You probably know Winnie the Pooh is a fictional story written by A. A. Milne.
You probably know most of the characters in the story are named by Christopher Robin Milne's toys : Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore.
But you probably not notice the settings for the stories can actually link to real places in and around Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England.
And throwback to a month ago, me and my cousins drove to the forest and visited Pooh's Corner.
Let me show you the journey of exploring the home of Winnie the Pooh!!
This is the way to get there by public transport:
By car Nearest motorway exit is Junction 10 of M23, 11 miles away. From there follow A264 and A22 to Forest Row, then turn left on to B2110 to reach Hartfield village.
By bus The 291 bus links Hartfield with Crawley and Forest Row - but not on Sundays.
By train The closest rail station is Ashurst, just under 3 miles away.
It is a short 20 minutes drive from my cousins' home. We googled a lot beforehand and it's impossible to walk through the whole area. You can either go for a short walk or a long walk. For more details, go to this link: http://www.ashdownforest.org/enjoy/walking/docs/Walk1_PoohWalksFromGillsLap.pdf
This is the route we picked but we started at point 5, then down and follow the red.
Starting point is Pooh's Corner, Winnie the Pooh's gift shop and tea room, we thought we could get some free maps but it's actually £2 for a map. The shopkeeper told us to walk till the farmhouse sign and follow the Pooh walk mark for the rest of the way.
Starting from here, follow the yellow arrow sign to the Pooh Sticks bridge
There is no refreshment throughout the whole walking trail, so it is better to bring some snacks and water:) Also, during the winter time, the sky goes dark pretty soon, we did not see any other people during the walk. I would suggest you to go early and maybe go with friends.
And finally after a long walk, we were nearby the bridge and we found Pooh's house. This is where Pooh lives.
I couldn't believe it is THAT small, seriously. I could have walked pass without noticing. LOL
Looking familiar...?
That is the bridge where Christopher and Pooh play the sticks game:)
(I met Robin!)
Carry on the rest of the journey, there was nothing much more to see as we did not have enough time to go to more celebrated places like "The Enchanted Place", "Heffalump Trap", "Gills Lap".
The journey took us about two hours, wearing wellies is a must!
After the long walk, why not hop in the tea room for a nice afternoon tea?
Yum yum.
Tigger Toastie (first pic, the one with chips) £3.95
Pooh Toast with honey £1.50
Chestnut mushroom soup with bread £2.90
Pooh's honey tea with scones, jam, clotted cream & tea pot for one £3.95
Piglet's cream tea with fruit scones, jam, clotted cream & tea pot for one £3.95
Apple pie with custard £2.50
Coffee and walnut cake £2.35
Delicious food and incredible cheap prices but you can't have your cake and eat it too!
