Creature of Mystery
Fittleworth is a small village in West Sussex, England. Fittleworth Common is a wooded area to the East of the village centre and is most easily accessed from the hill by the war memorial, just to the North of the Swan Inn. Please don't confuse Fittleworth Common with the much larger Hesworth Common which is to the West of the village centre.
He is carved of wood (with a chainsaw we think) cunningly stained,
and looks as though he is running through the woods. We say he, but there are no clues as to gender.
We think he first appeared by the side of the main footpath through Fittleworth Common during 2003 but it could have been earlier. Who placed him there and why? It turns out that he was a wedding present to a local couple. They thought that their garden was a cruelly restrictive home for such a handsome creature and released him into the wild.
He's a much loved character and walkers bring him seasonal gifts which they place in his begging bowl. A pine cone, a piece of interesting bark, a strawberry, a toffee. He has quite a varied diet. In winter, he sometimes wears a nice warm scarf and he's often decorated during festive seasons.
The poor old devil went through the wars in the Summer of 2005. A bungled kidnap attempt was mounted during which the gruesome amputation of both ears and nose occurred. A heroic local lady bravely saved him, and nearly apprehended the villains. He underwent surgery and was returned to his usual home in September. New oak ears had been grafted on and he also sported a brand new nose made of hazel. The latter is unstained though. We thought it looked better in the original black.
Whatever, he's back and not too the worse for his adventures.
This website has been created simply to record the doings of our wooden friend and to repay some of the pleasure he has given to us.
If anyone has more information or photographs which could be added, please email (fittleworthbear AT gmail DOT com).
Since this website was created in September 2005, the bear has been deluged by two emails.
