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The walk also visits St Mary's, a large Norman cruciform church, where you'll see a memorial to E F Benson in the choir stalls (he was arthritic, and allowed to sit here beside the altar so he could take communion), and the two vast stained-glass windows donated in his name and that of his brother, Arthur, also a writer. Starting at the belvedere on Hilder's Cliff, which looks out over Romney Marsh, you will step into the world of Tilling and see where the characters lived, where they met and shopped, and how Miss Mapp was able to spy on everyone. Thriving in a climate of pretentiousness themselves, they presumably found Lucia's snobbishness and ruthless self-promotion hilarious and even went so far as to profess publicly their adoration: "We will pay anything for Lucia books," they declared.Right, I've read the books and I'm off to Rye. Walking round elegant, historic Rye, it is easy to see how the locals might acquire such airs and graces as these two had.Benson's novels attracted a following among high society in the 1920s, including Nancy Mitford, W H Auden, No?Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. The aim of both is to reign supreme at the helm of Tilling society, and therein lies the humour.

Mapp is a bossy, controlling spinster who lacks Lucia's poise and allure but remains dogged in her clumsy attempts to trump her rival's achievements. Rye has a grander history than many English seaside towns: in 1336 it was designated one of the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of harbours used for defence by Edward the Confessor, and Elizabeth I stayed in Rye for three nights in 1573, bestowing upon it the title "Rye Royale".What's so memorable about Mapp and Lucia that they are celebrated in Rye?It is hard to think of another fictional female double act whose verbal sparring achieves similar heights of archness, or whose cataclysmic feuds are based on disagreements so thrillingly petty.Lucia is a widow, charming, shrewd and imperious, who inspires devotion and fear in equal parts. Geographically and aesthetically, there are more similarities than differences between Rye and Tilling. Tilling is the fictional counterpart of Rye, a fortified hilltop town on the East Sussex coast, and E F Benson's home for many years. E F Benson cleverly brought them together in Mapp and Lucia in 1935. The two women were first established separately as comic prima donnas in three novels: Queen Lucia (1920), Miss Mapp (1922) and Lucia in London (1927). The names ring a bell, but please remind me who they are. Miss Elizabeth Mapp and Mrs Emmeline Lucas (known to all as Lucia), a pair of socially ambitious society ladies of a certain age, are the central characters in a sextet of comic novels by E F Benson.

Westminster Classic Tours also offers different itineraries along other sections of the Turkish coast and the Greek islands.. The trip costs £1,725, which includes full board accommodation, but excludes flights. Two more tours will be taking place this year, one running from 31 August until 13 September and another from 14-27 September. And there's the chance of having the same cook.The FactsGetting thereAdrian Hamilton travelled on Westminster Classic Tours' (01225-835 488; ) two-week voyage "East of Antalya". So what if the lecturer and one of the guests are arguing over whether we should read Pliny or The Iliad after dinner? I think for the next trip I'll book for a voyage along the Carian shore on Turkey's south-west The Taurus have prevented over-development there, too. And nestled on the mountain peaks, commanding the roads from the sea to the inland caravan routes from the east, are towns, fortresses and pilgrim centres untouched since they were abandoned in the times of the Arab and then Turkish conquests.A warm day, the breeze in the mountains carrying the smell of mountain pine and thyme, some ruins underfoot and the thought of a swim and a fine meal of freshly caught fish to go back to - it is near to life out of time. It suggested to me that one could shape one's life like a character in a story, an alluring prospect for anyone interested in the magic of the imagination.