visit the 100 acre wood

You Can Visit the Real Hundred Acre Wood – And It’s Magical

“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.”

And “Big Boots” you’ll need if you want to take an adventure down to the  real Hundred Acre Wood!

Yes, you can bounce like Tigger and follow in Piglet’s small footsteps in the charming forest that was the basis for A.A. Milne’s popular Winnie the Pooh stories. Inside the Magic visited England this holiday season and has a guide for all Pooh enthusiasts wishing to explore the magic of Ashdown Forest.

Piglet famously asked Winnie the Pooh; “I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?”, and down in Ashdown Forest in England, the answer begins with an adventure into its distinct landscape seen in the original Pooh stories.

Created by British author A.A. Milne in the 1920s, Winnie the Pooh has become a beloved and treasured character over generations. The first collection of stories about the popular bear was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne also included a poem about Pooh in the children’s verse book When We Were Very Young (1924) and many more in Now We Are Six (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard.

In 1961, Walt Disney licensed select film rights of Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories from the estate of A. A. Milne and adapted the Pooh stories into a series of features that would eventually become one of its most successful franchises, earning the studio more than $80 billion. As we previously reported, however, these cherished characters have officially joined the public domain and Disney no longer holds the copyright to the beloved stuffed animals.

Milne based the characters on his son, Christopher Robin, his stuffed animals — Winnie the Pooh and friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger—and their country home in England’s Ashdown Forest.

Originally a deer hunting forest in Norman times, Ashdown Forest is now one of the largest free public access spaces in the South East of England. The countryside beauty spot is known the world over as the “home” of Winnie the Pooh, and features many recognizable inspiration spots where A.A. Milne observed the adventures of his son, Christopher Robin.

Inside the Magic ventured to the forest on a recent visit back home to England, and can’t wait to share the magic of this charming part of the U.K.

Christopher Robin said in his autobiography that Ashdown Forest was “identical” to Pooh’s forest from his father’s books, and once we arrived, we could see why.

From the very first glimpse of the enchanting woodland, we felt like we’d been transported into a storybook world, with the famous British fog adding to the mysterious fairytale feeling.

In 1925, A.A. Milne, moved from London to a country home just north of Ashdown Forest at Cotchfield Farm, near Hartfield. Christopher Robin wrote in his book:

“The four of us would pile into a large blue, chauffeur-driven Fiat and travel down every Saturday morning and back again every Monday afternoon. And we would spend a whole glorious month there in the spring and two months in the summer.” Credit: ITM Melissa C.

We spent two days in Hartfield, at the quaint 15th Century pub The Anchor Inn . Each of its four rooms is named after a Winnie the Pooh character, with original wooden beams, crooked ceilings, and Pooh wallpaper adding to the charm.

The pub is in the center of the small village of Hartfield, located on the edge of the Ashdown Village. A fantastic starting point for walks and adventure, it was easy to find the entrance to a field to go exploring the several real places in and around the forest that can be matched to locations in the Pooh stories.

The Five Hundred Acre Wood (known as the Hundred Acre Wood, of course) and Gill’s Lap (known as Galleon’s Lap in the stories) are just two examples of how A.A. Milne and E.H. Shephard, who illustrated the books, was so inspired by Ashdown Forest’s distinctive landscape.

Our first adventure in our “Big Boots” (it was seriously muddy this time of year) was to the original Poohsticks Bridge, a footbridge across the River Medway in Posingford Wood.

A 3 mile meander through the fields, woodland, and heathland of the Ashdown Forest – including a jolly footpath through a farm brimming with watchful cows – led us to the exciting discovery of the little wooden footbridge. The bridge is well signposted along the route, but if you want to play a game of Poohsticks we recommend collecting sticks along your walk. There are not many at the bridge itself, and it is frowned upon to pull branches from trees.

The footbridge had to be replaced in 1999, and was funded partially by Disney. The architect used drawings by Shepard in the books as his main source. It is so magical to know you’re playing Poohsticks on the bridge where Christopher Robin himself invented the game all those years ago.

There is a small parking lot called Pooh Car Park located about a 20 to 30 minutes walk from the bridge itself, if you don’t fancy the long loop walk around the forest from Hartfield after a competitive game of Poohsticks!

If you keep your eyes peeled, there are also some surprises in the woodland surrounding the bridge for Winnie the Pooh fans. We missed them initially, but keen adventurers will be rewarded with the lovely discoveries of Winnie the Pooh and Owl’s homes in the forest!

Winnie the Pooh’s house, with Sanders sign and honeypots, can be found about 250 steps from the bridge toward the farm. You’ll need to look up for Owl’s house, located halfway back to the parking lot in a tree on the left as you return.

Our next adventure was to Gill’s Lap, about 5 minutes south of the Pooh Car Park. Galleon’s Leap in the Pooh stories was inspired by the prominent hilltop of Gill’s Lap, while a clump of trees just north of Gill’s Lap became Christopher Robin’s The Enchanted Place, because no-one had ever been able to count whether there were 63 or 64 trees in the circle.

We did not manage to decide if there are 63 or 64 trees in The Enchanted Place, but we did encounter Eeyore’s stick house tucked away behind the trees and the fog in an unassuming manner.

The looped walk from Gill’s Lap parking lot is only about 0.6 miles, but is enveloped in a sense of history that makes the whole walk feel special. Spots on the route include Galleon’s Leap, Roo’s Sandy Pit, and The Heffalump Trap, all augmented by the British foilage, trees and quiet beauty.

Visitors to Ashdown Forest and fans of Winnie the Pooh can also try some delicious treats and themed afternoon tea at Pooh Corner , a cute little tea room and gift shop situated in Hartfield just down from the Anchor Inn.

Unfortunately, Pooh Corner was closed during our stay in the Hundred Acre Wood, but we can’t wait to return one day and try their Pooh shaped sandwiches and amazing cakes.

Our favorite bear turned 95 years old last October, and Disney ensured that they celebrated the big milestone without letting any Woozles or Heffalumps interfere. Guests can enjoy The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, as well as the new Broadway musical created about the characters .

Airbnb’s also designed a wonderful “Bearbnb” especially for the 95th Anniversary of the Hundred Acre Wood pals, situated in Ashdown Forest and hosted by Disney-appointed Winnie the Pooh illustrator, Kim Raymond, who has been drawing the iconic bear for over 30 years.

What Winnie the Pooh location would you like to find in England? 

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100 Acre Wood – Visit The Beautiful Home Of Winnie The Pooh!

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” – Winnie the Pooh

Hundred Acre Wood is the home of the very much loved Winnie the Pooh and  friends. Did you know you can actually visit 100 Acre Wood?!

Yes, you can indeed go to the Ashdown Forest in Sussex, England and hang out in the beautiful 6,500 acre woodland.

Pssst…. did you know you can visit Hundred Acre Wood as a day trip from London?

It is the best place for Winnie the Pooh fans to visit and appreciate the inspiration that A.A Milne took from Ashdown Forest and transported into the enchanting stories of Winnie the Pooh.

Even if you’re not a fan, (which would be hard to believe), Ashdown Forest has plenty of walking trails as well as some stunning views and picnic areas.

Pooh Bridge

If you can take your own sticks down, found earlier on, it’s best. Due to the popularity of the bridge and the games, sticks are in short supply! There is a free car park at the top of Pooh Bridge, although it is big, it can get busy in the summer.

