A major celebration of the 100th birthday of the world’s most famous bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, has been unveiled by Ashdown Forest.
To mark the special centenary, the forest has launched ‘The Big One Hundred’, a series of cultural events aiming to inspire visitors to connect with the forest landscape and help protect it for the next 100 years.
It was in Hartfield and the Ashdown Forest 100 years ago that AA Milne created Pooh, and all his friends, and began penning the marvellous stories of their adventures with his son, Christopher Robin. They are stories that have become beloved around the globe.
Inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh, the forest has teamed up with creatives, Trigger, to creating a new tale for the forest and a range of celebration and cultural events for residents and visitors alike.
From summer this year, visitors will be invited to explore the forest and discover its newest inhabitant, a large-scale, mythical puppet creature inspired by the landscape and its unique species through a series of interactive performances. Organisers say its size is sure to amaze – it will take up to ten puppeteers to bring this wondrous creature to life!
Trigger will also tour the new puppet creature across the Wealden district in summer 2026, with dates and locations to be announced. The “Big One Hundred” will involve a series of events including interactive performances, heathland walks and shared encounters – for all ages.
And five new accessible walks will open in Ashdown Forest themed around different unique and threatened species native to the Forest, including the Dartford Warbler, the Silver-Studded Blue Butterfly, the Adder, the Tiger Beetle, and the Dormouse.
Mark Pearson, Chief Executive Officer at Ashdown Forest said: “We are thrilled to be working with the team at Trigger to celebrate this cherished setting, ensuring its natural beauty and creative legacy endures for future generations.
He said the event was more than a celebration of Pooh’s birthday, however, and was also about protecting and conserving the forest’s future. “According to an English Nature Report, lowland heathland such as Ashdown Forest is rarer than rainforests; in the UK we have only about 16% left of the area that existed in 1800. The next generation will be vital in protecting this treasured landscape.”
Mark added: “We look forward to welcoming them as visitors who can follow in the footsteps of A. A Milne, discover a new story for the forest, while witnessing the charm of the landscape and the need to look after it for the next 100 years to come.”
The project is supported with significant funding from Wealden District Council. Its deputy leader, Cllr Rachel Millward, said the centenary gave the area a “once in a generation” opportunity to celebrate “a story cherished across the globe” while also protecting the extraordinary landscape that inspired it.
She added: “We’re proud to support a programme that honours our cultural heritage, brings communities together, and builds a lasting legacy for Ashdown Forest. Our investment is not just about marking a centenary – it’s about ensuring the forest remains a place of wonder and learning for generations to come. With careful planning, strong partnerships, and local engagement, this project will create real and lasting benefits – environmentally, socially, and economically for the whole region.”
Ashdown Forest is an area of rare lowland heathland and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its unique habitats and biodiversity. Once a medieval hunting forest, today it is a habitat rarer than tropical rainforest and is home to some of Europe’s most threatened species.
For more information visit: www.ashdownforest.org