Ancient oaks may be 400 to 800 years old. The New Forest became a source of timber for the wooden ships of the Royal Navy and inclosures were created in the 18th century for this purpose. These inclosures encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but after some troubled times, the New Forest Act of 1877 confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).
The New Forest is home to a rich variety of fungi with over 2700 species found across its varied landscape. Arguably the most recognised species is the Fly Agaric with its rich red cap covered in white spots. Fungi are important organisms and are different to both plants and animals,...
Pannage is the practice of releasing domestic pigs onto the Forest and goes back to the time of William the Conqueror, who established the New Forest circa 1079. The pigs are released onto the Forest in September for 60 days to eat fallen acorns which are poisonous to the commoners’...
Beech trees can grow for 300 to 400 years. In spring a thick carpet of flowering bluebells cover the ground below the trees, before the beech leaves burst and shade the forest floor. In summer, the beech woods are generally cool and dark because of the dense Beech canopy. In...
Acorns are the nut-like fruit of the oak trees and whilst they provide nutritious food for many birds and animals they contain a high proportion of Tannic Acid which can be fatal to ponies and cattle. It is for this reason that pigs, which are immune to acorn poisoning, are...
The earliest record of ponies in the New Forest dates back to circa 1016 when rights of common pasture were granted to the people living in what was a royal hunting ground. The ponies on the forest are feral but are owned by Commoners who have commoning rights attached to...
Beech Mast is the fruit of the beech tree and in the abundant ‘Mast’ years the trees produce literally millions of small, edible triangular nuts. These nuts are produced in threes in hard scaly husks which eventually split, throwing the nuts to the Forest floor where their brown colouring makes...
When walking through the forest you will see many different ferns with mysterious names such as Adder's-tongue, Buckler, Lemon-scented spleenwort and Hart's tongue. The invasive Bracken cloaks vast areas of heathland and often seems to be spreading beyond control. In days gone-by, bracken was used as roofing material, bedding for...
The New Forest was proclaimed a royal forest, in about 1079, by William the Conqueror who, with his successors, hunted the deer. The forest was established at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and isolated farmsteads; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area. Fallow deer...
There are perhaps a dozen different breeds of cattle in the Forest including the shaggy Highland cattle with their enormous horns. The cattle are released onto the open Forest by the Commoners who are residents of properties which have the ancient right of Common Pasture.
You might spot this iconic little bird perched on the top of a gorse bush singing its rattly scratchy song. The gorse is known locally as ‘Fuzz’ and flowers all year round. There is an old Forest saying, ‘When the fuzz bush has no flowers, kissing is out of fashion.’ ...
Burley Rails, a woodman’s cottage, was built in 1811. The woodman was responsible for the fencing to keep the Commoners animals out of the tree-growing nurseries called Inclosures or Enclosures There are many cottages of the same design within the New Forest, most remain Crown properties and are occupied by...
The goshawk is without doubt the top avian predator in the New Forest, often referred to as the Phantom of the Forest, capable of chasing its prey through dense woodlands with the agility of a swallow. Reintroduced to the forest after 200 years, it is breeding successfully. Don’t confuse the...