Other spots to find are the Heffalumps Trap, Roo’s Sandy Pit, Galleon’s Lap, Where the North Pole was (and might be!) and just maybe, perhaps, you might spy Eeyore, Tigger, Roo, Piglet or even Pooh himself.

Don’t forget to find Pooh’s house, knock on his door and see if anyone is home. No doubt he’ll be off in search of one of his friends, or quite likely, a jar of honey.

Ashdown Forest Walks

For walking routes in the Ashdown Forest you can download some via their website for a small donation, or pick some up at the Forest Centre on arrival.

Pooh Treks and Tours

If you would rather a local Winnie the Pooh expert showed you around all the best spots you can book a private Winnie the Pooh tour.

Pooh Treks offer a choice of 2 tours;

Classic Pooh Trek – a 5 hour guided tour for up to 6 people. You will get your own private tour guide/driver to show you the classic Winnie the Pooh locations including Galleon’s Leap, North Pole, 100 Acre Wood, the Heffalump Trap and of course Pooh Sticks Bridge.

You will also visit Hartfield village and have lunch at either Piglets Tea Room or a local 15th century village pub (not included in price).

You will also visit Pooh Corner and visit the Pooh-seum.

Pooh Trek, Sheffeld Park Estate and Gardens, Bluebell Railway – a 6 hours 30 minutes guided tour that includes the Pooh Trek as well as Sheffield Park Estate and Gardens, followed by a steam train ride on the Bluebell Railway back to East Grinstead station.

Hartfield Village and Pooh Corner

Visiting Hartfield village is a must!

It’s home to Pooh Corner , a lovely little tea room shop and ‘Pooh-seum,’ a museum dedicated to all things Pooh.

You can purchase Winnie the Pooh souvenirs including pictures, illustrations and other items. The staff are very friendly and helpful, with maps and advice on where to go.

The cafe is highly recommended, with a brilliant Pooh inspired menu, selling lots of delicious food and snacks.

Good To Know

There are a number of car parks dotted around Ashdown Forest. It’s best to either head for Pooh Corner in Hartfield (TN7 4AE) or Ashdown Forest Centre (RH18 5JP) for maps and directions.

In The Area

If you can drag yourself away from the magic of Ashdown Forest, there are plenty of other places to visit in the area.

• The Bluebell Railway
• Groombridge Place
• Royal Tunbridge Wells
• Hever Castle & Gardens
• The coastal destinations of Eastbourne and Brighton are about 30 miles further south.

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Pooh Things To Do…

Tens of thousands of people from all over the world flock to the Ashdown Forest and Hartfield every year to experience the 100 Acre Wood, play pooh sticks and visit Pooh Corner! But once you’ve done that (and in-between your return trip to Pooh Corner!) we suggest the following things to do on the Ashdown Forest

Please note that the Ashdown Forest now has parking fees for all the car parks on the forest. This is payable online or an annual pass can be acquired here and equates to about £1.50 per week so excellent value for the regular visitor.

Pooh Sticks Bridge

The original bridge was built in 1907 and originally called Posingford Bridge. Local historians suggest it is the bridge on which Milne and Christoper Milne first played the game.

The bridge maintained the public’s interest and a campaign to rebuild it in the late seventies was considered important enough to feature on the BBC Nine O’Clock News . The bridge was subsequently reopened by Christopher Robin Milne and officially renamed as Poohsticks Bridge .

The site was so popular that in 1999 the East Sussex county council made an appeal to Disney as the old wooden bridge had been worn down by an overwhelming number of visitors. The company provided a substantial donation towards the estimated £30,000 needed to replace the bridge.

Partly rebuilt in 1979, the donations from Disney, building firms and members of the public funded its complete reconstruction. The newly built and modernised bridge retained its precursor’s original style.

Click here for more information on the game of Poohsticks.

The Pooh Walk

The Pooh Walks across the 100 Aker Wood are the perfect way to spend a day.

The walks will take you to some of the sites of Pooh’s adventure. The shorter walk takes in The Enchanted Place and the Sandy Pit and is suitable for younger children.

A longer walk descends to the North Pole and Eeyore’s Sad and Gloomy Place.

We sell a £1.00 guide map here at Pooh Corner, so we suggest you pop in before your walk and one of our tea can give you some directions.

For more information about the area please visit Pooh Country for more detailed information on each of the Pooh sites.

Other things to do on the Ashdown Forest

To find out more about visiting the area, we suggest visiting our partner website, Pooh Country , where you can find lots of information about the different ‘Pooh’ sites and other local attractions to visit, as well as information on places to stay and travel.

The Pooh Country Code

• Enjoy the countryside and respect its life and work.
• Take special care on Country Roads.
• Park considerately.
• Keep your dog on a lead or under close control.
• Keep to footpaths across farmland.
• Use gates and stiles to cross fences, hedges and walls.
• Close and fasten gates behind you.
• Leave farm livestock, crops and machinery alone.
• Take your litter home with you.
• Do not start fires.
• Help to keep water clean.
• Make no unnecessary noise.
• Protect wildlife, plants and trees.
• Eat more honey.

On behalf of those of us who live in the forest and its surrounding areas. We will always welcome those who have a passion for the many outdoor activities, wildlife, scenery and of course, the stories of Winnie the Pooh.

We genuinely feel we are blessed to live in such a place and welcome anyone who shares any of the above passions. So please do visit us and the attractions. Enjoy them, share them, Appreciate them in all their glory. And then leave them as you found them for future visitors. 

Our sincere appreciation

The Pooh Corner Team

Cotchford Farm

Please Note:  Cotchford Farm, although being the original birthplace of Winnie the Pooh, is a private residence and should be considered to be off limits even for the most dedicated fan of Winnie the Pooh. We at Pooh Corner politely ask you to allow the owners their privacy and respect Cotchford Lane as a private road.

There is no public parking in Cotchford Lane itself, please Google ‘Pooh Bridge Car Park’ in Chuck Hatch Lane for the nearest spaces.

Play Pooh sticks in Ashdown Forest

Hartfield, east sussex.

Take a walk through the magical wood where Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Tigger and Eeyore roam.

Go on one of Pooh’s ‘expotitions,’ (silly old bear!) to Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, for a bit of friendly competition on Poohsticks Bridge.

Bring your own sticks so as not to damage the surrounding woodland. Drop your sticks at the same time on the upstream side of the bridge (a referee is a good idea). Then, run to the other side to see whose stick came first!   

A walking trail will take you to many of Christopher Robin’s and Pooh’s other well-known haunts in the rolling, high weald forest known to both characters as the Hundred Acre Wood where, "in that enchanted place on the top of the forest a little boy and his bear will always be playing".

• Find out more about Ashdown Forest
• Find more holidays in South East England

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Exploring the Real Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh Corner in Ashdown Forest

One of the most positive things to come from lockdown and being furloughed for the majority of this year and being unable to travel to many countries overseas is that I have discovered places on or near my own doorstep that I never knew existed.  One of these places is Ashdown Forest in East Sussex – home of Pooh Corner and the real life setting and inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood from the Winnie the Pooh stories by AA Milne who lived in the area and based places in the books with real life locations nearby.  Having grown up with these stories that I loved, I knew I had to visit. Before the day of our visit, I downloaded a map onto my phone of the Winnie the Pooh walks from the Ashdown Forest website .  There are two walks that you can do which will take you to all the notable locations from the books – the Short Pooh Walk is 0.6 miles (1km) and the Long Pooh Walk is 2 miles (3.25km). Where possible in this blog post, I have linked all the locations of car parks and other places to Google Maps to help with driving directions and to make your planning and day out that little bit easier. However our first stop was to visit Pooh Bridge to play a game of Pooh Sticks just as Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh and friends had done in the stories.  We parked at the Pooh Car Park  (which was clearly signposted) and as we visited early in the day, there were plenty of car parking spaces available and parking is also free of charge making this an inexpensive day out.   To get to Pooh Bridge from the car park, simply follow the path and the walk should take about fifteen minutes.

