An East Hampshire woman and a Rother Valley man have come together to tell the fascinating tale of how the South Downs National Park became a reality.

The Fight for the South Downs is a compelling book of the extraordinary campaign to the create the park and the people and characters behind it.

The book has been penned by Midhurst writer Robin Crane and edited by Margaret Paren of Liss Forest.

The latter fought tirelessly to get the Western Weald included within its boundaries and later became the inaugural chair of the South Downs National Park Authority.

Plans to make the area a national park were first mooted in the 1920s but the wheels really started turning in 1990 when Robin chaired a meeting of seven people with a shared dream at a small office in deepest Sussex.

The wildlife film producer went on to found the South Downs Campaign and remained chair until the designation just over a decade ago.

“This is a story that I believe needed to be told,” said Robin, adding that parts are “too astonishing to be believed.”

“It’s about how a swathe of south east England became a national park, protected for future generations – all of us who were invovled are proud of what has become the SDNP.”

Robin and Margaret met up with central figures from the campaign during a book launch at the park authority offices in Midhurst.

“This is a story that shows just what can be achieved by determination, hard work and, above all, passion for a cause,” said the former Whitehall civil servant.

“Everyday I look out at the countryside around me and marvel at the legacy of the campaign.”

The book is priced £14.99 and is available online, from good bookshops or the South Downs Centre in Midhurst.