The landmark where Winnie the Pooh would play ‘pooh sticks’ with his friends, originally known as Posingford Bridge, recently became available for purchase via auction.
‘Poohsticks Bridge’ is up for sale by the British auction house Summers Place. Located in Ashdown Forest in England, the bridge was the inspiration for the game played by Pooh and friends in the original book “The House at Pooh Corner,” which was illustrated by E.H. Shepard.
“Originally known as Posingford Bridge, Christopher Robin played on it as a child in the 1920’s with his father, the author A.A. Milne, inventing the game Pooh sticks which provided the inspiration for the subsequent books,” says the listing.
The landmark was renamed to Poohsticks Bridge by Robin in 1979 and could sell for as much as 60,000 pounds (roughly $81,000), Summers Place Auctions estimates. The auction will take place on October 6th and is now accepting sealed bids.
The original bridge was replaced in 1999 with a replica in order to allow for restoration due to being “worn and degraded by the countless thousands of visitors” over the years, the listing says. It was taken apart and stored away until the local council voted to have it “rescued.” The restoration includes local oak as replacement for any missing pieces, keeping the bridge as true-to-form as possible.