How to plan a magical family escape to Winnie-the-Pooh’s Ashdown Forest. Photo / Pooh Corner
From Winnie-the-Pooh woodlands to charming vineyard stops, England’s Ashdown Forest is a perfect spot for the entire family, writes Sam Murray.
For “a bear of very little brain” – as author AA Milne once wrote of his beloved creation – Winnie-the-Pooh has done rather well for himself.
As I tour Pooh Corner, a Winnie-themed tearoom-museum in the quaint English village of Hartfield, I peruse endless memorabilia: movie posters, books, stuffed toys, keyrings, bags, old-fashioned dial phones … the list is endless.
Nostalgia-inducing cartoons play on small screens, hurling me back to my childhood. My own two children, aged 5 and 3, sit down to scrape butter across toast in the shape of the bear’s face.
The tearoom bustles with young and old – a tribute to the enduring, magnetic attraction of Pooh.
I’ve brought my family to the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, a bucolic slice of heathland and deciduous woodlands in southeast England, just a 30-minute drive from Gatwick Airport.
Well-marked country trails, delightful hotels and renowned vineyards – there are more than 140 in Sussex alone – make it ideal for adults.
However, what turns the forest into a whole-family destination is the fact that it inspired Milne’s children’s books, specifically, the Hundred Acre Wood.
“We have people travel from all over the world to this spot in the middle of nowhere, almost, in the English countryside,” Harriet Berry, who looks after the Pooh Corner shop and museum, tells me. “It’s kind of a place of pilgrimage.”
This year, the spotlight shines even brighter on the area with 2026 marking a century since the publication of the first Winnie-the-Pooh book.
Celebrations are planned, including The Big One Hundred, a series of free cultural events in summer. Curated by Trigger, a UK-based team of creators and producers specialising in large-scale live events, it includes interactive performances that will introduce a new Pooh-inspired character to the forest – a giant puppet known as The Curious Adventurer, helmed by 10 puppeteers.
Our own adventure began with a treat for both parents and kids: a night at Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club, a luxury forest mansion that radiates old-world grandeur.
Five-star facilities are peppered across the 186-acre estate, including a wellness centre, an 18-hole golf course and the two-AA Rosette Anderida Restaurant.
The children delight in racing down the grand corridors, dancing to the Frozen soundtrack in our cavernous suite and making a splash in the indoor pool.
For dinner, we have a celebratory meal: the kids choosing from a menu illustrated with Pooh and friends, my partner and I indulging in a main of wild mushroom linguine with truffle cream.
It’s a fairy-tale place to begin and ideally located for our first family outing of the trip: the trail to Pooh Sticks Bridge, just a 10-minute drive away.
An essential activity in the Ashdown Forest, the gentle stroll takes you through woodland where doors belonging to Pooh characters have been installed to entertain the little ones.
It takes a while for us to find one – they’re well hidden – but, with a little help from a friendly local family, we have some success. We knock on Piglet’s door (no one is home), then spot Owl’s, attached high up the trunk.
The 15-minute walk – which takes us an hour with all the fun – culminates at Pooh Sticks Bridge, said to be where Milne and the real Christopher Robin first played the game.
Another joyous hour passes as we throw small twigs into the river from the bridge, before racing to the other side to see whose comes out first.
No one wants to leave, but it’s time to explore another of the Ashdown Forest’s major draws: The Bluebell Vineyard, an independent winery that produces 110,000 to 150,000 bottles in a good year.
Aside from guided tastings and tours, it offers three scenic walking trails ranging from 15 minutes to one hour.
We opt for the shortest, an easy stroll around a section of vines, past ponds and to the outskirts of the woods.
As my partner and I gaze over the hills, the sun warming our cheeks, the little ones continue to search for signs of Piglet, Eeyore and the rest with Tigger-like bounce and enthusiasm – this is still Pooh country after all.
We finish in the tasting room, where we sample a selection of the exquisite produce, including Bluebell’s sparkling Classic Cuvee MV.
It’s as good as any bubbles I’ve tried, a tribute to the success of the English wine scene, and created using the traditional method found in Champagne, France.
It’s also the perfect way to sign off our chapter in the Ashdown Forest, so we gather as a family and raise a glass to Winnie-the-Pooh – “a bear of very little brain” but with enduring appeal for young and old.
The writer was hosted by Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club.