that enchanted place on the top of the Forest

Little while ago, picked up a copy of the house at Pooh Corner at one of those beautiful old houses with a Pooh exhibition, think it was Mottisfont Abbey and because sometimes we drive up to Ashdown Forest – not too far away,  flicked thru the book when we got home and noticed the Introduction was in fact a “Contradiction” as Christopher Robin and his friends were now going to say Good-bye.

Today we woke up with sunshine beaming thru the windows impossible to ignore, blue skies, crunchy leaves and because we are ‘Friendly with Bears’ we followed the road to Ashdown forest up on a ridge, sheep grazing in the gorse, dog walkers, joggers, ice cream vans even on a monday

Tall sparse Scotch pine highlighted the horizon and remembered ‘Pooh’ floating underneath a blue balloon to get some honey and turning down into the forest, a deer ran across the road, followed by another – in the middle of the day

the road winds on thru this forest and different valleys open up with trees all shades of brown and gold

we popped out of the forest at the small village of Groombridge with a small bakery – chocolate tarts, wholemeal rolls, poppy buns and an ancient pub on the hill and further up turn down to Penshurst and a strange Hansel and Gretel house including whole trees in their porch, until we arrive outside Penshust Place and drove across the field to park and walked thru the gate into the walled garden

‘So they went off together. But wherever they go and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his bear will always be playing’ A A Milne