A new edition of my guidebook – Walking in the New Forest – has been published by Cicerone. The guidebook is available from the publisher, through local bookshops and online. The book details thirty walks that take you on a journey through Britain’s smallest National Park, exploring every corner of the Forest from the beautiful ancient woodland to the wide-open heather-clad heaths and dramatic coastline.
Each walk has clear step-by-step route descriptions alongside detailed extracts from the OS 1:25,000 Explorer maps and lots of photographs. There is also information about the area’s history, geology, plants and wildlife along with practical advice including refreshments options.
The New Forest, or the Nova Foresta as it was known in the Domesday Book, is a unique and captivating landscape of open heath and ancient woodland tucked into south-west Hampshire and south-east Wiltshire. ‘Created’ by William the Conqueror in 1079 as a royal hunting ground, the New Forest has, for the last 900 years, owed its very existence to the influence of man and his animals.
To many, a key feature of the New Forest’s natural beauty is the ancient and ornamental woods. And the forest boasts the greatest concentration of ‘veteran’ trees in western Europe. However, there is much more on offer. There is a lengthy stretch of coastline; the largest area of lowland heath in Britain; and three-quarters of the valley mires in north-west Europe. There are also pretty villages with picture-postcard thatched cottages, historic churches and cosy pubs. The Forest is a nature lover’s paradise. The patchwork of habitats offers opportunities to spot some of the local wildlife ranging from five species of deer to all six of Britain’s native reptiles. And all this located within Britain’s smallest national park.
The New Forest is not be a very hilly landscape and there are no sweeping mountain views. But a walk in the Forest takes you into a part of Southern Britain that William the Conqueror would probably still recognise. There are fleeting glimpses of wildlife – a deer suddenly stops to look before magically disappearing in the blink of an eye. Birdsong mingles with the rustle of the wind in the trees. And wildflowers add splashes of colour to the beauty of the enchanting woods, whilst the commoners’ stock grazes the land as it has done for centuries. All of these make walking in the New Forest National Park such a unique and rewarding experience.
However, this is not some woodland theme park; the Forest is a working environment. Around 7000 commoners’ animals graze the open forest. One quarter of the park is farmland; and the forests still produce many tonnes of timber per year. It is these very activities that have helped to preserve the New Forest over the centuries.
For more information visit https://www.stevedavison.co.uk/book/walking-new-forest. or the publisher at https://www.cicerone.co.uk/walking-in-the-new-forest-second.