Inside the New Forest holiday home - for teddy bears

Up until now hundreds of cuddly companions have checked into the Bartie Bristle Hotel and Spa in the New Forest.

And the routine rarely changes at the expert bear restorers – the only one of its kind in the UK.

First the small cuddly toys go into the freezer for two weeks to make sure there is no sign of any insect infestation.

Then, like any patient undergoing an emergency procedure, they are given a tag around their leg with their owner’s name and number.

That’s before the teddy bears are seated on miniature furniture in a specialist area while they await treatment.

The bears – some with no eyes or limbs and others with no fur left – are surrounded by miniature tea cups, hand-knitted items of food and even mini bottles of Champagne.

Hanging above the poorly crowd is a string of ‘get well’ cards from worried owners – of course all with teddy bears on the front.

But the latest guest has caused quite a stir because he isn’t actually a teddy.

He is a life-size 50-year-old Steiff Studio lion worth hundreds of pounds – and he has come to Beaulieu’s Bear it in Mind, which is also a collectable bear shop, all the way from Dubai.

New arrival: the Steiff lion currently being restored

Julie Tatchell, who runs the shop with Amanda Middleditch, said: “He’s certainly the largest patient we’ve ever had – and has come from the furthest away!

“When we heard he would be coming we were very excited. We had an email from a businessman keen to restore him for his granddaughter.”

But even the long-haul trip from the Middle East didn’t seem to surprise Julie who started her business in 2006 and has seen first-hand the extent of the nation’s eccentricity for soft toys.

There was the pensioner who was reluctant to leave her antique bear known as ‘bomb teddy’ for his repair work because they had never been apart since he survived a direct hit from a Second World War bomb on the family home.

Then there was the bear collector who had to convert their loft space just to keep up with their growing bear family.

Or the delight on the woman’s face when the experts discovered there was actually another bear hidden inside her cuddly companion from the 1930s.

And then there’s the little girl who rubs her bear’s nose across hers so much she wears the stitching downand Julie and Amanda have to carry out the repairs in record-timing so she can be reunited with her furry friend.

In fact such is the demand for repairs and expert restoration, the shop currently has to operate a six-month waiting list.

Inside Amanda and Julie's teddy bear haven

But it was only by chance the business, whose customers include Bunny Campione, of BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and Lady Montagu of Beaulieu, has become what it is today.

Initially the mum-of-four with a passion for traditional crafts set up the business as a studio to share methods and techniques with the public.

But soon people began asking about bear repairs and the business evolved into helping people bring their cuddly toys back to life.

And no two days are ever the same.

Julie, who stresses the importance of restoring British heritage, explained: “We see everything but take each patient as it comes. We get dog attack victims and ones who have suffered from moths. One bear adored by his little owner was a microwave victim and some don’t have faces.

“One man who was clearing out a house came in and said: ‘you’d better take a look at it because I don’t know anything about bears’. He was on his way to the rubbish tip but it turned out to be a rare Steiff.

“So you never know what’s going to come through the door.”

Julie and Amanda at their bear hotel and spa in Beaulieu

However one thing never changes: Britain’s love for bears.

“Each case is different and we hear so many stories. It’s one job where people tell us their age because they reminisce when they first got their bear and how old they were. So bears are irreplaceable because of that because each has its own tale to tell.

“Everyone remembers their first teddy bear – and for many of us they remain a source of comfort and companionship well into adult life.”

But why teddy bears?

“They are the ultimate constant companion. They are always the same. Whether you are cross, happy or sad they just sit there and listen don’t they?”

The bear facts

-The teddy bear was created in 1902 after American President Theodore Roosevelt, known as Teddy, went on a bear-hunting trip which became the topic of a political cartoon.

-Steiff bears, the German company which has made toys since the 1880s, are among the most soughtafter and pricey bears in the world.

-According to the Guinness World of Records, the most expensive teddy bear ever sold was the Steiff Louis Vuitton bear, which was sold in Monaco in 2000 for £125,831.

- In 1920, Rupert Bear first appeared as a children’s comic strip character in the Daily Express.

- Soon after, AA Milne published Winnie The Pooh, and the central character was a bear named after a Steiff teddy owned by his son.

Forget the hit TV show ‘Embarrassing Bodies’. Julie and Amanda will be running ‘Embarrassing Bears’ clinics across the county.

Today the duo will be at the first Alton Teddy Bear Festival, which runs from 10am until 4pm.

They will then host sessions on Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, September 12 at Portsmouth City Museum alongside their exhibition of bears from the V&A Museum of Childhood, which will showcase bears from picture books, film and TV.