Ashdown Forest Walk – In Winnie The Pooh Footsteps

Let’s go and look for Winnie the Pooh with the Ashdown Forest Walk. This circular trail takes you through the forest which inspired AA Mile, the creator of the iconic glutton bear. Discover the beauty of the High Weald, ANOB, with a woodland walk perfect for the autumn season. And who knows, maybe you will have a magical encounter with the children’s favourite teddy?

Growing up in France, Winnie the Pooh was not very popular. I felt I learnt more about him and his friends on this walk than ever before.

Have you ever played the Pooh stick game?

Well, if you have, your childhood was very different from mine. I discovered the game on this walk (spoiler alert: the walk goes through Pooh Bridge) as well as Winnie the Pooh’s favourite forest spots.

Let’s go on an adventure and don’t forget to bring a Pooh stick with you!

Disclaimer: Hiking groups may offer the same or similar walks as the one described below. Check who these groups are here.

Logistics of the Ashdown Forest Walk

Highlights of the Ashdown Forest Walk

• Ashurst Village, Kent
• Withyham Village, East Sussex
• Ashdown Forest
• 100 Acre Wood
• Gill’s Lap
• The Enchanted Place
• Pooh Bridge Stick
• AA Mile Memorial
• Hartfield Village, East Sussex

The Ashdown Forest Walk

So now we covered the basics, let’s get to the walk.

Ashurst

Our walk starts at the village of Ashurst in Kent (not to be confused with Ashurst in New Forest, Hampshire). What is really surprising about this walk is that you set foot in the countryside straight from the train station. No need for me to guide you through a complicated embroglio of streets to make it out of the urbanised area, you are directly on the fields.

At the train station, take the footpath going uphill and follow the trail between forested areas and green meadows, parallel to the River Medway.

A little further down, divert to the path on your right onto (muddy) crops and farmlands.

As you arrive on Beech Green Lane, cross over to the Summerford Farm. Walk through the farm, easily recognisable thanks to its Oast House. Very popular in Kent, Oast Houses were designed to dry hops as part of the brewing process. Nowadays, many have been converted into cottages.

Withyham

After the farm, you step onto pastures where sheep are grazing and resting. As usual, they run away when humans enter the meadows which make it difficult to get a good picture.

Shortly after you arrive at Withyham, East Sussex. This pretty small village is composed of a few houses, a public house and a church dedicated to St Micheal and All Angels. The earliest mention of the church is dated back to 1291 during the Crusades. In 1663, the church was struck by lightning which melted the bells. The rebuild of the church was finalised 9 years later.

Walk past the church and continue up the road until you reach the entrance of Ashdown Forest.

Ashdown Forest

The 2500 hectares of Ashdown Forest stretches in a triangle shape from Forest Row to Lye Green for the northern border to Fairwarp in the South. It is composed of woodland and heathland, used during medieval times for hunting, allowing animals to graze, collecting wood and cutting heather for animals’ bedding. In 1693, the forest was divided and sold to private owners. The current 2500 hectares remained for public access until today.

The forest is also famous for being the setting of the children’s book Winnie the Pooh. In 1925, AA Mile moved with his family to the northern edge of the Ashdown Forest. He used to take his son, Christopher Robin, for walks across the land which inspired the story of Winnie the Pooh. Illustrator E.H. Shepard captures the beauty of the site in the book with iconic places such as the 100 Acre Wood, Galleon’s Lap and the Heffalump Trap. And not to forget the most important of all: the Pooh Bridge!

The 100 Acre Wood

The walk through the Ashdown Forest starts with the 500 Acre Wood. Called the 100 Acre Wood in the book, it is the place where the fictional character of Christopher Robin (AA Mile’s real-life son) who accompany Winnie the Pooh on its adventures, discovered the North Pole.

If you are doing this walk during the autumn season, this is the perfect time of the year! Enjoy the beauty of the autumn colours and smells as you stroll on the paths covered by leaves. It is also an ideal location to find mushrooms.

Gill’s Lap

When you come out of the 500 Acre Wood, you can see a radical change in the landscape. You leave the green (or orange depending on the season) woodlands behind and set foot on an impressive heathland.

