The enchanted neighbourhood of Christopher’s childhood days…

For as long as I can remember, Winnie the Pooh was a constant in my childhood. I had the cuddly toys, the books, the animated stories on VHS. I loved Piglet. Shy, small, introverted, anxious, needy Piglet. Perhaps before I really understood myself, I felt an affinity for him? Heffalumps and Woozles lived under my bed. My primary school best friend and I would run through the marsh to play pooh sticks on the nearest bridge. My brother loved Tigger. I likened my lovely straight-spoken Nana to Rabbit. Owl was the character I found the hardest to love. Winnie the Pooh tales were warm blankets which covered the dips and dives of growing up quiet.

That’s why I felt quite emotional visiting the real Hundred Acre Wood, Ashdown Forest, in the summer. It had been on my bucket list since I discovered it was open to the public and included a trail, with a stop at the pooh sticks bridge. But of course for years we’d ‘just never got there’.

We parked at the Pooh Car Park, which is free. There were plenty of spaces when we got there, but I imagine it can get busy at peak times. All we did was follow the path down into the forest. Along the way I’d recommend searching for and collecting some decent sticks to use at the bridge, instead of trying (and failing) to get any nearer the stream.

I used Google Maps to help search out the hidden treats along the route, like Owl’s house up high on one of the trees and Pooh Bear’s house in a cubby (of course). On Google it says Piglet’s house is at the bottom of one of the trees, but we couldn’t find it. Sadly, some of the monuments have either been vandalised or not been repaired.

Carrying along the route, we got to Pooh Sticks bridge and rummaged around the grounds for some sticks. Thankfully we’d gone on a quiet day so we only had to wait for one family to finish their games before we had our turn. It was really cute, having races and watching the dog jump into the stream to retrieve only the biggest sticks!

As you walk along to the end of the trail, you come across Pooh’s house. People had left jars of honey, some teddies and written letters for his letter box. It’s very sweet.

I loved revisiting a part of my childhood that day and experiencing the real magical place at the grand age of 35. There is a longer trail you can do, which takes you to The Enchanted Place, The Heffalump Trap, and the AA Milne memorial. Buuut we had rumblies in our tumblies so we headed out to find food instead! It’s what Winnie would have wanted…