The walk is very easy and the first thing you will see on your right hand side once you leave the car park are some Eeyore houses made from sticks.  My top tip is to pick up some sticks from this area and carry them with you ready for your game of Pooh Sticks as there are hardly any sticks to be found on the ground by the bridge once you get there.

Pooh Bridge is signposted but as long as you stay on the path and keep walking you will reach it without any difficulty. Make sure to keep your eyes open on the walk as Owls House can be found on the right hand side high up in one of the trees.

There was already a few people playing Pooh Sticks at the bridge once we arrived so we just waited to one side before taking our turn to play.  If you have never played Pooh Sticks before, the rules are simple: you all drop a stick from the upstream side of the bridge into the water below and whoever’s stick appears first on the other side of the bridge wins. We played five rounds of Pooh Sticks and despite both of us losing one stick each somewhere under the bridge that never reappeared, we ended up drawing two-all which was a good result and a fun way to pass a few minutes. Despite being brought up on the Winnie the Pooh stories, I never knew that this bridge even existed or that I would end up playing Pooh Sticks here myself like Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh once did.

After playing Pooh Sticks, we walked back to the car and drove less than five minutes to our next stop at Gill’s Lap Car Park – the starting point for the Pooh Walks. It’s a good idea is to bring a picnic with you on your day out as there are many beautiful places to stop and sit down along the way. If nothing else, make sure to bring a bottle of water with you on the walk if it’s a warm day. From the car park, walk north along the track parallel to the main road until you reach Gill’s Lap (Galleons Lap in the Winnie the Pooh books) which is the group of tall pine trees on the right which is also known as The Enchanted Place . Christopher Robin knew that it was enchanted as no one had ever been able to count if there were sixty three or sixty four trees there.

To get to the next stop, walk straight across the path from where you entered The Enchanted Place and along the narrow track towards a lone pine tree growing in a hollow which is The Heffalump Trap where Winnie the Pooh and Piglet attempted to catch a Heffalump.

To get to the AA Milne and EH Shepard memorial , walk back to the main path and turn left and walk towards the group of trees ahead on the left. From here there is a beautiful view across Ashdown Forest and beyond. If you just wanted to visit this memorial without having to walk from Gill’s Lap, the closest car park is Piglet’s Car Park which is located nearby.

If you walk back along the path, you can find Roo’s Sandy Pit on the left which is a disused quarry – and not so sandy anymore. This is the final stop on the Short Pooh Walk and from here you can walk back past The Enchanted Place towards Gill’s Lap Car Park. This walk is approximately thirty minutes and is the perfect length if you have younger children with you.

To continue onto the Long Pooh Walk, take the small path past Roo’s Sandy Pit towards the main road through the Quarry Car Park . Cross the road and follow the trail straight ahead and around to the left into the woodland below. This is the route that Winnie the Pooh took on his “Expotition” to the North Pole which is located by the bridge at the bottom of the valley.

After crossing the bridge and leaving the North Pole, walk up the track (this is the hardest part of the walk until it levels out) and turn right at the top when you reach the t-junction. Follow the path around the edge of the valley and Eeyore’s Gloomy Place is located somewhere in the valley below. Thankfully the day I visited, it was not gloomy at all – it was beautiful and I could even see the planes overhead taking off from Gatwick Airport in the distance. Carry on walking along the trail around the valley and you will eventually reach the main road and Gill’s Lap Car Park where you parked your car and started the walk. The total time for both walks from leaving the car to arriving back was an hour and twenty minutes. I would definitely recommend doing the Long Pooh Walk if you can as apart from a small uphill section, it was an easy walk and the views were beautiful the whole way.

Once we were back in the car, we drove five minutes to the village of Hartfield where Pooh Corner is located. There is some free street parking available but if it is busy, you may need to park a little further down the road and walk back.

At this time if you want to visit the Pooh Corner tea room for something to eat or drink after doing the Pooh Walks, make sure to make a reservation on the Pooh Corner website as there are only a limited number of tables available due to the current Coronavirus restrictions. If visiting the gift shop or the “Pooh-Seum”, you will also need to bring a face covering with you and wear it at all times whilst inside the building.

The “Pooh-Seum” is free of charge to visit and features a large collection of various AA Milne and Winnie the Pooh memorabilia from around the world. I loved reading and looking at all the displays and even laughed when I saw a few Tigger items that I own myself – Tigger was my first love and has always been my favourite. And yes, something involving Tigger may have been purchased in the gift shop too!

Visiting Pooh Corner and the Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest was a great day out close to home and a fantastic way to relive some childhood memories. I hope my directions are useful and help you to plan your day out and I hope you have as much fun visiting Winnie the Pooh and friends as I did. Pin this Blog Post on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram Follow Me on Bloglovin’

• Ashdown Forest
• East Sussex
• Hundred Acre Wood
• Pooh Corner
• Winnie The Pooh

2 thoughts on “ Exploring the Real Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh Corner in Ashdown Forest ”

Hi. Is it possible to walk from the BnB next door to the pooh corner to ashdown forest pooh walk ? I don’t drive and I’m planning on staying there for 2 days. I have small kids under 8..is there a bus or taxi that takes you to the pooh walk from the hartfield pooh corner where I will be staying just next door to.

Hi Amie. From looking at Google Maps it’s at least a two mile walk from Pooh Corner. I have no idea if there is a bus but I’m sure that you’ll be able to call for a taxi to drive you there. Have fun 🙂

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Hundred Acre Wood

Sponsored by the paper store ®.

Journey into the Hundred Acre Wood with everyone’s favorite teddy bear friend Winnie-the-Pooh. Spend time wandering Christopher Robin’s favorite woods and visit some of his favorite places, like Eeyore’s Gloomy Place or Rabbit’s Garden. Bounce along with Tigger and Roo as you follow their bouncing trails. Or spend a quiet moment in Owl’s library, reading about some of Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet’s adventures. Playful fun awaits you in the Hundred Acre Wood!

• Take photos in front of Winnie-the-Pooh’s house, or in Eeyore’s lean-to.
• Try Winnie-the-Pooh’s stoutness exercise.
• Read in Owl’s Book Nook.
• Learn about the history of the real life bear named Winnie and A.A. Milne’s books.
• Pretend play in Rabbit’s Garden, Kanga’s Kitchen, and Piglet’s Patch of Grass.
• Build structures in Eeyore’s Gloomy Place.
• Discover and play with Sensory Honey Jars.
• Enjoy staff-led rotating programs including Heffalump and Woozle creations, Bounce like Tigger Obstacle Course, Pin-the-Tail on Eeyore, Story time in Owl’s Library, Teddy Bear Picnics, and more.

Please Note: During the special Honey Hunt events listed below, the Winnie the Pooh exhibit will be closed for regular viewing.

In the mornings when respective Honey Hunts are occurring this will be from 9-11 and in the afternoons from 2-4. Please check the dates below to ensure access to the exhibit.

Add On Experience - Hundred Acre Wood Honey Hunt!

