Blaze at Pooh Corner
Fire rips through ancient forest that inspired AA Milne
A WILDFIRE yesterday devastated the forest that inspired the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Dozens of firefighters spent the night battling the blaze at Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, which provided the backdrop to AA Milne’s children’s books.
The fire broke out at the beauty spot at 9.30pm on Sunday, covering the size of six football pitches before it was brought under control yesterday morning.
Towering flames could be seen for miles around and it is feared that the blaze has destroyed wildlife including birds’ nests containing eggs and chicks.
It is the second wildfire to hit the ancient forest in recent months, after a blaze destroyed 86 acres during warm weather in February.
Author AA Milne lived just north of Ashdown Forest and set his Winniethe-Pooh adventures there after watching his son Christopher Robin playing in the woods.
The forest contains famous areas from the stories including Eeyore’s gloomy place, Owl’s house and the Pooh trap for heffalumps.
Recent dry weather and a recordbreaking Easter heatwave have left the woodland exceptionally dry and susceptible to fires.
Forecasters say there will not be a repeat of the bank holiday sunshine this weekend as May gets off to a miserable start.
The weather will become increasingly chilly and rainy throughout the week, with a blast of arctic air leading to a frosty weekend.
Light snow showers and rain will fall on Friday as millions are expected to head for the motorways or airports for a bank holiday getaway.
Sarah Kent, from the Met Office, said: ‘We’re going to see a big change in the weather this week as chilly northern winds arrive on Thursday. The first May bank holiday certainly won’t be anything like Easter.’
A band of rain will move eastwards from today and temperatures will fall tomorrow. Thursday will be showery, with heavy rain and even thunder in some areas. On Friday it will become much colder across the whole country. Northern and rural areas are likely to wake up to widespread frost, and hill snow is expected in the North and in Scotland.
Temperatures will peak at around 11C (52F) in London but many areas are likely to remain in single figures.
There will be a rainy start to the weekend and it will become increasingly breezy with overnight frosts. Temperatures should start to rise again on Monday. The chilly forecast for this weekend’s bank holiday is in stark contrast to the long Easter weekend.
The UK recorded its hottest ever Easter Monday, with a high of 25C (77F), as millions flocked to beaches and barbecues during a four-day heatwave.
But the sunshine was followed by Storm Hannah, bringing gusts of up to 70mph in South Wales and across southern England last week.
The Met Office’s long-range forecast predicts higher-thanaverage temperatures until the beginning of July.