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. Little sad but inevitable.
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 drove through the forest arriving at the small village of Groomsbridge with a small bakery – chocolate tarts, wholemeal rolls, poppy buns and an ancient pub on the hill and further along once we climbed a steep hill, turned down to Penshurst, driving there past a strange Hansel and Gretel house including whole trees in their porch. Close to Penshust, on the left is a very old house. Eventually – we arrived and drove across the field at Penshurst Place – to park and walked thru the gate into a walled garden’. The garden is old fashioned, has a bed of peonies in the summer (you can sign up too see when they first arrive (peonies don’t last for long), regular farmers markets, huge children’s playground and with a small shop (bursting at Christmas) but the parking is bumpy. There is connection to hedgehogs.
‘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
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