What is a heathland?

A heathland is an area where the soil is not fertile. It is characterised by low-growing vegetation composed of shrubs and gorse.

Make a U-turn and walk towards Gill’s Lap (Galleons Lap in the book). In the car park, you can find a truck serving hot drinks and ice cream. It’s always handy! Find a spot on the grass or sit on the stone by Gill’s Lap information board and enjoy your lunch with a hot cup of coffee.

The Enchanted Place

After lunch, start walking towards Gill’s Lap Clump, also called the Enchanted Place in the book. On your way, you cannot help but notice black sheep with four horns. Once a common site for farmers to let their livestock graze, the practice declined after WWII. To prevent the heathland from disappearing under trees, sheep, ponies and cattle have been re-introduced to the land as natural grazing helps maintain the habitat. The sheep with four horns are Hebridean sheep.

A little bit further down this path, turn left to get to the AA Mile Memorial.

Pooh Bridge

Continue walking through the heathland until you get to a forest. Wonder in the magnificence of the woodlands with tall trees and pay attention to the trunks. Take a closer look and you can see the entrance door of an Owl House, like in the book.

As you stop to look at the gorgeous red mushrooms, don’t forget to collect wood sticks on your way to Pooh Bridge. The area surrounding the bridge is stickless due to the high number of visitors.

And here is the bridge: let the game begins!

Do you know the rules?

If “no” is the answer, read below:

• Take a wooden stick (not too long not too short)
• Find a friend (or more)
• All players must drop the stick at the same time in the direction of the current
• Go to the downstream side of the bridge to watch the sticks emerge on the other side
• The first stick to float from under the bridge wins!

And here ends the Winnie the Pooh part of this walk. Of course, there is so much more to see in the Ashdown Forest such as Winnie the Pooh House, Roo’s sand pit and the Heffalump Trap. However, as part of this walk, we are not passing by these places.

Hartfield

Come out of the forest back onto lush green fields. You then arrive at Hartfield, a pretty village in East Sussex, ideal for a break.

If you are in a Winnie the Pooh mood, there is a tea house called the Pooh Corner, which is unmissable. From Winnie the Pooh merchandise (of course!) to being served Winnie-the-Pooh-shaped toasts with a Winnie-the-Pooh shaped teapot you can make the magic lasts a little longer.

But if you prefer a good ale in a traditional English pub, just opposite the Pooh Corner, you will find the Anchor Inn.

The Forest Way

After the break, go back on the road and walk towards Forest Way. This pedestrian path is replacing an old railway line which opened in 1866 as an extension to the Three Bridges – London line. Even though the line was very popular, it was closed during the Beeching cuts.

Dr Beeching, who was leaving near Ashdown Forest and using the Three Bridges line to get to London, was also the Chairman of the British Railway. He is remembered for the publication of two reports which lead to the closure of 2363 stations and 5000 miles (8000 km) of tracks. Surprisingly, it includes this branch of the Three Bridges line where we are walking.

It is easy to imagine that there used to be a railway line here as you are walking under bridges alongside the path. The path is bordered by trees such as Alder and Willow, very common in wetlands (we are near the River Meadway). Look up and you might see Mallards and Moorhens flying above.

Leave the Forest Way to join the path we took at the start of this walk to get back to the station. Note there is only one train per hour, so make sure not to miss it because there is nowhere to hang around in Ashurst.

Have a safe trip back to London!

Ashdown Forest Walk Map

Do you want to do the same walk? Download the map by clicking on the button below. Check my step-by-step guide here to learn how to upload it onto your navigation app.

Final Thoughts of the Ashdown Forest Walk

If you are looking for more walks in the High Weald, check out these walking guides:

High Weald Walk Via Balcombe Viaduct – Complete Guide

Harrisons Rocks Walk & Eridge Circular – Guide & Map

East Grinstead Circular: A Walk From Water Into Wine

A Walks Through Borde Hill Garden, Sussex

Hastings To Rye Walk – Full Guide & Free GPS Map

And you, what is your favourite walk in the High Weald?

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