The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

land,

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

land and

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

, covering southwest

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and southeast

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. It was proclaimed a

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, featuring in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. It is the home of the New Forest Commoners, whose ancient rights of common pasture are still recognised and exercised, enforced by official

verderers Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

and agisters. In the 18th century, the New Forest became a source of timber for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. It remains a habitat for many rare birds and

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

. It is a biological and geological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. Several areas are

Geological Conservation Review The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological a ...

and

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initial ...

sites. It is a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

, a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

Copythorne Common Copythorne Common is a nature reserve west of Southampton in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of the New Forest, which is a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Inter ...

is managed by the

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England. The trust describes itself as the leading local wildlife conservation charity in Hampshire and th ...

, Kingston Great Common is a national nature reserve and New Forest Northern Commons is managed by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The New Forest covers two

parliamentary constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

; New Forest East and New Forest West.

Prehistory

Like much of England, the site of the New Forest was once

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

woodland, recolonised by

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

and eventually

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

after the withdrawal of the ice sheets starting around 12,000 years ago. Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

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. There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

around 250–100 BC, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest. There are around 250

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

s within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

s. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known

inhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European Archaeological culture, culture of Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe ...

burial in Britain; however, the acidity of the soil means that bone very rarely survives.

History

Following

Anglo-Saxon settlement The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain is the process which changed the language and culture of most of what became England from Romano-British to Germanic. The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, eventually develope ...

in Britain, according to

Florence of Worcester Florence of Worcester (died 1118), known in Latin as Florentius, was a monk of Worcester, who played some part in the production of the '' Chronicon ex chronicis'', a Latin world chronicle which begins with the creation and ends in 1140.Keynes, "Flo ...

(d. 1118), the area became the site of the Jutish kingdom of ''Ytene''; this name was the

genitive plural In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ''Yt'' meaning "Jute", i.e. "of the Jutes". The

Jutes The Jutes (), Iuti, or Iutæ ( da, Jyder, non, Jótar, ang, Ēotas) were one of the Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the departure of the Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic nations ...

were one of the early

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. Following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, the New Forest was proclaimed a

, in about 1079, by

. It was used for royal hunts, mainly of

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

s and isolated

farmstead A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a settle ...

s; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area. The New Forest was first recorded as ''Nova Foresta'' in

in 1086, where a section devoted to it is interpolated between lands of the king's

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there w ...

s and the town of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

; it is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth-century chroniclers alleged that William had created the forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the area is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited. Two of William's sons died in the forest:

Prince Richard Prince Richard may refer to: * Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (1473–) * Prince Richard von Metternich (1829–1895), from the German House of Metternich * Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1934–2017), from the German House of ...

sometime between 1069 and 1075, and King William II (William Rufus) in 1100. Though many claim the latter is due to an inaccurate arrow shot from his hunting companion, ocal

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; 17th-century writer Richard Blome provides detail:

In this County antshireis 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. But this wicked act did not long go unpunished, for his Sons felt the smart thereof; Richard being blasted with a pestilent Air; Rufus shot through with an Arrow; and Henry his Grand-child, by Robert his eldest son, as he pursued his Game, was hanged among the boughs, and so dyed. This Forest at present affordeth great variety of Game, where his Majesty oft-times withdraws himself for his divertisement.

The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the

Rufus Stone William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

. John White,

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

, said of the forest:

From God and Saint King Rufus did Churches take, From Citizens town-court, and mercate place, From Farmer lands: New Forrest for to make, In Beaulew tract, where whiles the King in chase Pursues the hart, just vengeance comes apace, And King pursues. Tirrell him seing not, Unwares him flew with dint of arrow shot.

The

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the

, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the

Great Storm of 1703 The great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships wer ...

, about 4000 oak trees were lost. The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under the New Forest Act 1877, which confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and entrenched that the total of enclosures was henceforth not to exceed at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown). , roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown. The Crown lands have been managed by

Forestry England Forestry England is a division of the Forestry Commission, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in England. It was formed as Forest Enterprise in 1996, before devolving to Forest Enterprise England on 31 March 2003 and ...

since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park. Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland.

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

remains a problem. During the Second World War, an area of the forest, Ashley Range, was used as a bombing range. During 1941–1945, the

Beaulieu, Hampshire Beaulieu ( ) is a small village located on the southeastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England, and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum. History The name Beaulieu comes etymologically ...

