The English inventor talks to The Wall Street Journal Europe about how he starts his weekend.

He may have dreamed up the cyclonic vacuum cleaner and the bladeless fan, but Sir James Dyson isn't resting on his laurels. The industrial designer still spends most of his time inventing and repairing things. That now includes advising on U.K. business policy; Sir James is part of British Prime Minister David Cameron's recently formed Business Advisory Council.

James Dyson James Dyson

With a crew of grandchildren, a busy social life, sports and projects ranging from excavations to wine making, his weekends are no less hectic—or inventive.

How does your weekend start?

My weekend tends to start quite late because I tend to work quite late. I don't know what it is about Fridays but you always end up with a group of engineers doing the things you should have done during the week, like designing things and solving problems. Some might say "Why not come on Monday morning and start fresh and solve them?" but there is something about the tensions and interactions of the week that make Friday evenings a very good moment to make decisions about solutions.

Dinner parties

Very often, I go out with my wife in the evenings on Friday. I live and work on the edge of the Cotswolds, which is very nice. We visit friends or have people for dinner. I make wines, so I am quite keen on it. I make Claret wine in Provence. It's very good because you don't have to add sugar. [I take the wine to parties] and impose it on my friends. They seem to drink it quite quickly.

Saturday starts with a bang

The next morning, I play tennis for two hours with a group of friends. So, it starts with a bang. We usually play at my house and sometimes at the others' houses. It is usually four. We play in pairs and sometimes we play American doubles if someone is away. This has been going on for years with the same group of people. This goes on until midday and then there is an obligatory glass of beer (I prefer Asahi beer), which does away with all the calories we got rid of playing tennis.

Taking things to bits

On Saturdays, we will probably have a light lunch and, if we have the grandchildren staying—which we quite often do—we then do all sorts of things with [them] which vary from drawing to designing things to taking things to bits and repairing them. Children like doing that. In fact, my wife is an artist and their parents are designers. I guess it is in the genes. I've got two little Bugatti cars. It sounds very expensive, but they are not— there is a rather wonderful pair of sculptors who rebuild Bugatti cars for children...These ones are made from the actual castings of the original ones and they look exactly like the Type 35, the most beautiful one. My grandchildren will drive around in those and I am the mechanic. They love that. This is the first time they really learn to concentrate rather than just look around when they are going along and get the feel of the car. I think it's quite a good thing for them to do at quite a young age.

What else do you do?

I might do a bit of excavating. I drive excavators, because I really enjoy that. You have to really concentrate on what you are doing, but I like it because it's a sort of hard-core gardening. I used to do quite a lot of [intense] gardening when I was younger, but [excavating] is much more fun. [The purpose is] to dig a trench or do a bit of landscaping, cleaning an area up, often damaged. I just enjoy it. It exhausts me. I like it because it is an anthropomorphic extension of your body. So, when you are scrapping the ground or digging a hole using the bucket, it is like using your arm. You become the digger. Mine are JCBs and I've had them for more than 10 years. You can make big difference—either a bad or a good difference. It satisfies my impatience.

A walk in the woods

We go for walks as well. There are lovely walks where we live and I am very keen on walking, particularly where it's hilly, which it is. Walking is a relaxing thing. I love trees, animals and sheep. It's a way to think and talk to my wife... And quite often we walk with a group of friends, so you're not even aware that you're walking. You're just enjoying conversation and thinking and arguing, but at the same time, being in touch with wonderful trees and views. At the moment is fantastic because of the autumn leaves. [Walking] is a very important thing for me—exercise the body and the mind.

Living on the edge

Whenever I can, I do sailing. I like sailing because there is a lot of gear involved. Particularly the modern gear is very interesting— the way you bend the mast and set the sail. I like the mechanical side of it. I've been doing it since I was about 6, with my father; so, I have done it on and off all my life. When you're actually sailing, it's really important to race because you both have the same wind and the same conditions, and then you have to make the best use of them and it's like living on the edge, which I like doing anyway. I also go running. I run about five miles and have done that all my life, so that's important to me.

—Sir James was speaking with Javier Espinoza.

Write to Javier Espinoza at