GILBERT White and Captain Oates were at The Wakes field in Selborne on Monday morning to bid bon voyage to trustees chairman Rosemary Irwin as she set off on a 74-mile walk to Oxford.

Rosemary will be following in the footsteps of the 18th Century naturalist and writer, Gilbert White, walking from his former home in Selborne to Oriel College in Oxford, where he was a fellow, dean for a year, and university proctor.

Rosemary said: "This walk is about raising money for the Gilbert White and Oates Collections and to help us renovate the Gilbert White Museum (The Wakes) so that we can continue to facsinate lovers of the English landscape and nature for years to come."

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.