Christopher Robin needs your help to plan a surprise picnic for all his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Can you help get everything ready before all his friends arrive? But what’s this? It appears all the honey and picnic food have gone missing from the Hundred Acre Wood! Christopher Robin needs your help to find everything and finish setting up the party before his friends arrive.

Work together as you race against the clock in this new “Puzzle Room” adventure. Put your problem-solving skills to the test as you find clues, solve puzzles, and work as a team to find all the honey. This is an add-on experience, and additional tickets are required. The experience is 45-minutes in length and recommended for ages 4 and above. This experience will run on select days and times so please check the calendar for more details. Museum admission is required for this add-on activity, and includes access to the full Museum. The add on Honey Hunt is $10.00 and tickets are required for all participants.

The Hundred Acre Wood: Honey Hunt Dates Tuesday July 30, 10:00am Thursday August 1, 3:00pm Friday August 2, 3:00pm Wednesday August 7, 3:00pm Friday August 9, 3:00pm Saturday August 10, 10:00am Sunday August 11, 10:00am Tuesday August 13, 3:00pm Thursday August 15, 3:00pm Saturday August 17, 3:00pm Sunday August 18, 10:00am Wednesday August 21, 3:00pm Friday August 23, 3:00pm Saturday August 24, 10:00am Sunday August 25, 3:00pm

Event Details

• This is a limited capacity experience with a maximum of 20 people per session. The add on price for the Honey Hunt is $10.00.
• This experience will require you and your party to work together with other parties at times. For a majority of the time you and your party will be working on your own to solve clues and puzzles, and will rejoin the larger group once you have finished your tasks. Please make sure to purchase tickets as a whole group to ensure you are not divided.
• This experience is meant for ages 4 and up and encourages visitors of all ages to work together to solve puzzles and clues.
• The Honey Hunt will include the book “Finding Winnie: the True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear” by Lindsay Mattick, a Caldecott Medal award winning book valued at $19.99—one copy per transaction while supplies last.
• More dates and times may be added, so please check back.

Do you know the story of the real Winnie?

Images photographed from the book Finding Winnie – The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick, the great-granddaughter of Captain Harry Colebourn*

1914 – Lt. Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian from Winnipeg, Canada, leaves home to fight in World War I. His role is to care for the many horses that were used by soldiers during the War. While on the train journey, Harry comes upon a trapper who has a baby black bear cub that he is hoping to sell. Harry’s diary notes log the day (August 24th) on which he purchased the bear at the train station for $20 from the trapper. Harry names the cub Winnie, after Winnipeg.

The Real Hundred Acre Wood Is Less Than Two Hours From London

Find Pooh's house, play Pooh sticks over Pooh Bridge, Rabbit's house, a Heffalump trap, Eeyore's Sad and Gloomy Place, and so much more.

National Winnie the Pooh Day is just around the corner on January 18 and in celebration of everyone’s beloved fictional teddy bear obsessed with ‘hunny’, we thought we’d enlighten those of you not in the know that the marvellous Hundred Acre Wood where Pooh and his friends reside is real and is just under two hours away from London.

Ashdown Forest, or rather ‘Pooh Country’ or ‘Winnie the Pooh Forest’, is a national forest found in the county of East Sussex with origins as Medieval hunting forest and is home to Henry VIII’s hunting lodge but is best known as the inspiration behind AA Milne’s magical Hundred Acre Wood in his Winnie the Pooh stories we all know and love.

It was in the nearby village of Hartfield in Cotchford Farms where AA Milne lived and wrote the collection of short stories of Pooh’s adventures with his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, drawing inspiration from exploring the forest with his son Christopher Robin. And now visitors and families flock to the forest to explore for themselves and find the said-to-be landmarks (not all of them are confirmed to be the exact landmarks that inspired Milne) that feature in the beloved children’s stories.

Winnie the Pooh landmarks

Now almost a century old, the Winnie the Pooh books tell tales of Pooh often playing ‘Pooh sticks’ over Pooh bridge. The game was originally invented and played by Milne and his son over the original Posingford Bridge which has since not survived but was replaced in the 1970s with a new Pooh bridge that Christopher Robin himself reopened and was officially renamed Poohsticks Bridge, found just north of Pooh car park.

Winnie the Pooh landmarks are dotted all over the forest for visitors to find. Be sure to look up to the trees for Owl’s house, Roo’s sandy pit by the quarry, the Heffalump trap and the Lone Pine tree that has spectacular views over the forest, Piglet’s house, Kanga’s house, Eeyore’s Sad and Gloomy Place and Rabbit’s house are all to be found in the forest.

Of course, a stop at Pooh’s house goes unsaid. Found some distance from Poohstick Bridge and with a ‘Mr Sanderz’ sign above the door is the home of Pooh. You’ll find pots of ‘hunny’ lovingly left by friends and visitors for Pooh to enjoy and is one of the most delightful spots in the forest to find.

There is a Pooh Walk across the Hundred Acre Wood which will take you to some of the sites of Pooh’s adventure, along with a smaller walk that leads to The Enchanted Place and the Sandy Pit and is suitable for younger children with booklets on the walks available.

Pooh Corner

If that wasn’t enough Pooh for you, then Pooh Corner will surely sort you out. In the nearby village of Hartfield is a tearoom, gift shop and museum all rolled into one named Pooh Corner which is filled to the brim with all things Winnie the Pooh. From plates, clocks, keyrings, toys and memorabilia, it’s a heartwarming tribute to Pooh and friends and even has Pooh bear-shaped toast and tea from a Pooh teapot to give you some well-deserved sustenance after a long walk.

Find out more here .

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Welcome to Ashdown forest

The landscape that inspired the idyllic home of winnie-the-pooh.

Don’t forget to renew your Annual Parking permit or Winter Pass! Purchase your permit online via the Horizon portal or visit the Ashdown Forest Centre from Monday to Friday (10am–4.30pm) to pay in person. 

A TREASURE OF THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE, ENCHANTING WITH ITS WILDERNESS AND BEAUTY

Celebrated as the home of Winnie-the-Pooh, Ashdown Forest is a rare and fragile environment with an ancient heritage.

Used by Kings for Deer Hunting but now for public enjoyment

With over 6,500 acres to explore, there is always an adventure to be had

A SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST WITH SPECIAL PROTECTIONS FOR ITS HABITATS AND WILDLIFE

A habitat rarer than tropical rainforest, the unique heathland of Ashdown Forest is home to some of Europe’s most threatened species

FAMED AS THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD FROM THE WINNIE-THE-POOH STORIES

Discover the playground of Pooh and his friends and, nearby, the legendary Pooh Sticks Bridge

THE LARGEST PUBLIC OPEN SPACE IN THE SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND

Deep in the East Sussex countryside, just 30 miles from London, Ashdown Forest welcomes over 1.5 million visitors every year

FACING A CHALLENGING FUTURE FROM CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY CRISES

Please help us in our work to preserve and protect this magical place for the future

A SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST, A SPECIAL PROTECTION AREA FOR BIRDS, AND A SPECIAL AREA OF CONSERVATION FOR ITS HEATHS

A heritage rich in human history, but sadly, ashdown forest is under threat, from development and a lack of funding.

Our work is to preserve and protect the magical mix of environments, with all their special birds, insects, reptiles and plants, for the people who live and work here, for visitors, and for the future.

The Conservators of Ashdown Forest would be grateful for your support. You can find out how to help us on the Get Involved page.

Wherever you might be in the world, and whatever your reason for visiting us, we wish you a warm welcome to the wonderful Ashdown Forest.