Estate of Lord Montagu in the New Forest was the site of group B finishing schools for agents operated by the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE) between 1941 and 1945. (One of the trainers was

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...

who was later found to be part of a spy ring passing information to the Soviets.) In 2005, a special exhibition was mounted at the Estate, with a video showing photographs from that era as well as voice recordings of former SOE trainers and agents. Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest became a

in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in June 1999, but UNESCO did not take up the nomination. It became a

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in March 2005, transferring a wide variety of planning and control decisions to the New Forest National Park Authority, who work alongside the local authorities, land owners and crown estates in managing the New Forest. File:Death of William Rufus.JPG, Death of

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

File:Rufus Stone.jpg, The Rufus Stone Memorial File:NewForestIbsleyww2.jpg, WW2 remains at Ibsley

Common rights

Forest laws were enacted to preserve the New Forest as a location for royal

deer hunting Deer hunting is hunting for deer for meat and sport, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food source of animal protein that can be obtained through deer hunting. ...

, and interference with the king's deer and its forage was punished. However, the inhabitants of the area (''

commoners A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

'') had pre-existing ''rights of common'': to turn horses and cattle (but only rarely sheep) out into the Forest to graze (''common pasture''), to gather fuel wood (''

estovers In English law, an estover is an allowance made to a person out of an estate, or other thing, for his or her support. The word estover can also mean specifically an allowance of wood that a tenant is allowed to take from the commons, for life o ...

''), to cut peat for fuel (''

turbary Turbary is the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog. The word may also be used to describe the associated piece of bog or peatland and, by extension, the material extracted from the turbary. Turbary rights, whic ...

''), to dig clay (''

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

''), and to turn out pigs between September and November to eat fallen

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

s and beechnuts (''

pannage Pannage (also referred to as ''Eichelmast'' or ''Eckerich'' in Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia) is the practice of releasing livestock-domestic pig, pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on falle ...

'' or ''mast''). There were also licences granted to gather

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

after

Michaelmas Day Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christianity, Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical year, liturgica ...

(29 September) as litter for animals (''fern''). Along with grazing, pannage is still an important part of the Forest's ecology. Pigs can eat acorns without problem, but for ponies and cattle, large quantities of acorns can be poisonous. Pannage always lasts at least 60 days, but the start date varies according to the weather – and when the acorns fall. The

decide when pannage will start each year. At other times the pigs must be taken in and kept on the owner's land, with the exception that pregnant sows, known as ''privileged sows'', are always allowed out providing they are not a nuisance and return to the Commoner's holding at night (they must not be "''levant'' and ''couchant''" in the Forest, that is, they may not consecutively feed ''and'' sleep there). This last is an established practice rather than a formal right. The principle of levancy and couchancy applies generally to the right of pasture. Commoners must have backup land, outside the Forest, to accommodate these depastured animals when necessary, for example during a

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

epidemic. Commons rights are attached to particular plots of land (or in the case of turbary, to particular

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a lo ...

s), and different land has different rights – and some of this land is some distance from the Forest itself. Rights to graze ponies and cattle are not for a fixed number of animals, as is often the case on other commons. Instead a "marking fee" is paid for each animal each year by the owner. The marked animal's tail is trimmed by the local agister (verderers' official), with each of the four or five forest agisters using a different trimming pattern. Ponies are branded with the owner's brand mark; cattle may be branded, or nowadays may have the brand mark on an ear tag. Grazing of Commoners' ponies and cattle is an essential part of the management of the forest, helping to maintain the heathland, bog, grassland and wood-pasture habitats and their associated wildlife. Recently this ancient practice has come under pressure as benefitting houses pass to owners with no interest in commoning. Existing families with a new generation heavily rely on inheritance of, rather than mostly the expensive purchase of, a benefitting house with paddock or farm. The Verderers and Commoners' Defence Association has fought back against these allied economic threats. The EU

Basic Payment Scheme On 26 June 2003, EU farm ministers adopted a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and introduced a new Single Payment Scheme (SPS or Single Farm Payment) for direct subsidy payments to landowners. The system of subsidy appli ...

