Actor Martin Shaw ( pictured ) believes holding trees allows people to feel an ‘ extraordinary energy ’ As a child he admits he and his brother ‘ ridiculed ’ their father for being a tree hugger . But yesterday actor Martin Shaw revealed he believes holding trees allows people to feel an ‘ extraordinary energy and force ’ . The Inspector George Gently star has also blasted rural overdevelopment and fears many areas are in danger of looking like a ‘ theme park ’ . The 70-year-old has become a countryside campaigner and said he is infuriated by inappropriate housing developments and rural areas being ruined by signposts and car parks . He said he learned about the force of nature from his father Frank , who used to place his hands on trees to feel their energy . ‘ My love of the countryside was something I got from my father . My brother and I would ridicule him slightly , ’ he revealed to Countryside magazine . ‘ He would walk past a tree and say , “ Oh , can you feel that ? ” And we would go , “ Feel what , Dad ? ” And he would place his hands on the tree and say that he could feel this extraordinary energy and force coursing up through the tree . My brother and I used to go , “ Hmmm , yeah , sure , OK. ” But of course he was right . ‘ The rural issue that most annoys me is the inappropriate housing development . If people need houses , then absolutely we must have houses , it ’ s iniquitous that we don ’ t . However , when those houses are provided , they must be provided with a view to our heritage . ‘ The suburbinasation of rural life infuriates and upsets me . You ’ ll find woodlands where people have found their own ways through , their own walks , for hundreds of years , and suddenly they have gravel paths and signposts and car parks . 'The countryside becomes a theme park rather than something that just is , and of itself. ’ He revealed his hobby flying planes has allowed him to witness how the countryside has changed in the modern age . ‘ I like to fly old aeroplanes . You really only notice the ravages of the 20th and 21st centuries when you ’ re close up . If you ’ re flying over rural areas , you ’ re really looking at Britain the way it was 100 years ago , or maybe even more , ’ he said . The Inspector George Gently star blasted rural overdevelopment and also lamented that his hectic schedule gives him little time to explore the ‘ breathtaking ’ countryside where the programme is based . But the actor , who has recently been filming a new series of BBC One police drama Inspector George Gently , said his hectic schedule means he has little time to explore the ‘ breathtaking ’ countryside where the programme is based . He said : ‘ Our filming schedule on Inspector George Gently is very intense . A typical day is prob-ably 15 hours . There is very little time to explore the country , but sometimes we are on location and it ’ s absolutely breathtaking . The Durham countryside has a beautiful atmosphere. ’ He also has a second home in an ‘ extremely remote ’ part of Scotland which he describes as his ‘ real retreat ’ . ‘ You can ’ t even get to it without a four-wheel drive . There ’ s an absence of mental noise . The re-moteness engenders a sense of calm , the absence of competitiveness , ’ he said . Shaw , who has three marriages behind him and had three children with his first wife Jill Allen , has lived in Norfolk for the past two decades . He said : ‘ I see wildlife on an almost daily basis . Every morning I come down and there are birds just outside my window on the birdfeeders I put out. ’ The 70-year-old has become a countryside campaigner and is infuriated by inappropriate housing developments . Pictured : Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby .
The Inspector George Gently star has also blasted rural overdevelopment . The 70-year-old has become a countryside campaigner and is infuriated by inappropriate housing developments . ‘ My love of the countryside was something I got from my father , ' he says . ‘When we were growing up in London there wasn’t much to do but go out for walks or play football on our local fields – now