When beloved bear Teddy left for a day trip with his owner, 8-year-old Hannah, and her family, he could not have imagined the adventure that awaited him in the grounds of National Trust’s Clumber Park.
The family were enjoying a sunny stroll, when Hannah dropped poor Teddy off the Ornamental Bridge into the lake below. Sadly, there was no way for the family to safely retrieve him themselves, so they left with a heartbroken Hannah, and Teddy settled in for a somewhat soggy sleepover.
But all was not lost, Hannah’s dad contacted staff at Clumber Park the next morning, to see if there was anything they could do to help. Assistant Business Services Coordinator Jill Meeds took the call and wasted no time in enlisting the help of Rangers Charis and Millie, to undertake the search.
Despite the slim chances of finding the stricken bear, and with Millie having only just joined the team, she and Charis got straight to work. Against the odds, the pair were able to locate Teddy and reunite him with a delighted Hannah.
Hannah’s dad Jamie said,
“I can’t begin to tell you how happy this has made my little girl. You and your team have restored my faith in humanity and made a family, and especially Hannah extraordinarily happy and eternally grateful.”
But before sending him on his way, Charis and Millie decided since Teddy had spent so much time in the park without actually getting to see much of it, he’d surely earned himself a VIP (Very Important Paw-son) tour of the grounds. He met the longhorn cattle, made friends with a local frog, and visited the Estate Yard – where he even had a go at driving one of the vehicles! A very happy ending indeed, all made possible by the kindness of Clumber Park’s staff.
Posted on 31 August 2022
