Further details announced for the cultural celebrations in Ashdown Forest for Winnie-The-Pooh centenary

The Big One Hundred

Launching on Saturday 18 July 2026 to mark 100 years of A.A Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories, Ashdown Forest, home of the magical Hundred Acre Wood are partnering with world-class creatives Trigger for ‘The Big One Hundred’, a series of free, family friendly cultural events inspiring visitors to connect with this landscape of environmental and cultural significance and help protect it for the next 100 years. Following the opening weekend on 18-19 July in Ashdown Forest, the puppet will then tour to cultural and heritage sites in Wealden across the school summer holidays. Specific dates and locations will be announced in due course.

Ashdown Forest in East Sussex is a rare heathland landscape - a habitat rarer than a tropical rainforest - and a Site of Special Scientific Interest that is home to some of Europe's most threatened species. 'The Big One Hundred' is a magical new story for Ashdown Forest, where interactive performances, heathland walks and shared encounters will reveal a curious new creature and invite audiences to write the Forest’s next chapter.

Visitors will be invited to immerse themselves in the enchanting landscape where Christopher Robin played as a child through a series of interactive performances and events for the whole family introducing the Forest’s newest inhabitant a giant, mythical creature inspired by the landscape of Ashdown Forest and the special species of animals and plants that live there. 

Trigger have appointed internationally renowned artist and costume designer Jack Irving to work alongside lead artist Angie Bual to create the new puppet costume that will be the central feature of ‘The Big One Hundred’ celebrations.

Originally from Blackpool and now based in East London, Irving is known for his futuristic, experimental practice that blends fantasy, deep-sea inspiration, and transformative design. Irving’s work spans wearable art, immersive installations and public spectacle, and he is best known for his collaborations with global pop icons including Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Katy Perry, Paris Hilton and the Spice Girls. His designs have appeared at the V&A, London Fashion Week, and the Blackpool Illuminations, and have been featured by Vogue, The New York Times and The Ellen Show. Irving is a multi-award winner at the World of Wearable Art Awards and former Cirque du Soleil resident designer.

Jack’s design for ‘The Big One Hundred’ will be operated by 8-10 people simultaneously, an ambitious and rarely attempted approach that pushes the boundaries of live performance, costume and puppetry. Designed to personify Ashdown Forest and its unique landscape and protected species, Irving’s design brings a bold vision to ‘The Big One Hundred’, transforming the project into a living, moving artwork.

Jack Irving said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be collaborating with Trigger on ‘The Big One Hundred’ project to unveil the new creature of Ashdown Forest. Working closely with the Ashdown Forest team, I’ll be immersing myself in the Forest’s extraordinary ecosystem, from its butterflies and birds to its insects and plant life, and weaving those inspirations together into a vibrant, unforgettable puppetry spectacle.”

Angie Bual, Creative Director, said: “We’re thrilled to have Jack Irving on board as part of The Big One Hundred. His work has a rare ability to feel both spectacular and deeply playful, we can’t wait to see how his otherworldly design language responds to the imaginations of local children and the beautiful, ever-changing landscape of Ashdown Forest. We’re also very excited to also be joined by the Olivier-award-winning Puppetry Director Laura Cubitt and Puppetry Consultant Oliver Hymans to help us bring this new forest creature to life.”

The creative team will also include Olivier Award Winning Theatre Maker Laura Cubitt. She Co-directed Dinosaur World Live (Olivier Award Winner for Best Family Show 2024). Most recently she was the movement director for A Midsummer Night's Dream (RSC/Unicorn); Puppetry Director for The Boy who Harnessed the Wind (RSC); Puppetry Consultant for Into the Woods (Bridge Theatre) as puppetry director for the project. Alongside Laura, Trigger will work with Oliver Hymans (Coven, Kiln Theatre, Overheard in a Tower Block, Little Angel Theatre), the current Associate Director at Little Angel Theatre, as puppetry consultant on the project.

Children’s Drawing Competition

To inspire the design of the new puppet creature, Trigger is inviting primary school-aged children (5–11) across Sussex to help imagine and design this brand-new character through a creative competition. Children can submit drawings, collages or short written descriptions of their creature to hello@triggerstuff.co.uk All submissions will be featured on ‘The Big One Hundred’ website gallery. The designs shortlisted will be reviewed by a local panel of judges.

The winning design will be incorporated into the final creature, and the creator will be invited to meet it in Ashdown Forest. Submissions close at 10am on Tuesday 15 April 2026, with the winner announced in May.

Five New Walks

As previously announced, in addition to the giant new inhabitant, five new themed walks will also be launched this summer, inviting audiences to explore more of the incredible landscape of Ashdown Forest. The walks will be themed around different special species including the Dartford Warbler, the Tiger Beetle, the Adder, the Dormouse and the Silver Studded Blue Butterfly.

These new walks and performances draw inspiration from the landscape that has inspired writers for generations from Milne to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to poet Fiona Sampson and encourage young people and families to connect with the Forest and shine a light on the urgent need to protect this magnificent landscape. 100 years ago, the real Christopher Robin played in Ashdown Forest and gained a deep, genuine connection with the landscape, inspiring him to advocate for its conservation in later life.  These site-specific cultural projects seek to reconnect young people with the wonder of the natural world, and in turn inspire the next generation of conservationists.

More information about ‘The Big One Hundred’ is available here: www.thebigonehundred.co.uk