ST COLUMB MAJOR is a town oozing Guardian Country history.

Thanks to William White, St Columb has a special niche in West Country architecture, a man who said: "Style as such must be thrown to the winds."

Mr White's old St Columb Rectory with its moat (a possible Bishop's Palace) is picturesque – they had hoped the cathedral might be built here but that was Truro's fate and good fortune.

William White also shaped Bank House in 1857, later used by the Ministry of Labour and now a private dwelling.

There are other White legacies and nearby Trewan Hall, a splendid manor of the 1500s, which he restored.

St Columb, too, has an important place on the Cornish sporting scene – the last stronghold of hurling, which some reckon was the primitive ancestor of the modern game of rugby.

Refusal

When I was last here witnessing the contest, only a few years ago, it was heartening to see so many young people competing for the silver ball.

My first experience of hurling had been back in the late 1960s, covering the event for The Observer, writing "a hint of Civil War hovers over the town today".

In 2012 you get the impression the local shopkeepers are finding life tough. Social historians are inclined to say the town never really recovered the ground lost by its refusal to let the railway run through it.

And, of course, the motoring bypass has not helped business in the town.

My recent visit had nothing to do with railways or hurling. Nevertheless, in and around St Columb, you are aware of heritage.

Driving past The Red Lion, an old coaching inn, you think of James Polkinghorne, champion Cornish wrestler, and landlord here about 200 years ago. Baring-Gould, no less, wrote about his prowess as a wrestler.

I came on a mild January day, light in the sky but the forecasters saying "rain later". They were correct.

The wildlife painter Dick Twinney and his wife Ann, who have been married for 45 years, live in Trekenning Road.

The property also houses Dick's Cornish Wildlife Art Gallery and his orderly studio. Both rooms have a purposeful, painterly aura.

At the age of 68, Dick has the verve of a younger man: "I still love painting and shall never retire. I'll only retire when I fall off the edge of my brush."

He is a perfect interviewee, his replies flowing naturally, his love of birds and animals as strong as ever. He discovered the thrill of wildlife as a boy on Dartmoor and that zest is still there.

"After 40 years," he continued, "the sight of a blank canvas still excites me. I'm a full-time painter. I paint practically every day. Eight till twelve, four hours solid.

"Generally, I give myself Sunday off but, if there's a deadline to meet, then I'll paint on Sunday as well.

"I'm currently working on a painting, just finishing it in fact, called The Return Of The Cornish Chough To Beacon Cove.

"That's between Mawgan Porth and Newquay, a ten-minute drive from the studio. I can leave here and be watching the choughs in 15 minutes. Amazing. The chough is the iconic bird of Cornwall, so it's great to have them back. Ann and I saw what we thought was the last resident chough on the north coast in 1973.

"These present young birds are not breeding, they've moved up from the Lizard. So we can talk about their location.

"Watching the sunrise and these birds at Beacon Cove – now that's quite an experience. Magical. I feel privileged to be there."

Informal

Dick and I talked in his gallery. "Ann and I love having the gallery here in our house," he explained. "It's very informal and there's no pressure on anybody.

"The only thing we ask is that people should telephone us in advance on 01637 880606. Our hours are very flexible, including evenings and weekends. 'Browse at your leisure, and enjoy' is our motto.

"We've lived here since 1972. I'd been posted to RAF St Mawgan in 1969. We both love St Columb … wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It's a rural town."

And, as if to underline that point, horses and riders went along the road outside.

"The free car park over there, across the road, was a sheep field when we came here. You have only to go a few hundred yards and find yourself in the countryside. Lots of lovely walks.

"And I'm a volunteer warden for Natural England covering Goss Moor, keeping an eye on the livestock. I do that twice a week."

The Twinneys own three dogs and have a deep interest in animal welfare. "The creation of a Minister of Animal Welfare would be a marvellous step forward, and we need greater cohesion among the animal welfare groups and charities."

The range of Dick's wildlife art is exceptional – partridges disturbed at Carhart Farm by the River Camel near Wadebridge; pheasants at Pawton Manor; ponies on the moor below Roughtor. A painter for all seasons, in the country and along the coastline.

A barn owl at Roche Rock; an otter family near Wadebridge, and the beautiful but controversial fox. These are only some of his lifelike images.

Has he a favourite?

Dick laughed: "My favourite subject is the one in the painting I'm working on at the moment. That's my standard answer and it's true. But, of course, I love barn owls and otters."

Heart

He aims to be back at The Royal Cornwall Show at Wadebridge, supporting the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.

"It's not all that well known but it's a charity for the whole farming community and, having spent a lot of my life on farmland, it's a charity close to my heart.

"I'm an independent artist which means I can help with fundraising for good causes. I recently raised £2,000 for BBC Radio Cornwall's Phoenix Stroke Appeal from a share of my sales and first prize in the raffle – a robin painted on Mawgan Porth beach. Yes, the robin's a very popular bird."

Meeting Dick Twinney is a tonic. Like that great countryside philosopher and broadcaster Ralph Whiteman, he has infectious pleasure in the sights and sounds of wildlife.

He savours the fact that he has grandchildren in St Columb and enjoys camping with them. Away from painting, he and Ann enjoy music, crossing the Tamar Bridge to see and hear musicals at the Theatre Royal or at local gigs.

I drove away, resolved to come back soon. Another visit to the church perhaps, and I long to find out more about the St Columb Green Book, preserving the churchwardens' accounts since the reign of the first Elizabeth.

Apparently one entry refers to the purchase of a silver ball for the hurling match: ten shillings.

In St Columb you somehow feel history is just behind your shoulder.