How did an East Sussex forest inspire the Hundred Acre Wood in Winnie the Pooh?

With news of a Winnie-the-Pooh musical heading to Brighton this summer, SussexWorld has taken a look at how the Ashdown Forest inspired the original book.
By Frankie Elliott
Published 27th Mar 2023, 17:51 BST
Updated 28th Mar 2023, 10:45 BST
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Author A. A. Milne wrote the famous collection of short stories about an anthropomorphic teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo in 1926.

The book is set in the Hundred Acre Wood, which was was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.

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Milne's country home at Cotchford Farm, Hartfield was situated just north of Ashdown Forest, and Five Hundred Acre Wood is a dense beech wood that Milne used to explore with his son – Christopher Robin Milne.

The book is set in the Hundred Acre Wood, which was was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.The book is set in the Hundred Acre Wood, which was was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.
The book is set in the Hundred Acre Wood, which was was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.

Inspired by the landscape of the Ashdown Forest, Milne used it as the setting for his Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and many features from the stories can be identified with specific locations in the forest, such as the famous Pooh Bridge and Pooh Corner.

The car park at the hilltop of Gills Lap contains a display panel with a map of the surrounding area and the features from several of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories marked on it.

A memorial plaque dedicated to A. A. Milne and his illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard, can also be found close to the car park.

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The Winnie-the-Pooh musical stage show comes to England following record-breaking premieres in New York City and Chicago.

A memorial plaque dedicated to A. A. Milne and his illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard, can also be found close to the car park.A memorial plaque dedicated to A. A. Milne and his illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard, can also be found close to the car park.
A memorial plaque dedicated to A. A. Milne and his illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard, can also be found close to the car park.

The show features life-sized puppetry of all the characters we know and love. It also includes many of the original songs written by Robert and Richard Sherman, including Winnie the Pooh, The Wonderful Thing About Tigger and A Rather Blustery Day.

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Families can now stay in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh house in Hundred Acre Wood in Sussex countryside

Disney’s Hundred Acre Wood Winnie the Pooh Airbnb: Photos inside the super-cute Ashdown Forest cottage

The Disney spectacular opened at The Riverside Studios in London on March 17 and plays until May 23. It will then tour the UK and Ireland until September 2023.The Disney spectacular opened at The Riverside Studios in London on March 17 and plays until May 23. It will then tour the UK and Ireland until September 2023.
The Disney spectacular opened at The Riverside Studios in London on March 17 and plays until May 23. It will then tour the UK and Ireland until September 2023.

The Disney spectacular opened at The Riverside Studios in London on March 17 and plays until May 23. It will then tour the UK and Ireland until September 2023.

It plays Southampton’s Mayflower from May 31-June 4 (mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811) and Theatre Royal Brighton from June 23-25 (ATGTickets.com/Brighton).

The cast of the new musical stage adaptation recently spent the day in the Ashdown Forest – click here to find out how they got on.

Related topics:East SussexBrighton