confident accreditations, Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice 2020, as well as VisitEngland’s National Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year Silver.

Katherine said its green initiatives such as its private borehole for water, solar panels and biomass boiler help reduce the environmental impact of the cottages, which are situated in the South Downs National Park.

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