(BPS) helped some Commoners significantly. Commoners marking animals for grazing can claim about £200 per cow per year, and about £160 for a pony, and if participating in the stewardship scheme, more. With 10 cattle and 40 ponies, a Commoner qualifying for both schemes would receive over £8,000 a year, and more if they put out pigs: net of marking fees, feed and veterinary costs this part-time level of involvement across a family is calculated to give annual income in the thousands of pounds in most years. Whether those subsidies will survive

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

is unclear. The BPS payment is based on the number of animals marked for the Forest, whether or not these are actually turned out. The livestock actually grazing the Forest are therefore considerably fewer than those marked.

Geography

The New Forest National Park area covers , and the New Forest

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

covers almost , making it the largest contiguous area of unsown vegetation in lowland Britain. It includes roughly: * of broadleaved woodland * of heathland and grassland * of wet heathland * of tree plantations (''woodland inclosures'') established since the 18th century, including planted by Forestry England since the 1920s. The New Forest has also been classed as National Character Area No. 131 by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

. The NCA covers an area of and is bounded by the

Dorset Heaths The Dorset Heaths form an important area of heathland within the Poole Basin in southern England. Much of the area is protected. Extent According to Natural England, who have designated the Dorset Heaths as National Character Area 135, th ...

and

Dorset Downs The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Ham ...

to the west, the West Wiltshire Downs to the north and the

South Hampshire Lowlands The South Hampshire Lowlands form a natural landscape in south, central England within the county of Hampshire. The UK Government's advisors on the natural environment, Natural England, have named the South Hampshire Lowlands as one of their Nat ...

and

South Coast Plain The South Coast Plain is a natural region in England running along the central south coast in the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex and Hampshire. It has been designated as National Character Area No. 126 by Natural England. The NCA h ...

to the east. The New Forest is drained to the south by three rivers,

Lymington River The Lymington River drains part of the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England. Numerous headwaters to the west of Lyndhurst give rise to the river, including Highland Water, Bratley Water and Fletchers Water. From Brockenhurst the river r ...

Beaulieu River The Beaulieu River ( ), formerly known as the River Exe, is a small river draining much of the central New Forest in Hampshire, southern England. The river has many small upper branches and its farthest source is from its -long tidal estuary. ...

and

Avon Water Avon Water, also known locally as the River Avon, is a river in Scotland, and a tributary of the River Clyde. Course The Avon Water rises in the hills on the boundary between East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire, close to the head of the Ir ...

, and to the west by the

Latchmore Brook The Latchmore Brook is a significant stream in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It rises from the elevated gravel plateaus in the north of the Forest, north of Fritham, and drains into the River Avon north of Ibsley. The stream's catchment ...

, Dockens Water, Linford Brook and other streams. The highest point in the New Forest is Pipers Wait, near

Nomansland No man's land is an unoccupied area between two opposing positions. No man's land (Latrun) is an example. No Man's Land, No-man's land or Nomansland may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * No Man's Land, Cornwall, England * No Man's Land F ...

. Its summit is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. The Geology of the New Forest consists mainly of sedimentary rock, in the centre of a sedimentary basin known as the Hampshire Basin.

Wildlife

The ecological value of the New Forest is enhanced by the relatively large areas of lowland habitats, lost elsewhere, which have survived. There are several kinds of important lowland habitat including valley bogs,

alder carr An alder carr is a particular type of carr, i.e. waterlogged wooded terrain populated with alder trees. Examples * Alder Carr, Hildersham * Alderfen Broad * Fawley Ford on the Beaulieu River * Biebrza National Park * Fen Alder Carr * Harston Woo ...

, wet

s, dry heaths and deciduous

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. The area contains a profusion of rare wildlife, including the New Forest

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

'' Cicadetta montana'', the only cicada native to Great Britain, although the last unconfirmed sighting was in 2000. The wet heaths are important for rare plants, such as marsh gentian (''

Gentiana pneumonanthe ''Gentiana pneumonanthe'', the marsh gentian, is a species of the genus ''Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. ...

'') and marsh clubmoss (''

Lycopodiella inundata ''Lycopodiella inundata'' is a species of club moss known by the common names inundated club moss, marsh clubmoss and northern bog club moss. It has a circumpolar and circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern Northern Hemisph ...

