THREE men are doing just what the doctor ordered and going out for a two-mile stroll every morning.

Mick Hambidge, 70, Dennis Constable, 69, and Roy Farmer, 71, are the official members of the Filkins Gentlemen's Walking Club.

They put on their boots and religiously meet up at 9am to walk round the west Oxfordshire village and surrounding paths and lanes.

And they have also got the support of the village behind them when it comes to raising money for good causes.

They pulled in £800 from sponsoring one of their walks to finance the setting up of a blue plaque in memory of one of Filkins' most famous men, former Labour minister Sir Stafford Cripps. The process for the plaque cost £400 and on Sunday the leftover money was divided between the village's St Peter's Church and Swinford Museum.

Mr Hambidge got the idea for a blue plaque after chatting with his friends about the time he was a coach driver during the 1966 World Cup in England. He drove foreign tourists around London and remembered seeing many blue plaques for famous men and women.

"We talk a lot about the old times, and some good comes out of it," he said.

The club used to be four, but Mike Clark died recently from cancer. Walking, though, is good for all three.

Mr Constable has been told by his doctor it's good for him after recovering from a stroke, while Mr Farmer is relieved to be able to get out into the open air after a bad accident with a lorry and a double hip operation.

And Mr Hambidge, who has lived all his life in Filkins, is now a diabetic who has also had to have two hip replacements.