Save the Hundred Acre Wood

Available for over a year

Ashdown Forest, where AA Milne told his son Christopher Robin the stories of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and friends, was nearly lost in 1987. Earl De La Warr, whose family had owned the forest for 300 years, wished to sell up. As the clock ticks down to the deadline, disaster follows disaster. In October, the Great Storm decimates the Forest. Then in February, the Earl dies, locking the estate into probate. One man has the profile to draw attention to the campaign and save the forest - Christopher Milne, running a bookshop in Dorset where he lives with his wife and their daughter Clare, who has cerebral palsy. He had been bullied at school for being Christopher Robin and for most of his life avoided having anything to do with the famous bear. But with the threats to destroy the landscape of his childhood, he is challenged to lead the fight for its survival. Written by Edward Kemp Christopher Milne… Robert Bathurst Lesley Milne… Lia Williams AA Milne…Anton Lesser Clare Milne…Rosie Jones Mrs Trautlin/ Becky…Natasha Cowley Peter… Fraser Wall Music by Sarah Homer Sound by Alastair MacGregor Directed by Jeremy Mortimer Executive Producer Joby Waldman A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4