A Fire Burned Through the Forest That Inspired ‘Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood

Author A.A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood — home to Christopher Robin and his beloved toy animal friends like Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore — was supposedly inspired by a real-life place named Ashdown Forest. According to People, this real Hundred Acre Wood was just damaged by a large forest fire:

According to East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, reports of the fire first came in from members of the public and police around 9:30 p.m. local time on Sunday night. Crews from Crowborough, Mayfield, Heathfield, Uckfield, Forest Row, Lewes and Seaford worked together to put out the fire, using Land Rovers and all-terrain vehicles to access the area affected by the blaze. Ashdown Forest Rangers and Sussex Police helped too, using a drone to help survey the fire ground.

According to Wikipedia, which is absolutely never wrong, “Milne lived on the northern edge of the forest at Cotchford Farm, and took his son walking there. E. H. Shepard drew on the landscapes of Ashdown Forest as inspiration for many of the illustrations he provided for the Pooh books.” The forest has become a tourist attraction for Pooh fans. Fortunately, the fire was brought under control, and by Monday morning, crews had left the scene of the fire.

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