Winnie-the-Pooh brings 100 years of fame to forest

Summary

Winnie-the-Pooh brings 100 years of fame to forestZUMA Press, Inc./AlamyWinnie-the-Pooh's fame reached new heights in 1961 when Disney acquired the rights Christmas Eve marks the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of one of the world's most popular children's characters.Winnie-the-Pooh first featured in the short story The Wrong Sort of Bees published in the newspaper London Evening News on 24 December 1925.The bear soon became loved world-wide, alongside Tigger, Christopher Robin, the game of Pooh sticks and the fictional 100 Aker Wood, which was in reality Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, where author AA Milne had a country home.Pooh's enormous fame still generates a substantial income for the area to this day, with £450,000 of public money being used to fund a programme of events locally to mark the anniversary.CBW/AlamyAA Milne wrote Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, followed by The House at Pooh Corner in 1928 The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set in Ashdown Forest, an area of open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In 1925 AA Milne, a Londoner, bought a country home a mile to the north of the forest at Cotchford Farm, near Hartfield.Winnie-the-Pooh, featuring the imaginary adventures of Milne's son Christoper Robin and his toy bear, was published in 1926 and its sequel The House at Pooh Corner in 1928. There were also two books of poems featuring the much-loved characters.The original bridge where Milne and his son Christopher Robin created the game Pooh sticks became worn and unsafe in the late 1990s.It was dismantled and replaced with a replica which is still in place in Ashdown Forest.The original structure sold at auction in 2021 for £131,000.Pictorial Press Ltd/AlamyAA Milne with his son Christopher Robin and the well-loved bear in 1926 The honey-loving bear took on a new level of fame when Disney acquired the rights to the stories in 1961.Pooh Corner has been a gift shop and tea room close to Pooh Sticks B...