'') and other important species include the wild gladiolus ('' Gladiolus illyricus''). Several species of

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

are found, as well as many unusual insect species, including the southern damselfly (''

Coenagrion mercuriale ''Coenagrion mercuriale'', the southern damselfly, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Algeria, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, ...

''), large marsh grasshopper ('' Stethophyma grossum'') and the mole cricket (''

Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa ''Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa'', commonly known as the European mole cricket, is widespread in Europe and has been introduced to the eastern United States. The scientific name is derived from the Latin 'gryllus' meaning a cricket and 'talpa', a mole ...

''), all rare in Britain. In 2009, 500 adult southern damselflies were captured and released in the Venn Ottery nature reserve in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, which is owned and managed by the

Devon Wildlife Trust The Devon Wildlife Trust is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership covering the county of Devon, England. It is a registered charity, established in 1962 as the Devon Naturalists Trust, and its aim is to safeguard the future of the county's ...

. The Forest is an important stronghold for a rich variety of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, and although these have been heavily gathered in the past, there are control measures now in place to manage this.

Birds

Specialist heathland birds are widespread, including

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

(''Curruca undata''),

woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...

(''Lullula arborea''),

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. ...

(''Vanellus vanellus''),

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred t ...

(''Numenius arquata''),

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

(''Caprimulgus europaeus''),

Eurasian hobby The Eurasian hobby (''Falco subbuteo'') or just hobby, is a small, slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus '' Hypotriorchis''. Taxonomy and systematics The first formal description of ...

(''Falco subbuteo''),

European stonechat The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relativ ...

(''Saxicola rubecola''),

common redstart The common redstart (''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be ...

(''Phoenicurus phoenicurus'') and

tree pipit The tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis'') is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic as far East as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The sc ...

(''Anthus sylvestris''). As in much of Britain

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ...

(''Gallinago gallinago'') and

meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...

(''Anthus trivialis'') are common as wintering birds, but in the Forest they still also breed in many of the bogs and heaths respectively. Woodland birds include

wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is strong ...

(''Phylloscopus sibilatrix''),

stock dove The stock dove (''Columba oenas'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western Palearctic. Taxonomy The stock dove was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Li ...

(''Columba oenas''),

European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Etymology Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera '' Leptodon'' a ...

(''Pernis apivorus'') and

northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...

(''Accipiter gentilis'').

Common buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...

(''Buteo buteo'') is very common and

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least e ...

(''Corvus corax'') is spreading. Birds seen more rarely include

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

(''Milvus milvus''), wintering

great grey shrike The great grey shrike (''Lanius excubitor'') is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike (''L. meridionalis''), the Chinese ...

(''Lanius exubitor'') and

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

(''Circus cyaneus'') and migrating

ring ouzel The ring ouzel (''Turdus torquatus'') is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, in length and weighing . The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females ...

(''Turdus torquatus'') and

northern wheatear The northern wheatear or wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It is the ...

(''Oenanthe oenanthe'').

Reptiles and amphibians

New Forest Reptile Centre, Holidays Hill, New Forest - geograph

All three British native species of snake inhabit the Forest. The adder (''

Vipera berus ''Vipera berus'', the common European adderMallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . or common European viper,Stidworthy J. (1974). ...

'') is the most common, being found on open heath and grassland. The

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

(''Natrix natrix'') prefers the damper environment of the valley mires. The rare smooth snake (''

Coronella austriaca The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and ce ...

'') occurs on sandy hillsides with heather and

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

. It was mainly adders which were caught by

Brusher Mills Harry 'Brusher' Mills (19 March 1840 – 1 July 1905) was a hermit, resident in the New Forest in Hampshire, England, who made his living as a snake-catcher. He became a local celebrity and an attraction for visitors to the New Forest. Life ...

(1840–1905), the "New Forest Snake Catcher". He caught many thousands in his lifetime, sending some to

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

as food for their animals. A

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, South West. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

is named ''The Snakecatcher'' in his memory. All British snakes are now legally protected, and so the New Forest snakes are no longer caught. A programme to reintroduce the

sand lizard The sand lizard (''Lacerta agilis'') is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe from France and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia. It does not occur in European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy. In the sand lizard ...

