Magical New Ashdown Forest Project to Mark 100 Years of Winnie-the-Pooh

A major new cultural project celebrating Ashdown Forest and the 100th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh has been unveiled, promising interactive performances, new nature walks and a mythical new Forest creature.

Entitled 'The Big One Hundred', the project is being created by acclaimed outdoor arts company Trigger and will launch in summer 2026.

It is supported by Wealden District Council, Arts Council England and the Ashdown Forest Foundation.

Ashdown Forest in East Sussex famously inspired A.A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood and is one of the rarest heathland landscapes in the world – even rarer than a tropical rainforest.

It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and home to some of Europe’s most threatened species.

To mark the centenary of the first Winnie-the-Pooh stories, visitors will be invited to explore the Forest through a series of free events, including immersive performances, guided walks and shared storytelling experiences.

At the heart of the project will be The Curious Adventurer – a large-scale mythical puppet creature inspired by Ashdown Forest’s wildlife and landscape.

Designed by Trigger and brought to life by a team of 10 puppeteers, the creature will appear in performances across the Forest and later tour other cultural and heritage sites in Sussex.

Five new themed walks will also open, including Ashdown Forest’s first all-weather route.

Each walk will focus on a different native species, such as the Dartford warbler, adder, dormouse, tiger beetle and silver-studded blue butterfly.

The project aims to encourage families, children and young people to reconnect with nature, imagination and outdoor play – echoing the adventures of Christopher Robin, who explored the Forest with his father A.A. Milne a century ago.

Local schools across Wealden will be offered free creative workshops, while the wider public is invited to help name the new creature and submit drawings and stories inspired by it via social media using the hashtag #TheBigOneHundred.

Angie Bual, Creative Director and Joint CEO of Trigger, said the Forest continues to inspire creativity 100 years after Milne’s stories were written.

She said the project is about engaging people with the importance of Ashdown Forest as a national conservation site and inspiring a new generation to care for landscapes that are increasingly under threat.

Mark Pearson, Chief Executive of Ashdown Forest, said the partnership with Trigger would help ensure the Forest’s natural beauty and creative legacy endure for the next century.

He added that lowland heathland like Ashdown Forest is now extremely rare, with only around 16 per cent of its historic extent remaining in the UK.

Deputy Leader of Wealden District Council, Councillor Rachel Millward, described the project as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to celebrate a globally loved story while protecting the landscape that inspired it.

She said the council’s investment would create lasting environmental, social and economic benefits for the region and help keep Ashdown Forest a place of wonder and learning for future generations.