DEVOTEES of Kenneth Grahame are coming to Oxford for a weekend of events celebrating the author of the children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows.

The Kenneth Grahame Society, which had its inaugural meeting a year ago, will gather to celebrate his links with the city on Friday and next Saturday.

Grahame attended St Edward’s School, in Woodstock Road, from the age of nine in 1868 after his mother died of scarlet fever. By the time he left, he was head boy, captain of the rugby XV and winner of several academic prizes, but a lack of money ended hopes of going to university.

Nigel McMorris, chairman of the Kenneth Grahame Society, said: “He was fond of Oxford throughout his life and wrote warmly of the city in his essay Oxford Through a Boy’s Eyes.

“It will be a privilege and a great pleasure for us to visit several of the places which inspired him in his early days.”

The weekend of activities includes a visit to St Edward's School, a walking tour of the city and talks by Annie Gauger, the author of The Annotated Wind in the Willows, and Alison Prince, the author of Kenneth Grahame: An Innocent in the Wild Wood.

Next Saturday, at Rewley House, in Wellington Square, there will be an exhibition of Grahame-related books, including two published by the society itself, The Complete Works of Kenneth Grahame and a collection of short stories based on characters from The Wind in the Willows, written for a competition.

The walking tour will begin at the end of the Oxford Canal at Oxpens, which is believed to have inspired a passage in The Wind in the Willows, and end at Kenneth Grahame’s grave in Holywell Cemetery in the city centre.

Mr McMorris added: “Grahame lived in other places close to Oxford, including Blewbury, near Didcot, and Pangbourne, and the River Thames was the main inspiration for The Wind in the Willows which he completed after returning to live in the area following his retirement.

“We have members coming from around the country and some from abroad and we are looking forward to our time in the city.”

During the author’s career as a banker, he rose to become company secretary at the Bank of England. Here, he began to work on ideas for the book, telling his son Alistair bedtime stories.

The book was published in 1908, but Alistair was found dead on the rail line at Oxford while a student at Christ Church in 1920.

To contact Mr McMorris call 07881 587866.