(''Lacerta agilis'') started in 1989 and the

great crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

(''Triturus cristatus'') already breeds in many locations. Sand lizards in a captive breeding and reintroduction programme together with adders, grass snakes,

smooth snake The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

and

toads Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

can be seen at The New Forest Reptile Centre about two miles east of Lyndhurst. The centre was established in 1969 by Derek Thomson Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE, a Forestry England keeper, who was also involved in establishing the deer viewing platform at nearby Bolderwood, Hampshire, Bolderwood.

Ponies, cattle, donkeys, pigs

Commoners' cattle, ponies and donkeys roam throughout the open heath and much of the woodland, and it is largely their grazing that maintains the open character of the Forest. They are also frequently seen in the Forest villages, where home and shop owners must take care to keep them out of gardens and shops. 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 Shetland pony, Shetlands and their crossbreeds. Cattle are of various breeds, most commonly Galloway (cattle), Galloways and their crossbreeds, but also various other hardy types such as Highland cattle, Highlands, Hereford (cattle), Herefords, Dexter cattle, Dexters, Kerry cattle, Kerries and British White cattle, British whites. The pigs used for

, during the autumn months, are now of various breeds, but the New Forest was the original home of the Wessex Saddleback, now extinct in Britain.

Deer

Numerous deer live in the Forest; they are usually rather shy and tend to stay out of sight when people are around, but are surprisingly bold at night, even when a car drives past. Fallow deer (''Dama dama'') are the most common, followed by roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus'') and red deer (''Cervus elaphus''). There are also smaller populations of the introduced sika deer (''Cervus nippon'') and Reeves's muntjac, muntjac (''Muntiacus reevesii'').

Other mammals

The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') survived in the Forest until the 1970s – longer than most places in lowland Britain (though it still occurs on The Isle of Wight and the nearby Brownsea Island). It is now fully supplanted in the Forest by the introduced North American eastern gray squirrel, grey squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''). The European polecat (''Mustela putorius'') has recolonised the western edge of the Forest in recent years. European otter (''Lutra lutra'') occurs along watercourses, as well as the introduced American mink (''Neogale vison'').

Conservation measures

The New Forest is designated as a

(SSSI), an EU

(SAC), a

for birds (SPA), and a Ramsar Site; it also has its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).

Settlements

The New Forest itself gives its name to the New Forest (district), New Forest district of

, and the National Park area, of which it forms the core. The Forest itself is dominated by four larger 'defined' villages, Sway, Hampshire, Sway,

, Lyndhurst and Ashurst, Hampshire, Ashurst, with several smaller villages such as Burley, Hampshire, Burley, Beaulieu, Hampshire, Beaulieu, Godshill, Hampshire, Godshill, Fritham,

, and Minstead also lying within or immediately adjacent. 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, Hampshire, Hythe, Fawley, Hampshire, Fawley) to the East, Christchurch, Dorset, Christchurch, New Milton, Milford on Sea, and Lymington to the South, and Fordingbridge and Ringwood, Hampshire, Ringwood to the West.

New Forest National Park

Consultations on the possible designation of a

in the New Forest were commenced by the Countryside Agency in 1999. An order to create the park was made by the Agency on 24 January 2002 and submitted to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Secretary of State for confirmation in February 2002. Following objections from seven local authorities and others, a public inquiry was held from 8 October 2002 to 10 April 2003, and concluded by endorsing the proposal with some detailed changes to the boundary of the area to be designated. On 28 June 2004, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael confirmed the government's intention to designate the area as a National Park, with further detailed boundary adjustments. The area was formally designated as such on 1 March 2005. A national park authority for the New Forest was established on 1 April 2005 and assumed its full statutory powers on 1 April 2006.

retain their powers to manage the Crown land within the Park. 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 designated area of the National Park covers and includes many existing SSSIs. It has a population of about 38,000 (it excludes most of the 170,256 people who live in the New Forest (district), New Forest local government district). As well as most of the New Forest (district), New Forest district of

, it takes in the South Hampshire Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a small corner of Test Valley district around the village of Canada, Hampshire, Canada and part of

south-east of Redlynch, Wiltshire, Redlynch. However, the area covered by the Park does not include all the areas initially proposed: it excludes most of the valley of the River Avon, Hampshire, River Avon to the west of the Forest and Dibden, Dibden Bay to the east. Two challenges were made to the designation order, by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd in relation to the inclusion of Hinton Admiral, Hinton Admiral Park, and by RWE npower (UK), NPower Plc in relation to the inclusion of Fawley Power Station. The second challenge was settled out of court, with the power station being excluded. The High Court of Justice, High Court upheld the first challenge; but an appeal against the decision was then heard by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal in Autumn 2006. The final ruling, published on 15 February 2007, found in favour of the challenge by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd, and the land at Hinton Admiral Park is therefore excluded from the New Forest National Park. The total area of land initially proposed for inclusion but ultimately left out of the Park is around .

