IT was the moment when Alice in Wonderland met the granddaughter of the little girl who inspired the famous character.

Alice, played by seven-year-old Sophie Goulding, rode through Lyndhurst in a pony and trap last night to launch an eight-month festival called the Alice Adventure.

She was introduced to Mary Jean St Clair, whose grandmother was the “real” Alice.

Author Lewis Carroll wrote the classic stories after going on a boat trip along the River Thames with ten-year-old Alice Liddell and her two sisters.

After marrying Reginald Hargreaves in Westminster Abbey in 1880, Alice moved to Lyndhurst and lived in an 18th century mansion called Cuffnells.

Her ashes are buried in the graveyard at St Michael and All Angels Church, Lyndhurst.

Mrs St Clair travelled from her home in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, to attend the festival launch at the New Forest Centre.

Today, dozens of people will take part in a Mad Hatter fun run.