Most Halloween half-term plans in London this year are going heavy on ghosts, gore and jump scares.
But the London Zoo has quietly decided to do the opposite, and it might be one of the most exciting things to add to the fall calendar.
From Friday 2 October to Sunday 1 November, the world’s oldest scientific zoo is turning its grounds over to Winnie-the-Pooh and Eeyore for A Little Boy and His Bear: A Storybook Adventure Trail, a new family experience built around the actual, documented history of the bear who started it all.
22 October 2026 10:00 + more dates
London Zoo
Because here’s the thing most people forget while re-reading the Hundred Acre Wood stories to their kids: Winnie-the-Pooh was real, and she lived at this exact zoo.
It’s shaping up to be a must-see for all ages, and it comes right at the perfect time. Here are all the details!
The bear behind the bear
Long before Winnie-the-Pooh existed on paper, there was a Canadian black bear cub called Winnie, bought for $20 from a hunter in White River, Ontario, by a young army vet named Lieutenant Harry Colebourn.
Colebourn was on his way to fight in the First World War and named the cub after his hometown of Winnipeg. When his regiment shipped out to France in 1914, he couldn’t exactly bring a bear to the trenches, so he left her at London Zoo, fully intending to collect her once the war ended.
He never did. Winnie became one of the most-loved residents at the Mappin Terraces, known to generations of visitors as “Bear Mountain,” and Colebourn eventually donated her to the zoo permanently in gratitude.
Among Winnie’s regular visitors was a small boy called Christopher Robin Milne, who loved her so much he renamed his own teddy bear after her. His father happened to be A.A. Milne, and when Milne sat down to write stories for his son, that borrowed name stuck.
The first Winnie-the-Pooh book landed in 1926. A hundred years later, the zoo that started it all is finally getting its moment as the main character.
What the trail actually involves
This isn’t some sort of tacky cash grab either.
The trail is built around a brand new story, published by HarperCollins as Winnie-the-Pooh: A Little Boy and His Bear, written by Jane Riordan in the style of A.A. Milne to mark the character’s centenary.
In it, Christopher Robin accidentally leaves Pooh and Eeyore behind at the zoo overnight, and the pair go wandering.
Families follow that same wander with a map in hand, starting at the Mappin Terraces, where zookeepers introduce the real story of Winnipeg the bear before sending visitors off on Pooh and Eeyore’s route around the grounds.
Along the way, expect:
- Giant storybook pages that bring scenes from the book to life at each stop
- A journal for kids to fill in as they go, including their own Pooh-style bedtime song
- Animal spotting challenges featuring pygmy hippos, zebras, bushbabies and slender lorises
- Stamps and collectible items gathered at each stage of the journey
- A finishing point at Penguin Beach, where kids who complete the trail get a special Pooh sticker
Two birthdays, one very good excuse
The timing isn’t random and Winnie’s debut is actually quite celebratory.
This trail is doing double duty as part of ZSL’s 200th anniversary celebrations, marking two centuries since Sir Stamford Raffles founded the Zoological Society of London in 1826, alongside the 100th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh’s first appearance in print.
ZSL has been marking its bicentenary all year, from a special exhibition running at the zoo through December to a lit-up chalk lion at sister site Whipsnade Zoo glowing every Wednesday through the rest of 2026.
Even the King and Queen paid a visit earlier this year to mark the milestone, touring Penguin Beach and unveiling a permanent snake mosaic to commemorate 200 years of the charity.
Why the zoo itself is worth the trip regardless
Even without a single Pooh reference, London Zoo has a genuinely wild claim to fame: it’s the world’s oldest scientific zoo, opened in 1828 as a research collection for the Zoological Society of London before the doors ever opened to the public in 1847.
The zoo notched up a run of genuine world-firsts along the way, including the first reptile house in 1849 and the first public aquarium in 1853.
Some of that history is still standing. The Giraffe House, built in 1837, is the oldest zoo building in the world still used for its original purpose, which means the giraffes wandering around today are technically living in a Georgian listed building.
Beyond the Pooh trail, the zoo’s current lineup includes:
- Into Africa, home to giraffes, zebras, pygmy hippos and African wild dogs
- Tiger Territory, with Sumatran tigers roaming a naturalistic habitat
- Penguin Beach, one of the largest penguin pools in the UK
- Gorilla Kingdom and Land of the Lions, both firm family favourites
- The zoo’s butterfly house and reptile collections, tucked near the Winnie statues themselves
Regent’s Park, where the zoo sits, is consistently ranked among London’s most beautiful green spaces, a 410-acre royal park that makes the walk in from Camden or Baker Street its own small event before you’ve even reached the animals.
The details
📍 ZSL London Zoo, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY
🗓️ Friday 2 October to Sunday 1 November 2026
🐻 Included with standard zoo entry, no extra ticket required
🎟️ Book tickets online now here before you show up to the zoo!
