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City & Village Tours: 0845 812 5000 info@cityandvillagetours.com
ONE TO DO ON YOUR OWN
Gilbert White’s House
Gilbert White was born at his grandfather’s vicarage in
the village of Selborne in Hampshire and was himself
ordained in 1749. When his father died in the 1750s he
moved into his house
The Wakes
and stayed there for
the rest of his life. Four times he served as the Curate
of Selborne but never did he receive the permanent
living because it was in the gift of Magdalen College,
Oxford and White had studied at the more prestigious
Oriel College.
The Wakes
also has displays about two
other explorers of the natural world, Frank Oates who
was an ornithologist and his nephew Captain Lawrence
Oates the chap who sacrificed himself (I
am just going
outside and may be some time
) in a vain attempt to save
Captain Scott’s ill fated South Pole expedition.
You can make a whole day out of a visit to Gilbert
White’s House & The Oates Collection at Selborne at a
modest cost of £6.50 per person (2013) for groups of ten
or more. On arrival at reception members of your group
will be given stickers which allow them to come and go
as often as they please on the day of their visit. This
conservation village in the South Downs National Park
is very attractive and there are superb walks, including
Gilbert White’s Zig Zag Walk. There is a pottery and an
art gallery to visit, several bijou shops, and the village
church, where Gilbert White is buried, has two
stained glass windows commemorating him.
An introductory talk for groups is offered at no extra
cost and you can add a talk in the garden (White was
also a pioneering 18th century gardener) for £25.00
per group.
The house is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from mid
February to late December plus Fridays to Sundays in
January and the first part of February.
Contact The Gilbert White House at Tel: 01420 511275
Email: info@gilbertwhiteshouse.org.uk
www.gilberwhiteshouse.org.uk
Their elegant tea parlour has won a number of awards
but it is quite small so although groups are welcome to
pre-book lunches and teas you will need to visit in two
shifts. There a couple of pubs in the village:
Nick and Hayley Carter
The Selborne Arms
High
Street
Selborne
GU34 3JR
Tel: 01420 511247
Email: info@selbornearms.co.uk
And more of a gastro-pub type experience is available
with Nick and Eric at The Queens at Selborne, High
Street, Selborne, GU34 3JJ, Tel: 01420 511454
Another option is to combine a morning at the Gilbert
White House with an afternoon steam train ride through
ten miles of beautiful Hampshire countryside on the
Watercress Line
about a 30 minute drive from
Selborne. The railway chaps like to tailor visits group
by group so give them a call on 01962 733 810.
They have prices for groups of 15 plus and groups
of 30 plus people.