The 'Poohsticks Bridge,' made famous in Winnie the Pooh, has gone up for auction
Those with a soft spot for the Winnie the Pooh books have a chance to own the bridge featured in many of the iconic children's stories if they're willing to pay a pretty steep price.
What was once known as the Posingford Bridge in Ashdown Forest in England was later renamed as the Poohsticks Bridge, a moniker coined from the game that Christopher Robin and Pooh would play in A.A. Milne's books, according to the Summers Place auction house.
In the 1920's, the bridge was where Milne and his son, the real-life Christopher Robin, would play a game consisting of watching sticks float downstream. That game would later inspire the Pooh books, according to Summers Place.
The literary landmark has been put up for auction, with all bids due Wednesday. It's estimated to sell for around $54,000 to $81,000, according to the auction house.
Originally built in 1907, the bridge later became a popular tourist destination and was officially renamed after the Pooh books in 1979, Summers Place says. After decades of wear-and-tear, the bridge had to be replaced with a replica, with the original stored away for safe keeping, an endeavor that was made possible in part by funding from the Disney corporation. It was later rebuilt using oak harvested from local trees, according to Summers Place.
As far as bridges go, the bridge is Roo-sized, measuring less than 30 feet long. But as Winnie the Pooh would say, "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." [Copyright 2021 NPR]