The Forest is owned by the Ashdown Forest Trust, and managed by the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, protecting and preserving this beautiful wilderness for everyone.

Read more about us

Winnie-the-Pooh

Ashdown Forest is famous as the magical woodland that inspired some of the world’s best loved children’s stories, the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.

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We welcome volunteers, donors and supporters, without whose generous help we wouldn’t be able to look after the Forest in the way it deserves.

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The Ashdown Forest Centre Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JP

Phone: 01342 823 583 Email: [email protected]

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DisneyTips.com Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation

Your complete guide to winnie the pooh’s real hundred acre wood.

Posted by: Melissa Cannioto January 10, 2022

“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.”

And “Big Boots” you’ll need if you want to take a muddy adventure down to the real Hundred Acre Wood!

Yes, you can follow Piglet, Tigger, and Rabbit’s footsteps in the beautiful forest that was the inspiration for A.A. Milne’s popular Winnie the Pooh stories. Disney Tips visited Ashdown Forest over in the United Kingdom and has compiled a complete guide for Pooh fans everywhere!

Credit: The Argus  

Created by British author A.A. Milne in the 1920s, Winnie the Pooh has become a beloved character over generations. The first collection of stories about the popular bear was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928).  All volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard.

In 1961, Walt Disney licensed select film rights of Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories from the estate of A. A. Milne and adapted the Pooh stories into a series of features that would eventually become one of its most successful franchises, earning the studio more than $80 billion. These cherished characters have recently joined the public domain and Disney no longer holds the copyright to the stuffed animals.

Credit: Disney Tips

Milne based the characters on his son, Christopher Robin, his stuffed animals — Winnie the Pooh and friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Owl, Roo, and Tigger—and their country home in England’s Ashdown Forest.

Originally a deer hunting forest in Norman times, Ashdown Forest is now one of the largest free public access spaces in the South East of England. The countryside beauty spot is known the world over as the “home” of Winnie the Pooh, and features many recognizable inspiration spots where A.A. Milne observed the adventures of his son, Christopher Robin.

Credit: Disney Tips Melissa C.

Christopher Robin said in his autobiography that Ashdown Forest was “identical” to Pooh’s forest from his father’s books, and once we arrived, we could see why.

From the very first glimpse of the enchanting woodland, we could pick out the distinctive landscapes that make up the illustrations in the famous books.

In 1925, A.A. Milne, moved from London to a country home just north of Ashdown Forest at Cotchfield Farm, near Hartfield. Christopher Robin wrote in his book:

“The four of us would pile into a large blue, chauffeur-driven Fiat and travel down every Saturday morning and back again every Monday afternoon. And we would spend a whole glorious month there in the spring and two months in the summer.” Credit: Disney Tips Melissa C.

We spent two days in Hartfield, at the quaint 15th Century pub The Anchor Inn . Each of its four rooms is named after a Winnie the Pooh character, with original wooden beams, crooked ceilings, and Pooh wallpaper adding to the charm.

The Five Hundred Acre Wood (known as the Hundred Acre Wood, of course) and Gill’s Lap (known as Galleon’s Lap in the stories) are just two examples of how A.A. Milne and E.H. Shephard were so inspired by Ashdown Forest’s beauty.

Our first adventure in our “Big Boots” (it was VERY muddy this time of year) was to the original Poohsticks Bridge, a footbridge across the River Medway in Posingford Wood.

A 3 mile hike through the fields and woodland of the Ashdown Forest led us to the little wooden footbridge. The bridge is well signposted along the route, but if you want to play a game of Poohsticks we recommend collecting sticks along your walk. There are not many at the bridge itself, and it is frowned upon to pull branches from trees.

There is a small parking lot called Pooh Car Park located about a 20 to 30 minutes walk from the bridge itself, if you don’t fancy the long loop walk around the forest from Hartfield after a competitive game of Poohsticks!

If you keep your eyes peeled, there are also some surprises in the woodland surrounding the bridge for Winnie the Pooh fans. We missed them initially, but keen adventurers will be rewarded with the lovely discoveries of Winnie the Pooh and Owl’s homes in the forest!

Winnie the Pooh’s house, with Sanders sign and honeypots, can be found about 250 steps from the bridge toward the farm. You’ll need to look up for Owl’s house, located halfway back to the parking lot in a tree on the left as you return.

Our next adventure was to Gill’s Lap, about 5 minutes south of the Pooh Car Park. A small clump of trees just north of Gill’s Lap became Christopher Robin’s “Enchanted Place” because no one had ever been able to count whether there were 63 or 64 trees in the circle.

The looped walk from Gill’s Lap parking lot is only about 0.6 miles, but includes spots like Eeyore’s house, Roo’s Sandy Pit, and The Heffalump Trap, all enveloped by the British trees and quiet beauty.

Fans of Winnie the Pooh can also try some delicious treats and food at Pooh Corner , a cute little tea room and gift shop situated in Hartfield just down from the Anchor Inn.

Credit: ITM Melissa C.

Our favorite bear turned 95 years old last October, and Disney ensured that they celebrated the big milestone without letting any Woozles or Heffalumps interfere. Guests can enjoy The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, as well as the new Broadway musical created about the characters .

You have to look quickly to find these Disney “Easter eggs,” but just as you enter Owl’s house in the Winnie the Pooh ride, look to your left, and you will see a picture of Mr. Toad (from the previous attraction) handing over the deed to the building in Fantasyland.

Hopefully you don’t encounter Heffalumps or Woozles on your visit to Ashdown Forest!

About Melissa Cannioto

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• This Real Forest Inspired <i>Winnie the Pooh</i>’s Hundred Acre Wood. Now It’s Under Threat

This Real Forest Inspired Winnie the Pooh ’s Hundred Acre Wood. Now It’s Under Threat

W hen Winnie-the-Pooh was first published on Oct. 14, 1926—90 years ago this Friday—author A.A. Milne introduced the world not only to a menagerie of beloved characters, but also to a place that has captured the imaginations of countless readers: the Hundred Acre Wood. And, just as Pooh was inspired by a real toy bear , that forest of the imagination was inspired by a real place too.

To commemorate Pooh’s anniversary, TIME took a trip to Ashdown Forest, the 6,500-acre wood just 40 miles southwest from London that inspired Milne’ s depiction of Pooh’s neighborhood. Though the Forest remains idyllic for now, its future will depend on an ongoing battle between its past—both literary and natural—and its present.

Ashdown Forest receives over one million visitors per year, many of whom are Winnie the Pooh fans hoping to explore the Enchanted Forest, catch Heffalumps in Pooh’s Cunning Trap and pay a visit to Roo’s Sandy Pit, a disused quarry that is not so sandy anymore. (Though the book’s original title was the hyphenated Winnie-the-Pooh , that punctuation was lost in later adaptations.)

But, aside from a simple memorial commemorating A. A. Milne and Pooh illustrator E. H. Shepherd—located at the spot where Milne, and later his son, Christopher Robin, would write—the Forest contains not a single image of the yellow, honey-loving Disney creature that bears a long association with Milne’s beloved books. The closest thing the Forest has to a Pooh-related product is a “Pooh Walks” leaflet that guides visitors to locations of interest.

“Ashdown Forest is an extremely special and unique place, but Winnie the Pooh is just one aspect of it,” Pat Buesnel, the Director of Ashdown Forest , told TIME. “We wish to maintain the Forest in the spirit of Milne’s stories, which are all about enjoying the natural environment and being free to discover it.”

