Mick Aston - Personal Life

Personal Life

Aston has a son, James, and a stepdaughter, Kathryn, both children of his former partner Carinne Allinson, with whom he broke up in 1998. Mick's book Monasteries (Batsford 1993) was dedicated to James and Kathryn. He lives in what he calls "a rather grotty sixties bungalow" in Somerset. The reporter Steve Eggington visited Aston's home in 2008, where he noted that it was filled with "a labyrinth of books and maps, seemingly with different projects at different stages in each room." Aston is a vegetarian and naturist, and his hobbies include gardening, walking, listening to classical music and cooking. He supports a number of charities and other causes, including Greenpeace, The Woodland Trust, Oxfam and Sightsavers International. A self-described "solitary person", he finds it somewhat annoying being a television celebrity in Britain, where he is often recognised by members of the public, some of whom request his autograph.

Aston has commented that throughout his life he has suffered from poor health, living with aspergillosis since the early 1980s, and also being afflicted with asthma. He suffered a brain haemorrhage in March 2003, and was hospitalised for two weeks. The experience sent him into depression for eighteen months, during which time he read the autobiography of actress Jane Lapotaire, who had gone through the same experience, something which he believed aided his recovery more than anything else.