It contains a magnificent variety of scenery, whilst the land within the ancient New Forest boundary is virtually unique in modern Britain - an ancient hunting ground with many special characteristics that have survived largely intact. [27] It was created at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and isolated farmsteads; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area. Lyndsey Stride and her daughter Milly tend to one of the ponies at their home. Instagram • … Don your walking boots and take a hike through our lush countryside or woodlands, hire a bike and enjoy one of the many off-road cycling routes or simply relax and rejuvenate in one of the area’s award-winning spas. – Norman Henderson, (2007), Wild Devon The Magazine of the Devon Wildlife Trust, page 8 Winter 2009 edition, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, "Mark Ash Wood (Quaternary of South Central England)", "Shepherd's Gutter, near Bramshaw (Palaeogene)", "Cranes Moor (Quaternary of South Central England)", "Wood Green Gravel Pit (Quaternary of South Central England)", "Designated Sites View: Solent and Southampton Water", "Designated Sites View: Kingston Great Common", "New Forest Handbook History of the New Forest Part 1", "Old Hampshire Gazetteer (citing Ekwall, 1953: 132)", "Old Hampshire Gazetteer (citing Muir, 1981)", "Britannia: or, A Geographical Description of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the Isles and Terrotories thereto belonging. All British snakes are now legally protected, and so the New Forest snakes are no longer caught. Luxury and country house hotels, self-catering holiday cottages, bed & breakfasts, glamping, camping and caravan sites and holiday parks all set against the majestic backdrop of the New Forest. Discover the cobbled streets of our wonderful Towns & Villages or take a stroll along the Coastline of the New Forest! This last is an established practice rather than a formal right. Oberon, Titania and the other Shakespearean fairies live in a rapidly diminishing Sherwood Forest whittled away by urban development in the fantasy novel A Midsummer's Nightmare by Garry Kilworth. The Geology of the New Forest consists mainly of sedimentary rock, in the centre of a sedimentary basin known as the Hampshire Basin. An artillery fortress established by Henry VIII in the 1500s. In 2009, 500 adult southern damselflies were captured and released in the Venn Ottery nature reserve in Devon, which is owned and managed by the Devon Wildlife Trust. The final ruling, published on 15 February 2007, found in favour of the challenge by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd,[58] and the land at Hinton Admiral Park is therefore excluded from the New Forest National Park. Our Story. [47] The Forest is an important stronghold for a rich variety of fungi, and although these have been heavily gathered in the past, there are control measures now in place to manage this. European otter (Lutra lutra) occurs along watercourses, as well as the introduced American mink (Neovison vison). Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the Bronze Age onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing land for horses. The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. Milford on Sea. The New Forest pony is one of the indigenous horse breeds of the British Isles, and is one of the New Forest's most famous attractions – most of the Forest ponies are of this breed, but there are also some Shetlands and their crossbreeds. The Verderers under the New Forest Acts also retain their responsibilities, and the park authority is expected to co-operate with these bodies, the local authorities, English Nature and other interested parties. "The walk connects the two highest points in the New Forest. In the Great Storm of 1703, about 4000 oak trees were lost. Pre-existing rights of common pasture are still recognised today, being enforced by official verderers and agisters. The New Forest National Park area covers 566 km2 (219 sq mi),[41] and the New Forest SSSI covers almost 300 km2 (120 sq mi), making it the largest contiguous area of unsown vegetation in lowland Britain. Outside of the National Park Area in New Forest District, several clusters of larger towns frame the area - Totton and the Waterside settlements (Marchwood, Dibden, Hythe, Fawley) to the East, Christchurch, New Milton, Milford on Sea, and Lymington to the South, and Fordingbridge and Ringwood to the West. Local folklore asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; 17th-century writer Richard Blome provides exquisite detail: In this County [Hantshire] is New-Forest, formerly called Ytene, being about 30 miles in compass; in which said tract William the Conqueror (for the making of the said Forest a harbour for Wild-beasts for his Game) caused 36 Parish Churches, with all the Houses thereto belonging, to be pulled down, and the poor Inhabitants left succourless of house or home.