But, as it turns out, maintaining the Forest in the way Milne knew it is not so easy. That’s because the way the Forest looked in the early 20th century—with open fields abutting more heavily wooded areas, allowing visitors to enjoy the beautiful views as well as the trees—was the result of a very precise kind of interaction between humans and nature.

The land, originally a deer-hunting park, is owned by the Ashdown Forest Trust, with members of East Sussex County Council as trustees. Since 1885 it has been managed by a board of conservators, who employ 12 members of staff including four rangers. The team have a duty to conserve and protect the Forest, as well as provide open access to visitors and allow the roughly 790 “commoners” who live on the land to exercise their rights to graze animals or cut wood or bracken, although Buesnel said that not many of them do. That grazing, however, was a crucial part of the way the land came to look the way it did in Milne’s day.

“Without people cutting and grazing on the land, all the lovely open landscapes Milne was familiar with would quickly disappear and become woodland,” said Steve Alton, a Conservation Officer based at the Ashdown Forest Center.

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Because the rate of grazing has so declined, the officials who manage the land employ a herd of cattle, Exmoor ponies and sheep to help out. They also clear land with controlled forest fires and cut the bracken and gorse.

Conserving the Forest that way costs money, and that money is provided entirely by European Union funding as heathland (which is rarer than tropical rain forest on a global scale) is one of the organization’s priority habitats to protect. But the future of this funding is now uncertain, as the U.K. comes to terms with the June vote to leave the E.U.

Wealden, the East Sussex district that contains most of Ashdown Forest, voted to leave by 54.5%, but Alton believes that locals were unaware of the impact of that decision on the conservation of nearby land. He says that the U.K. government has promised to guarantee funding for the Forest for at least five years, and hopefully ten, but that what will come next remains unknown. “We are worried about the long-term future,” he says, “particularly as some of our posts are paid for entirely out of this money.”

Public perception, he added, is a big issue. “I don’t think people realize what we do around here, never mind where our money comes from. They see us going out and cutting down trees and decide that we’re destroying the environment. We try and explain that the vistas they love rely on us doing this work, but it’s hard.”

As the long-term future of the Forest remains uncertain, tourists continue to flood to the Forest to photograph themselves playing Poohsticks , searching for the North Pole or streaming into the one place with a Disney license: Pooh Corner , a Pooh -paraphernalia-packed shop complete with a Piglet tearoom, in Hartfield, the village that was home to the country farm Milne bought in the early 1920s. Unsurprisingly, the 90th anniversary has seen a spike in the number of visitors to the Forest, putting further strain on the upkeep of the area.

“Coach-loads of people come to Hartfield, then walk to Pooh Bridge to play Poohsticks,” Buesnel says, “but there are no sticks left now.”

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Write to Kate Samuelson at [email protected]

A Walking Tour Of The Real Hundred Acre Wood

The most beloved children's books create places that you can remember all your life. There is the magic of Harry Potter's Hogwarts Academy. Or even the feast of the Tuesday down and who built. You can remember those places but you can't actually go there except for one of the most famous worlds ever created in children's literature. Winnie the Pooh's 100 acre with actually exists. I spoke with Kathryn Aalto author of the natural world of Winnie the Pooh. Where is the location that inspired the Hundred Acre Woods and how closely does it was a Brett. The Hundred Acre Woods is located about an hour south of London it's called Ashdown Forest. It's a 60 -- it's a wildlife Hayden -- haven. It is where A.A. Milne moved in 1925 to give his real son a kind of free range Charles -- childhood that he had growing up. You can visit it today. It is like I said it has shady dappled light on some of the with and then you can head up to the top of the forest where there is a wonderful heathland and a rich tapestry of purple heather and it's not like coconut in the summer. It is punctuated by wild Scots Pines. It is so close to friends you can nearly smell the hunting. Does it feel like you are inside a storybook? That's the strange thing. It really does. I am a landscape historian so when I went up there I was looking for the ways I could read the landscape like a text and gauge the plants and I'm looking for real places that inspired the stories. There becomes a funny blur between the fictional and the real world and is very magical and enchanting and it really does feel like you are walking through the pages of an illustration. Author A.A. Milne used his son as the little boy in the pullbacks. -- In the books. It's a combination of things. The first is that he moved damage to give his son the kind of child that he had. A.A. Milne had a wonderful childhood. His father used to say keep out-of-doors as much as you can. She has the most wonderful exhibition. Always open and always free. His free -- his sons could wander to a lot of places. Even as an eight-year-old he writes about working 18 miles. It's remembering his own childhood and remembering how his own son was playing and that is taking walks with his father and then the third thing is using his own imagination to make the characters and stuffed animals come alive and so forth. Considering how incredibly popular the playbooks -- the Winnie the Pooh books have been you would think that it would become a tourist attraction. Is that the way this forest is. The ironic thing is that it is preserved because it is a rare his fund. I talk about why that is in the book. I talk about it being a common area and people kept the landscape down. It was changed into this heathland and as a result parts of rare birds and insects and plants grow their so the forest is protected and it has lots of scientific destinations around the. It's not protected because it's Winnie the Pooh country and the conservators of the country said hey let's preserve it because it's Winnie the Pooh country. The landscape preservation conserve the literary landscape that we know so well. Something that goes hand-in-hand with the idea of preserving this natural world you compared the adventures of Winnie the Pooh with the TV series sign filled -- Seinfeld. Is that part of the attraction? The dialogue seems a lot like Seinfeld and that they seem to be talking about nothing but for children doing nothing is a very important something. He did that. By nothing a means unscheduled time. For modern parents there's overscheduling and helicopter parenting and everybody has to be in soccer and so forth. It is nice and vital for the children's imaginations to give an unscheduled free time away from the watchful eyes of parents. They want to make sure they are safe but it's important for children to daydream and use their imaginations and falling off an Apple or to look at the rays of light coming through grass and of course that is important because when children Laron -- learn to care for the natural environment there are future stewards so we need them to develop connections with the natural world. Kathryn Aalto is the author of the natural world of Winnie the Pooh. A walk through the forest that inspired the 100 acre wood she will be speaking about her book the Saturday at the Ramona Garden club and library and Mission Hill's Garden club. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. It has been a delight.

A.A. Milne published his first "Winnie-the-Pooh" stories 90 years ago, but the English countryside that inspired his beloved children's books is nearly unchanged today.

The Hundred Acre Wood, where Christopher Robin played with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and others, was based on Ashdown Forest in southeast England, about 30 miles outside of London. Milne bought a country house there and took his family to Ashdown on weekends and summers. Milne's walks with his son Christopher Robin, and Christopher's stuffed dolls, were the start of his Pooh stories.

Landscape historian Kathryn Aalto , a California expat living in England, said that much of Ashdown Forest looks the same as it did in Milne's day, and some specific locations look like living E.H. Shepard illustrations.

Pooh fans may recognize Roo's Sandy Pit, the Enchanted Place and Poohsticks Bridge if they visit Ashdown, Aalto writes in her book "The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh."

"It still looks like you’re walking through the pages of the book," Aalto said. "If you know that Milne walked in this real place with his son, that adds some magic to it. It’s not just all fiction."

Aalto joins KPBS Midday Edition on Monday to discuss why Ashdown seems frozen in time.

