Pooh Trek tours of Ashdown Forest home of Winnie-the-Pooh

2026 marks the 100th Anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh, celebrating the original book's
publication in 1926 - so there's never been a better time than this year to visit and
explore the very forest that inspired it all.

Discover the REAL World where A.A. Milne's beloved stories and E.H.Shepard’s timeless sketches
came to life. Join us for guided walks through Ashdown Forest – the actual landscape that inspired
Winnie-the-Pooh's adventures.

Ashdown Forest provides an ideal setting for exploring the world of Pooh. This 6,500-acre expanse of ancient woodland and heathland in East Sussex – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – is where A.A. Milne found inspiration for his tales of "a Bear of Very Little Brain," a boy named Christopher Robin, and their woodland companions.

The locations from the stories are REAL places you'll visit. Five Hundred Acre Wood inspired the "100 Aker Wood" from where Christopher Robin led his ‘expotition’ to the North Pole. Gill's Lap – a distinctive hilltop crowned with Scots Pines at the forest's highest point – became "Galleons Lap" in the books. Even places like the “Heffalump Trap”, the “Place where the Woozle wasn’t” and the "Enchanted Place on the very top of the Forest" have their real-world counterparts.

Your guided walk reveals awe-inspiring views across the forest, with story locations within comfortable walking distance of each other. With our expert local guide sharing the literary history and natural surroundings, your visit becomes something rather special.

Every Pooh Trek can be customised to your wishes.

International travellers who want to experience the real English countryside – no problem!

My name is Gerry,

I’m co-Founder and also

Head Guide at Pooh Trek

and Ashdown Forest Tours.

What's included in your Pooh Trek tour, and book on-line with instant confirmation.

POOH STICKS BRIDGE

POOH FACTS

A.A. MILNE

Photographs displayed under the creative commons license of Geograph.org.uk or licensed paid royalty-free

ASHDOWN FOREST TOURISM

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GEOGRAPH IMAGES

Pooh Trek and Ashdown Forest Tours is an independent tour operator, trading as GEM Consultancy (Travel & Tourism).

We are proud to be associated with AFTA (Ashdown Forest Tourist Association)

Ashdown Forest's formal history began nearly 1,000 years ago when William the Conqueror established it as a royal hunting preserve in the 11th century. Through the centuries, woodsmen and smallholders have maintained these lands – harvesting timber, grazing livestock, gathering heather and bracken. During your Pooh Trek, you're likely to encounter fallow deer (the forest's most common species), Hebridean sheep, grazing cattle, or the Exmoor ponies that roam freely across the heathland.

Beyond its connection to the Pooh stories, Ashdown Forest remains a landscape of ancient woodland, streams, and valleys covered in purple heather and golden gorse (which Pooh would confirm stays just as prickly today). This protected area is managed by the Ashdown Forest Conservators and their Rangers, providing habitat for some of Europe's most threatened bird species, including the kingfisher and the fabled nightjar who visit seasonally.

Despite Winnie-the-Pooh's worldwide fame, Ashdown Forest has avoided commercialisation. As you wind up the country lanes into the forest, there's no theme park entrance, no illuminated signs, no roadside souvenir stands. There are no directional arrows pointing to the North Pole, no markers for the Hundred Acre Wood – not even directions to the Enchanted Place. The Milne and Shepard Memorial is purposely left unmarked. Your Pooh Trek guide knows where these places are – and part of the pleasure of exploring is making your own discoveries along the way.

POOH TREK © GEM CONSULTANCY

Every Pooh Trek can be customised to your
wishes.

International travellers who want to experience the real English countryside –
no problem!

My name is Gerry, I’m co-Founder and also Head Guide at Pooh Trek and Ashdown Forest Tours.

What's included in your Pooh Trek tour, and book on-line with instant confirmation.

Ashdown Forest was first established in the 11th century by William the Conqueror as a Royal hunting ground. For the next 1,000 years it’s been maintained by woodsmen and smallholders as a source for wood and fuel, grazing their animals, collecting heather and bracken for bedding their animals and livestock – during a Pooh Trek you may well encounter a deer herd (Fallow Deer being the dominant species) or Hebridean sheep, grazing cattle, and the wild Exmoor ponies which roam the Forest.

Apart from being an integral and living part of the Pooh stories, these ancient woodlands, and soaring valleys carpeted by purple heather and yellow gorse (which Pooh would tell you remains as prickly today as ever!) are still much in evidence. Ashdown Forest is a haven for the natural world and a protected area managed by the Conservators and patrolled by Rangers; some of Europe’s most threatened species of birdlife, including the kingfisher and fabled nightjar seasonally reside here.

Despite the fame and success of the Pooh stories, Ashdown Forest remains committed to protecting the environment – indeed as you crest the hill along the winding lane that leads up to and into the Forest, there are no indications you’ve actually arrived in Pooh Country.

No Pooh World theme park, definitely no neon lights or floodlit billboards, no road-side souvenir stalls whatsoever! There are no directions marking the way to the North Pole, 100 Acre Wood or even one of the most famous landmarks in children’s literature, The Enchanted Place. Quite close to here is the Milne and Shepard Memorial, again purposely with no sign post or directions. Perhaps it’s best to listen to the clues given by your Pooh Trek guide – after all, isn’t half the fun of exploring when you discover new things and places for yourself!

POOH STICKS BRIDGE

POOH FACTS

A.A. MILNE

ASHDOWN FOREST TOURISM

GOOGLE MAPS

GEOGRAPH IMAGES