Ashdown Forest Holidays

Ashdown forest, home of Winnie-the-Pooh, is just three miles from Kent Border Cottages. Winnie-the-poo was Immortalised in 1926 in the books of A.A. Milne about his son Christopher Robin and his toys, Poo, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo, Rabbit and Wol and their adventures on the Forest. Pooh Corner at Hartfield, home of A.A. Milne is just 2 miles from us.

The forest dates back a lot further than that. Originally fenced off in the 13th Century as a deer hunting park and covering an area, then, of 20 square miles, many of the places surrounding it still owe their names to the 34 gateways into the original park, Chuck Hatch, Chelwood Gate, Colemans Hatch  and many others.

Deer still roam the Ashdown Forest today, mostly Fallow and the smaller Roe Deer . The Forest covers an area of approximately 9 square miles of open heathland in the heart of the Wealden Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It rises to a height of 223 Meters (732ft) above sea level and provides spectacular views over the North and South Downs. The Forest is actually the largest area of land open to the public in the South East of England and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as a special protection area for birds including the very rare Dartford Warbler and Nightjar. It is also a Eouropean Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and is part of the European Natura 2000 network for its rare flora and fauna. Indeed the conflict of interest between open public access and the various conservation bodies is a hotly debated local issue.

For the visitor the Forest is a place of almost endless discovery. If you are a keen walker (yes dogs are permitted too) you can find a number of mapped routes at
 
http://www.ashdownforest.org/enjoy/walking

including 2 of the Winnie-the-Pooh trails, archaeology walks and historic walks.

Birders and zoologists can fly, walk or slither direct to

http://www.ashdownforest.org/wild/birds-n-beasts

And for more info about its most famous inhabitant go to http://www.pooh-country.co.uk