Hilltop English town where you can still buy pints for under £3 – that was home to one of Disney’s best-loved characters

AS far as day trips go, one where you’re able to visit some of the best-known Disney movie locations and sink a pint for under three quid ranks pretty highly.

And Crowborough in East Sussex ticks both of those boxes, thanks to its position next to Ashdown Forest – home of Winnie The Pooh’s hundred acre wood – and a very reasonably priced town pub.

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Reachable in under two hours from London, the market town has plenty to see and do, first and foremost being all of the places mentioned in A.A.Milne’s famous books.

Following on from their literary success, the bear went on to become Disney’s second-best-selling character after Mickey Mouse – he’s so well-loved that he even has a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame.

Ashdown forest, on the border of Crowborough, covers over 10 square miles, making it one of the largest open access areas in Southeast England.

With its many paths and little streams, it’s a popular places for walkers, horse riders and cyclists to head.

The original Pooh Sticks bridge has since been sold for the tidy sum of £131,000, but a new one was built in its place for fans to chuck sticks from.

A short drive away is a cluster of other locations from the book, helpfully charted on Google Maps, including the Enchanted Place and the Heffalump trap, as well as a memorial to AA Milne with views over the landscape that inspired his tales.

Crowborough itself is the largest and highest inland town in East Sussex.

It has a bustling centre, with big supermarkets, small, independent retailers, restaurants and cafes.

There’s also a farmers’ market once a month and the luxury of plenty of free parking.

And a caravan and camping site is within walking distance of the town centre, situated next to a leisure centre and recreation ground with a model railway and skateboard park.

Crowborough’s most famous resident was Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, known for his creation of the detective Sherlock Holmes – and he wrote half of his books while living in the town.

A statue of him now stands at the main crossroads in the town to commemorate him.

Puzzle-solvers may also want to visit the Dark Master Escape Rooms, voted one of the UK’s top escape rooms in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and actions seekers can head to Go Wild At The Warren for axe throwing, archery and Nerf gun wars.

Pub dwellers can rejoice because some of the cheapest pints in Sussex can be found in Crowborough.

An interactive map created by Pantry & Larder last year revealed the Wetherspoon branches across the nation with the cheapest pints. 

They specifically looked at the cost for a pint of Carling, and prices ranged from £2.99 to £5.99. 

Out of all the Wetherspoons in Sussex, The Crowborough Cross came 8th for having the cheapest pint, at £3.54. 

While the price of a pint of Carling has now risen to £3.53, you can still grab a pint of Carlsberg Pilsner on draught for £2.77 or a pint of Bud Light for £2.39. 

If you’re looking for places to stay, there are a few Airbnbs dotted around the town, and the Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club is nearby.

The 19th-century mansion, nestled in 186 acres of landscaped parkland, features a lake, a secret garden, tennis courts, a spa and an eight-hole golf course.

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