Inside the charming forest near Kent that inspired Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood

The Hundred Acre Wood is a magical place - and you can actually visit the real life inspiration behind the much-loved tales of Winnie the Pooh and his friends

• 15:44, 21 JUL 2024
• Updated 16:18, 22 JUL 2024

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For years, I've been a fan of the tales of Christopher Robin and his pals, including Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and others. For those who adore these heartwarming stories, Ashdown Forest in Hartfield, near Kent is the ideal spot to discover the One Hundred Acre Wood.

Hartfield is renowned for being the residence of A. A. Milne, the author of the Winnie the Pooh books, and it's situated in the Wealden district of East Sussex. Every year, people from all corners of the globe visit Ashdown Forest and the town of Hartfield to play pooh sticks and drop by the cafe dedicated to 'the silly old bear' at Pooh Corner.

You can park at Pooh Car Park, take a leisurely walk in the forest, and keep your eyes peeled for the various character homes en route to Pooh sticks bridge. The forest is where the characters reside, and as soon as you step inside, you're plunged into the world of Winnie the Pooh.

READ MORE: One of Kent's most southerly towns has its own 'forgotten' airport and a church that's 'heavenly'

READ MORE: Kent's magical private lake in the shadow of a stately home where you can now wild swim

During my adventure, we parked at Pooh Car Park, strolled through the forest, and kept an eye out for the different character homes on our way to Pooh sticks bridge, reports Sussex Live .

Here are all the elements of the walk you can savour:

Piglet's house

The first home you encounter on the walk is Piglet's. At Piglet's house, there was a bag of notebooks and pens by the door where folks have penned messages to the characters about their time in the 100 acre wood.

It was incredibly sweet to read.

The thrill of spotting the house from a distance and interacting with others on the walk, pointing out where each character lives, was a great deal of fun.

Pooh Sticks Bridge

The original bridge, known as Posingford Bridge, was constructed in 1907. It is believed to be the very spot where Christopher Milne and his father first played the game of Pooh sticks.

Due to its popularity, by 1999, the old wooden bridge had been worn down by a large number of visitors. This led East Sussex county council to appeal to Disney for help.

The company generously contributed towards the estimated £30,000 needed for a new bridge.

The bridge was partially rebuilt in 1979, but it was the donations from Disney, building firms and the public that funded its complete reconstruction. The newly built bridge maintained the original style of its predecessor.

Pooh sticks is a game featured in the stories. Here are the rules: All players must drop their sticks into the water simultaneously on the starter's call.

They then cross to the downstream side of the bridge and wait for the sticks to appear. The player whose stick floats out from under the bridge first is declared the winner.

You can bring your own sticks or find some perfect ones that have fallen on the ground. Why not have a game of Pooh Sticks yourself and stand where Christopher and Pooh once stood?

If you're planning a short walk like we did, finish off at Pooh Corner. From Pooh's car park, it's just a quick drive to the Pooh-themed cafe.

The Pooh museum, home to hundreds of items and souvenirs, is fittingly located in Hartfield, the very place where A. A.

Milne penned the beloved stories in the 1920s. I enjoyed a cup of tea from my own Pooh bear teapot, a cherished gift, along with a delicious toasted sandwich.

For any Winnie the Pooh enthusiast, it's an ideal day trip.

Find out more about things to do in Kent with our free What’s On email HERE.

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Visit Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Woods in Real Life

If you go down to the woods today, you might meet a cuddly character..

I was raised on A.A. Milne, the acclaimed English author who wrote the classic stories about the adventures of much-loved bear Winnie-the-Pooh, touching many hearts across multiple generations all over the world. Before I was old enough to read, I knew all about the adventures of Piglet, Heffalump and Pooh. My imagination often wandered from my suburban home into the Hundred Acre Wood, a place where my paws were often dripping with honey.

With the recent film release of Goodbye Christopher Robin about the life of A.A. Milne, as well as Disney’s forthcoming movie Christopher Robin, starring Ewan McGregor, I had the perfect excuse to discover the settings from my imaginary childhood haunts. I booked a weekend with my far-too-cool-for-furry-animals teenager, Savanna, at Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club in East Sussex, England, which is probably the closest place to Pooh’s fictional home. Only 10 minutes’ drive away is Ashdown Forest, the English oak and pine woods from which Milne drew the inspiration for Christopher Robin and his friends.

It’s not difficult to tread in Tigger’s footsteps. Ashdown Forest has parking lots with names like “Piglet’s” and signposts to Heffalump Trap, Galleons Lap and the North Pole. We headed for Pooh Sticks Bridge. I was determined to play my favorite childhood game with Savanna, even though she made it clear she’d prefer to be splashing in the hotel pool. She may have heard of Pooh, but she’d never heard of Pooh sticks. “You throw a little twig in the river from the bridge, then rush to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick comes out first,” I explained. Savanna looked at me, saying nothing. She wished she’d brought her iPhone and earphones.

We trudged along the well-trodden forest trail, stamped flat by toddlers’ feet. We were on a pilgrimage through the twisted beech and oak trees alongside other families who were pushing baby carriages. I made Savanna collect short, straight sticks along the path. She was more interested in pointing out that there was plenty of real poo, left by the horses that shared the bridleway.

The bridge itself was just like the one in the E.H. Shepard pencil drawing — underwhelming, small and made entirely of wood. I was ridiculously excited. I’d imagined this bridge so many times, and here it was. I could tell Savanna was curious how her mother, usually such a sensible woman, could get so emotional about such a minor site. I’d taken her to awe-inspiring places all over the world, and this certainly wasn’t one of them.

Savanna, a stickler for rules, read out the instructions for playing Pooh sticks that we’d been given by the hotel. Ready, steady, go! We threw our sticks into the mud-brown stream. Not far downstream, hundreds of small sticks thrown by small hands from the small bridge had created a dam. Savanna and I, completely enraptured by the simple game, ran out of sticks and had to scramble for some more in the mud. “Look! There’s mine! I’m winning!” we cried. We were both rather happy.

Back at Ashdown Park, an old convent that has been converted into a classic English countryside hotel, we had Winnie-the-Pooh tea with Rabbit’s carrot sticks, “hunny” sandwiches and Kanga’s cupcakes. At first, Savanna sniffed — she was far too old to eat a cake with a picture of a little bear on it. Then she surreptitiously popped the cake into her mouth and crunched on a carrot stick. That’s what Winnie the Pooh can do: make everyone enjoy being a child.

The Lowdown

Getting Here: You need a car and a good map to reach Ashdown Forest, which is a two-hour drive south of London. Despite being a place of pilgrimage, Ashdown Forest is poorly signposted and not easy to find. There is also a ban on any interpretation panels in the forest, so bring your own copy of the classic if you want to reminisce.

Where to Stay: Ashdown Park Hotel

Where to Eat:  Pubs and restaurants are scarce because of planning restrictions in the park. After the hotel, one of the nearest places to eat is Pooh Corner tea shop in nearby Hartfield.

By Dea Birkett

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Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood is a real place and you can visit the spots that inspired A.A Milne

Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood isn't just in the story book - it's very much a real place you can actually visit

• 11:54, 31 Aug 2018
• Updated 11:56, 31 Aug 2018

We all followed the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his friends in A.A Milne's beloved books - but did you know you can actually follow in their footsteps in real life?

The Hundred Acre Wood might be the stuff of story books, but it's actually very much a real place too; A.A Milne was inspired by Ashdown Forest, right by his family's home in Hartfield.

In fact, his son Christopher wrote about the forest in The Enchanted Places: "Anyone who has read the stories knows the Forest and doesn't need me to describe it. Pooh's Forest and Ashdown Forest are identical."

