Winnie-the-Pooh Turns 100 and Ashdown Forest Celebrates a Century of Magic
This Christmas Eve marks a very special milestone for one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature. Exactly 100 years ago, Winnie-the-Pooh made his first appearance, quietly introduced to the world in a short story called The Wrong Sort of Bees , published in the London Evening News on 24 December 1925. What began as a simple tale has since grown into a global phenomenon, and at the heart of that story sits a real place: Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.
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Over time, the gentle, honey-loving bear became inseparable from the forest that inspired A A Milne’s fictional Hundred Acre Wood. Milne, a London writer, had purchased a country home near the forest in 1925, and it was here that he walked with his young son, Christopher Robin. Those walks, along with Christopher’s toy bear, were quietly transformed into the adventures that would later be published as Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926 and The House at Pooh Corner in 1928. The stories, along with two poetry books, introduced the world to Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and the simple joys of childhood imagination.
Ashdown Forest itself is an area of open heathland and rolling sandy ridges, now protected as part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Yet its fame owes much to Pooh’s enduring charm. The original bridge where Milne and his son invented the game of Pooh sticks became so popular it eventually wore out. It was replaced with a replica in the late 1990s, while the original bridge was later sold at auction for a significant sum, a reminder of just how powerful the Pooh legacy remains.
That legacy continues to shape the local area today. Pooh Corner, a gift shop and tea room near the bridge, has welcomed visitors since 1978 and regularly hosts fans from across the world. Guided walks now take people through locations made famous by the books, with most visitors travelling from outside the UK, especially North America. It has often been said that without Pooh, this remarkable landscape might never have gained such global recognition.
To mark the 100th anniversary, substantial public funding has been committed to celebrations in and around the forest. Plans include transforming the visitor centre into a life-sized pop-up book and creating new walking trails designed to protect sensitive areas. A century on, Winnie-the-Pooh is still bringing wonder, visitors, and lasting fame to Ashdown Forest, proving that some stories truly never grow old.
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