Winnie the Pooh: Original Poohsticks Bridge up for sale

The original Poohsticks Bridge from Ashdown Forest featured in AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh books

A bridge made famous by the Winnie the Pooh stories is up for sale.

Located in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, the bridge on which author AA Milne and his son Christopher Robin invented poohsticks was declared unsafe and taken down in 1999.

It was repaired and sold to the 11th Earl De La Warr, William Sackville, in 2021 for £131,625, and put up near its original home.

But less than two years later, the wooden bridge is back on the market.

Built in 1907, the original bridge was officially renamed Poohsticks Bridge in 1979.

In 1999, it was taken apart after being worn out by thousands of tourists, and a replacement was built.

'Sentimental value'

Lord De La Warr, who purchased the original at auction, said Christopher Robin and his father used to play in the Five Hundred Acre Wood on their estate, which was the inspiration for AA Milne's Hundred Acre Wood.

"It has got sentimental value to me," he told BBC Radio Sussex.

He said he paid above the expected price to make sure the bridge stayed near the woods, but he feared it may end up overseas after the sale.

"The books are very widely read across the world," he said, adding: "There is a rumour that the last owner asked someone for £1m for it. But that's just a rumour."

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