One of the largest free public spaces in south east England, in reality the forest boasts thousands of acres but there are a few spots which served as the perfect backdrop for the Winnie the Pooh tales.

And you can visit all of them.

To give families a helping hand there is a dedicated, free Enchanted Places map guiding you to all of the spots, but there are some highlights Pooh fans won't want to miss.

Hundred Acre Wood

For a start, there's the Hundred Acre Wood itself. Although a fictional place for where the cuddly gang hang out, in reality it's a cultivated pine plantation - and it's known as the 'Five Hundred Acre Wood'.

Unsurprisingly it has a picture-perfect forest filled with oaks and beech trees, including a beech tree which blew down and inspired 'Wols House'.

There are public pathways so you can explore the scenery, but heed the warning to leave plenty of daylight for your return; the woods can be notoriously spooky at night, not to mention it can be difficult to make your way back.

Pooh's Corner

This charming little shop in Hartfield offers up plenty of Pooh-themed merchandise for fans of the series, as well as copies of the beautiful books of course.

Looking for a light bite? Make sure to check out the adorable Piglit's Tearoom where you'll find a themed menu with a host of quintessentially British goodies that would make Mary Berry proud.

Poohsticks Bridge

One of Winnie the Pooh's favourite games, Poohsticks involves dropping a stick on the upstream side of a bridge - the one whose stick first appears downstream is the winner.

And A.A Milne had plenty of inspiration for the game as his family home was on a stream leading to the River Medway, where there's a picturesque bridge.

Heffalump Trap

Pooh and Piglet may have failed to catch a Heffalump when they set up a trap on one of their Expotitions, but you can get an idea of their exploits with a trip to the Gill's Lap. Head 130 metres west and you'll find the impressive trap (just look out for Heffalumps on the way!)

Roo's Sandy Pit

If Roo had played in the real-life spot that inspired his sand pit, he'd have had even more space to jump around and practice his bounce, as it's actually an old quarry.

There are drawings of the spot in books such as 'Expotition To The North Pole' as well as 'Tigger is Unbounced'.

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Author Interviews

'natural world': in which we make an expotition to the hundred acre wood.

Generations of children have leaned over the side of this bridge for a game of Poohsticks in the real-life Hundred Acre Wood. Rich Preston/NPR hide caption

Generations of children have leaned over the side of this bridge for a game of Poohsticks in the real-life Hundred Acre Wood.

The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh

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We'd like to visit a place that you've likely been before — maybe not in real life, but in your imagination. It's a land that inspired heffalumps and expotitions (yes, that spelling's correct). In real life, it's a forest in southeast England — but you know it as Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood. The setting is sort of the quintessential English countryside: Rolling hills, trees, squares of farmland, heather and gorse and a perfectly blue sky day — perhaps the only thing that's not very English about the setting. "This is the real landscape that inspired Milne to write his famous Winnie the Pooh stories," says Kathryn Aalto. She's the author of The Natural World of Winnie the Pooh: A Walk Through The Forest That Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood .

As she explains, nearly 100 years ago, the author A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin lived near Ashdown Forest. Milne watched his son play with his stuffed animals here; eventually Ashdown Forest became the Hundred Acre Wood, and Christopher Robin's adventures with Winnie the Pooh became some of the most beloved children's stories of all time.

Just a little ways down a path, there's a cluster of trees. "It's called the enchanted place, there are either 63 or 64 trees there," Aalto says. Christopher Robin was never able to count the exact number of trees — which was how he knew it had to be magic.

Pooh Faithful Return To The Hundred Acre Wood

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In the enchanted place, the trees make a circle, almost like a shelter. Dappled light streams through the rustling leaves overhead. It's the highest spot in Ashdown forest. The ground is flat and inviting; Milne describes the way it's different from the rest of the forest:

Will Christopher Robin Ever Grow Up?

Being enchanted, its floor was not like the floor of the Forest, gorse and bracken and heather, but close-set grass, quiet and smooth and green. It was the only place in the Forest where you could sit down carelessly, without getting up again almost at once and looking for somewhere else. Sitting there they could see the whole world spread out until it reached the sky.

In the books — and because of that, in real life — it's a transitional sort of place, a place to say goodbye to childhood. "Every time I'm here I sort of it's really emotional actually," Aalto says. "It's saying goodbye to free time, the protection of mother and this sort of thing and father, and leaving and going out into the world. And so there's great symbolism here."

Visitors leave presents for Winnie the Pooh in Ashdown Forest. Rich Preston/NPR hide caption

Visitors leave presents for Winnie the Pooh in Ashdown Forest.

Next on the agenda: A game of Poohsticks — a simple game that kids of any age can play. Each person stands on a bridge, holding a stick. Drop your stick in the water from one side of the bridge, and see whose stick comes out the other side first ... it's a sort of race.

At the Poohsticks bridge, lots of children are playing with their parents and grandparents. "The wonderful thing about this game is that there is no strategy," Aalto says. Generations of children have leaned over the bridge, waiting to for their stick to float under and come out the other side.

Ten-year-old Anna Matthews is there with her family; she's wearing an Avengers t-shirt, but she says she also enjoys the calmer pleasures of Poohsticks. "I think it's nice to sort of unwind and sort of get away from the violent side of some movies and books but go towards the Winnie the Pooh where it's nice and sort of teaches you a story as well. So I like him."

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheHundredAcreKingdom

The Hundred Acre Kingdom

The Hundred Acre Kingdom is an upcoming High Fantasy / Coming of Age novel based on A. A. Milne 's Winnie-the-Pooh stories, created by Hasani Walker, a sculptor and storyteller known for his work on Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and The Tiny Chef Show , as well as other animation projects.

The story is an alternate sequel to the books. It starts with Clover, the daughter of Christopher Robin, confronting her fears during a stormy night. To help her, her father introduces her to two old friends—a familiar small pig and a bear—who once guided him through his own childhood fears. Clover's imagination transforms these familiar characters and the Hundred Acre Wood into a world inspired by Arthurian legends, filled with castles, knights, and mythical creatures. However, as she builds her kingdom, a new dark threat looms, testing Clover's courage and forcing her to confront the realities of growing up.

The Hundred Acre Kingdom provides examples of:

• Adaptational Badass : Naturally, given this story's genre, the characters from the original stories are given a High Fantasy glow-up: Kanga is a benevolent royal figure , Tigger is the captain of the royal guard who dedicates his life to his queen and the kingdom, Piglet is an Aloof Archer and tracker who teaches Clover about hunting, and the Pooh himself is an actual bear who serves as the latter duo's steed. Downplayed with Rabbit, who's still a farmer, but now sells his products to the kingdom's market.
• Creator's Favorite : invoked An In-Universe example with Piglet, who's described as Clover's favourite.
• Killer Rabbit : Piglet, who's still almost as tiny as the original Piglet, is otherwise a skilled archer who is also both a tracker and an experienced hunter.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed : Much like Madeline Robin in Disney's Christopher Robin , Clover is based on the real person's daughter, Clare Milne.
• Unanthropomorphic Transformation : Pooh himself, who's just an anthropomorphic teddy bear in Christopher Robin's imaginary land, is reimagined by his daughter as a big, real, but still good-hearted bear .
• Winnie the Pooh
• DerivativeWorks/Winnie the Pooh
• House of Many Ways
• FantasyLiterature/A To L
• Hunger Pangs
• Humboldt's Gift
• American Literature (E to I)
• The Hundred Dresses

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