Whilst on our recent holiday in Sussex we found out that we were only 25 minutes away from Pooh Corner.
For those of you who don’t have a clue what I am talking about, this is a museum, tea room and shop dedicated to that silly, willy, nilly old bear, Winnie The Pooh.
Oh and his friends of course!
The Worlds first “Pooh-seum” opened in 2019 is situated in Hartfield, Sussex and is a beautiful old building, which houses memorabilia going back over 100 years chronicling the Milne family and the creation of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and the rest of the gang.
A short walk away is the famous Hundred Acre Wood where you can find the Bridge that was used as the inspiration for the story where the gang played “Poohsticks” together.
Anyway, getting slightly ahead of myself, I will start at the beginning, if you are all sitting comfortably?
“Deep in the hundred acre wood, where Christopher Robin plays….” Sorry, I am getting sidetracked again!
Anyway, Baby Bear LOVES Winnie the Pooh. She always has done, especially Tigger. In fact it was actually her idea to visit the Hundred Acre Wood.
She researched all about the area, checked the opening hours and sold the idea to most of us.
So Thursday morning, six of us and Theodore piled into two cars and drove the short journey to Pooh Corner.
Parking was a bit of a premium but I was fortunate enough to get a space outside. We headed in the main door which also took us into the area which housed the tea room.
This was already packed and so we enquired as to whether we could get a table for six people. We were told it would be around 30 minutes which was completely fine as it gave us a chance to explore the museum and maybe make a purchase or two.
So, we started our look around Pooh Corner.
To be honest it is quite a small Pooh-seum however it is absolutely stacked to the rafters with artifacts and memorabilia.
You can find original drawings by E.H Shepherd, original soft toys, advertising posters, books, teapots and even a whole display of Winnie and his friends as ‘The Beatles’.
Not only were they styled as The Beatles, but there were two different displays; one with the mop top hairstyles and one in the ‘Sgt Pepper’ outfits.
Exceedingly kitsch yet cool at the same time!
The museum had a very small toilet, called “The Poo Room” which was also decorated in Winnie style.
I had the most wonderful time wandering around, reading all the displays as I too am a HUGE Pooh fan.
One of my favourite things was a huge framed posted in a foreign language (possibly German) where he is called “Pu der Bar”
Once we had walked around all the exhibits, we went through to the shop area and this was when I saw some of the most fabulous items that could be purchased.
It was during this that I spotted Baby Bear perusing a beautiful wintery snow-globe. I saw her pick it up and put it back down a couple of times before I casually asked if she was getting anything.
She mentioned the snow-globe but said it was too expensive; she had just bought her first home and was being sensible.
My niece Victoria was with us and I sneakily took her to one side, gave her my card and told her to get the snowglobe without Baby Bear seeing.
My brother in law was with us; he had come over from the USA for Mum’s birthday and had chosen to come and visit the Pooh-seum.
He was watching what was going on and I told him I needed to keep Baby Bear occupied.
Mission accomplished, we headed into the tearoom to have a spot of lunch or as Pooh would put it, a little Snackerel.
The menu was very comprehensive and we had watched several items being bought out to other patrons, including huge Jacket Potatoes and slices of cake.
I spotted one of the specials which was a sour cherry scone with cream and jam. I opted for that with a cup of tea.
As much as I love Winnie the Pooh, I have to confess that I cannot stand Honey.
However, I was completely enamored with Baby Bears choice of snack.
Pooh Toast and Honey!
We all sat in the cafe area looking at the video which was playing on a Winnie the Pooh shaped television/DVD player.
The tables, menus and even the crockery were all Pooh themed and I had spotted a teapot in the shape of Winnie the Pooh in the shop.
I ummed and ahhed about it, but in the end decided not to get it as I couldn’t justify the purchase or the cost. It was pretty special though.
My scone was absolutely fantastic; fresh, warm and flavourful with a massive portion of clotted cream. I gleefully tucked in and finished every morsel.
After our snackerel we all discussed the next steps which was whether to visit the Hundred Acre Wood or not. The main issue was that it had rained torrentially for 4 days plus and everywhere was boggy and the ground was hard going.
We decided to give it a go, and got into the cars for a short journey to the main car park where Poohsticks is situated near.
I was so excited for this as I have always wanted to visit.
Sadly, on arrival it turned out that it was around a 15 minute trek each way on uneven, wet, flooded ground. I knew it was going to be a few steps too far.
I have to admit I was completely gutted to not get to see Poohsticks Bridge, however I knew the ramifications if I tried to go.
Also I had to think that once I had got there, I had to get myself back (uphill) and as it was a small pathway through the woods, there was no way anyone could ‘collect’ me if I couldn’t make it any further.
I sat in the car and waited for the other five to get back. They promised to take photographs for me and I knew this would have to do for now.
Of course, it just meant I would have to revisit when my knee was more stable and it was a drier day.
After the family had a game of Poohsticks, they returned back to the cars and we headed off to the house we had rented for the week.
On arrival we told the rest of the family what we had seen and showed off some of the photographs that had been taken.
I asked Baby Bear to pop upstairs with me and that is when I surprised her with a brown paper bag containing the snow-globe I had sneakily purchased via Victoria.
She was absolutely thrilled with it and couldn’t believe I had spotted her deliberating over it, and then managed to get it purchased without her noticing anything.
The surprise though, was totally on me…..
Going back downstairs Paul had a big grin on his face. He asked just how observant did I think I was.
Now, it is well known within the family that I am probably the most observant one and usually spot the tiny details or strange snippets on the television.
I replied that I was pretty observant, but clearly there was something he thought I had missed out on.
Sat on the kitchen island was Alexa’s brown paper bag containing the snow-globe.
Or so I thought!
Paul handed the bag to me and I was both gobsmacked AND exceedingly emotional when I found the Winnie the Pooh teapot inside.
He explained that he had spotted my subterfuge with the snow-globe and thought it was such a lovely thing to do that he wanted to pay it forward, so sneakily purchased the teapot for me.
I was both grateful and very humbled by his thoughtfulness. The teapot is amazing and I am currently torn on whether to use it as it is meant for, or to just have on display.
Readers, what do you think I should do?
I would love to know your thoughts.
Till next time,
SPSG xxxx