London is, well, capital when
it comes to inspiring classic
children’s literature. Begin by
visiting the Paddington Bear
statue at his namesake station,
picking up a replica of him (shop.
paddington.com) before walking
round to Hyde Park for a picnic
of marmalade sandwiches. Swing
by Kensington Garden’s statue of Peter Pan, then make your way
to the regal interiors of the Savoy Hotel. Their whimsical Tiger Who
Came to Tea-themed afternoon spread features bespoke china piled
high with striped scones, marzipan tigers and blue and pink
Battenberg cake (£40pp; fairmont.com). Devote your second day
to the book behemoth that is Harry Potter. Begin at Platform 9¾
at King’s Cross, but instead of the Hogwarts Express, take the
Northern Line to Camden Town. It’s a pleasant stroll to London
Zoo (zsl.org)ƥ&-+#2-2&##.2'# -31#5�#Ơ',2&#̭+4#01'-,Ơ
Harry discovers his ability to talk to snakes.
STAY Space Apart Hotel has light, bright apartments in a converted
Georgian building not far from Notting Hill (from £170 for a family of
four; aparthotel-london.co.uk).
ARRIVE Plan your journeys around London using citymapper.com.
40
London by
the book
Cultural
weekends
with kids
Take your young culture-vultures away
for a weekend inspired by their favourite
movies and children’s stories
Alan Alexander Milne’s stories
about Winnie-the-Pooh and
his friends were inspired by
the games his son played while
roaming outside their house,
near Ashdown Forest in East
Sussex. Those who have pored
over Ernest Howard Shepard’s
evocative illustrations for the
books will be familiar with the
woodland’s distinctive clumps
of pine trees, surrounded by
&# 2&* ,"1̭**#"5'2&%-01#
and bracken. Take a packed
lunch and spend the day
roaming the 500 acres that
inspired Milne’s comparatively
diminutive Hundred Acre
Wood. Next morning, head to
the wooden bridge (over a
tributary of the River Medway
in Posingford Wood), which
was a popular Milne-family
spot for a game of Poohsticks.
Finish up with afternoon tea at
Piglet’s Tea Room, which serves
everything from Tigger’s
toasties to Kanga’s crumpets- plus, of course, pots of local
Sussex honey to take home
(pooh-country.co.uk).
STAY N u t l ey E d g e C o t t a g e s
has various cosy properties
sleeping four or more (two-night
minimum stay from £186;
nutleyedge.org.uk).
ARRIVE Nutley is near Buxted
and Uckfield rail stations –
plan your journey at
nationalrail.co.uk.
41
Play Poohsticks
in Sussex
WORDS: ORLA THOMAS. PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF THE SAVOY HOTEL, MARK PHILLIPS/ALAMY, MIKKO KARJALAINEN/ALAMY