EVEN if your mountaineering is confined to walking the hills of Shropshire, you will want to leave your boots behind and make for Ludlow Assembly Rooms next Wednesday.

Stephen Venables is a master storyteller and photographer, who has climbed the Matterhorn in Victorian tweeds and nailed boots. He was the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen - and he has also retraced Ernest Shackleton's steps across South Georgia for a new movie.

His illustrated talk Everest - Summit of Achievement celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the mountain by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

The evening starts at 8pm and ends with a signing of his new book, which carries the same title.

The book has a foreword by Sir Edmund and a preface by the Dalai Lama.