POOH may have been a bear of very little brain, but the pastime he invented still brings joy to young and old - and now tourism experts have identified an ideal spot to play it in the region.

Poohsticks is probably one of the simplest games to play – but a perfect way to while away a languid summer day.

Players simply drop a stick from a bridge into the river or stream below and the first to emerge from the other side is declared the winner.

Since Pooh, Piglet and the rest of Christopher Robin’s friends first played the game nearly a century ago in The House at Pooh Corner, it has taken off in the public imagination and even has its own world championships.

And now the peaceful setting of Hutton-le-Hole on the North York Moors has become part of the phenomenon after being named as one of the best places to play - specifically from the wooden bridge in the centre.

Tourism agency Visit England has placed the village, where sheep freely roam, on their list of the 12 most ideal Poohsticks locations in the country.

“Hutton-le-Hole makes a postcard-like, picturesque backdrop for a game of Poohsticks,” said a spokesman.

“Poohsticks is a timeless game and it remains a great way for families to spend time together and enjoy the great outdoors just like Pooh.”

The list, which also includes the Packhorse Bridge at Watendlath in Cumbria, was drawn up at a time when Poohsticks is again making its mark on the public consciousness.

Egmont Publishing, the publisher of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories, has released a new book, The Poohsticks Handbook: A Poohstickopedia, which takes a humorous look at the game.

Author Mark Evans said: “It’s full of hints, tips and general Poohsticky advice as well as the history of the game and, most importantly, the rules.”

And for those who take the game perhaps a little too seriously, it even includes a formula devised by a leading engineer to give players a winning edge.

Dr Rhys Morgan of the Royal Academy of Engineering claims sticks should be tubby, long and fairly heavy, with quite a lot of bark to catch the flow of the river.

For those with a mathematical mind the formula is PP (perfect Poohstick) = A (cross sectional area) x I (density of stick) x CD (drag co-efficient).