Within just a few miles of Old Timbers Bed and Breakfast is the Hampshire village of Selborne where the naturalist Gilbert White lived and worked in the 18th Century.

Born in 1720, Gilbert White was one of the first people to begin studying nature in a scientific way, cataloguing and researching whatever interested him from this location. Today's house and museum is a fascinating experience where you can view the original manuscript of his "The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne", published in 1789 which was a forerunner of Charles Darwin's work.

It is a lovely place to visit, where you will be taken on an insightful guided tour of the house, museum and gardens. There is a cafe and gift shop and it is still used for School field trips, as an impressive centre for field studies and biology.

The House also contains a museum to the Oates family, who have 2 famous members, also connected with nature and adventure:

• Frank Oates studied Natural Sciences at Oxford University in 1860 and went on to explore and research in Central America and later in Africa.
• Captain Lawrence Oates (Frank's nephew) was an explorer who was part of Captain Scott's race to the South Pole in 1911 and who famously left the tent, walking to his death, with the words,
  "I am just going outside and may be some time".

Selborne is beautiful village to explore. You might enjoy a walk up Gilbert White's ZigZag path, cut into the hillside by GW and his brother in 1753.  The path takes you up onto Selborne Common, protected by The National Trust, which contains beech woodlands and is where the above photo was taken.