New Forest Legacy

I don’t think you can ever tire of the New Forest and its 120 square miles in central southern England bordering the Solent coastline.
It hosts such a variety of woodland, open heathland and grassland which is home to all manner of wildlife, that there is always something new in an ever changing landscape according to the seasons.
The New Forest National Park which came into being ten years ago next month covers an area almost as much again at 220 square miles and provide a welcome retreat in the highly populated southern part of the country.
I always think I know it well; after all I have lived on its doorstep for more years than I care to remember; yet I can guarantee you’ll come across fresh areas to explore and new sights.
If you think that its name alone equates to great expanses of woodland like this, you are right only to a degree because the woodland areas extend to only around 56 square miles which means that open heathland, saltmarshes and grassland accounts for as much again of the total Forest area.  Today, on my drive through the forest much of the heathland appeared to be under laying surface water, or looking decidedly boggy in places. Even the ponies and donkeys I saw appeared to be keeping close to the road.
But delve into the history of the Forest and you’ll find a heritage that goes back for the best past of 1,000 years when it was a hunting ground established by William the Conquerer.

That legacy has shaped the Forest, and part of that inheritance are any number of enchanting woodland scenes like this.