Visitor attractions and places

*Bolderwood, Hampshire, Bolderwood *Bucklers Hard *Beaulieu, Hampshire, Beaulieu *Exbury Gardens *Hythe Pier *Lymington *New Forest Show *New Forest Tour *New Forest Wildlife Park

Politics

The New Forest is represented by two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament; in New Forest East and New Forest West.

Cultural references

There is an allusion to the foundation of the New Forest in an end-rhyming poem found in the Peterborough Chronicle's entry for 1087, ''The Rime of King William''. The Forest forms a backdrop to numerous books. ''The Children of the New Forest'' is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat, set in the time of the English Civil War. Charles Kingsley's ''A New Forest Ballad'' (1847) mentions several New Forest locations, including Ocknell Plain, Bradley [Bratley] Water, Burley Walk and Lyndhurst churchyard. Edward Rutherfurd's work of historical fiction, ''The Forest (novel), The Forest'' is based in the New Forest in the period from 1099 to 2000. The Forest is also a setting of the Warriors (novel series), ''Warriors'' novel series, in which the 'Forest Territories' was initially based on New Forest. The New Forest and southeast England, around the 12th century, is a prominent setting in Ken Follett's novel ''The Pillars of the Earth''. It is also a prominent setting in Elizabeth George's novel ''This Body of Death''. 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 (novel), A Midsummer's Nightmare by Garry Kilworth. On Midsummer's Eve, a most auspicious day, the fairies embark on the long journey to the New Forest in Hampshire where the fairies' magic will be restored to its former glory. Acres Down Panorama

Notable residents

*Eric Ashby (naturalist), Eric Ashby (1918–2003), naturalist and wildlife cameraman *Alice Bentinck (born 1986), co-founder and Chief operating officer, COO of Entrepreneur First, London *William Arnold Bromfield (1801–1851), English botanist *Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1869–1930), author *Harry Warner Farnall (1838–1891), New Zealand politician *Gerald Gardner (1884–1964), founder of Gardnerian Wicca *Steff Gaulter (born 1976), weather forecaster *Pam Gems (1925–2011), English playwright *Arthur Sumner Gibson (1844–1927), rugby union international *Edgar Gibson (1848–1924), 31st Bishop of Gloucester *Clifford Hall (cricketer), Clifford Hall (1902–1982), English cricketer *Frederick Harold (1888–1964), English cricketer *Gerry Hill (1913–2006), English cricketer *Ralph Hollins (born 1931), Natural history, naturalist *Mark Kermode (born 1963), film critic and musician *Sybil Leek (1917–1982), witch, author, astrologer *Sir Charles Lyell (1797–1875), Victorian geologist and polymath *Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), nurse *Chris Packham (born 1961), naturalist and Television presenter, broadcaster

References

External links

The Official New Forest Tourism Website , Information on visiting the National ParkNew Forest National Park AuthorityNew Forest , Forestry EnglandNew Forest Gateway – Film, TV, Picture Resource / Historical Book Publications OnlineSAC designation including extensive technical description of habitats and species
*Designation as a national park:

(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA press release, 28 June 2004)
New Forest National Park becomes a reality
(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA press release, 24 February 2004)
The New Forest National Park
(Countryside Agency press release, 1 March 2005)
New Forest National Park Inquiry
from the Planning Inspectorate
Maps of the boundary
* {{SSSIs Wilts biological New Forest, 1079 establishments in England English royal forests Forests and woodlands of Hampshire Forests and woodlands of Wiltshire Heathland Sites of Special Scientific Interest National parks in England Nature Conservation Review sites New Forest District Parks and open spaces in Hampshire Parks and open spaces in Wiltshire Protected areas established in 2005 Ramsar sites in England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire South East England Special Areas of Conservation in England Woodland Sites of Special Scientific Interest Natural regions of England William the Conqueror