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New Forest

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                     New Forest National Park
   IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
   Location of New Forest National Park within England

             Location of New Forest National Park within England

   Location:       Hampshire, United Kingdom
   Nearest city:   Southampton
   Coordinates:    50°52′00″N, 1°34′00″W
   Area:           571 km² (141,097 acres)
   Established:    1079
   Visitation:     7.5 Million (in 1992)
   Governing body: New Forest National Park Authority

   The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the
   largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and
   old-growth forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. The
   contiguous New Forest habitat covers south west Hampshire and some of
   south Wiltshire and east Dorset. As a National Park the New Forest is
   mainly in Hampshire, but also covering some of Wiltshire. Additionally
   the New Forest local government district is a subdivision of Hampshire
   which covers most of the forest, and some nearby areas. There are many
   small villages dotted arond the area

   The highest point in the New Forest is Piper's Wait, just west of
   Bramshaw. Its summit is at over four hundred feet.

History

   Like much of England, the New Forest was originally forested, but parts
   were cleared for cultivation from the Stone Age and into the Bronze
   Age. However, the poor quality of the soil in the new forest meant that
   the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste". There are around 250
   round barrows within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and
   it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monuments.

   The New Forest was created as a royal forest in 1079 by William the
   Conqueror for the hunting of (mainly) deer. It was first recorded as
   "Nova Foresta" in the Domesday Book in 1086. The inhabitants of
   thirty-six parishes were evicted. William's successor, William Rufus
   was killed in a suspicious accident while hunting in the New Forest in
   1100. The reputed spot of the king's death is marked with a stone known
   as the Rufus Stone.
   The Rufus Stone Memorial
   Enlarge
   The Rufus Stone Memorial

   As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown.
   The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission since
   1923. Around 50% of the Crown lands fall inside the new National Park.

   Formal commons rights were established in the 16th century. Over time,
   the New Forest became an important source of wood for the Royal Navy,
   and plantations were begun to replace the felled trees. In the Great
   Storm of 1703, about 4,000 oak trees were lost in the New Forest.

   The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but
   the Forest gained new protection under an Act of Parliament in 1877.
   The New Forest Act 1877 confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners
   and prohibited the enclosure of more than 16,000  acres (61 km²) at any
   time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives
   of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).

   Felling of broadleaf trees, and replacement by conifers, began during
   the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further
   encroachments were made in the Second World War. This process is today
   being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to
   heathland or broadleaf woodland.
   WW2 remains at Ibsley
   Enlarge
   WW2 remains at Ibsley

   Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest
   became a Site of Special Scientific Interest 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 in June 1999, and it became a National
   Park in 2005.

Common rights

   A miniature pony in the Forest.
   Enlarge
   A miniature pony in the Forest.

   Forest Laws were enacted to preserve the New Forest as a location for
   royal deer hunting, and interference with the King's deer and its
   forage was severely punished. Over time, the local inhabitants
   ("Commoners") were granted or took on various "rights of common": to
   turn ponies, cattle and donkeys (and formerly sheep) out into the
   Forest to graze ("common pasture"), to gather wood (" estovers"), to
   gather bracken after 29 September as litter for animals ("fern"), to
   cut peat for fuel (" turbary"), to dig clay (" marl"), and to turn out
   pigs between September and November to eat fallen acorns and beechnuts
   (" pannage" or "mast"). Along with grazing, pannage is still an
   important part of the forest ecology. Pigs can eat acorns without a
   problem, whereas to ponies the acorns are poisonous. Pannage always
   lasts 60 days but the start date varies according to the weather - and
   when the acorns fall. The Verderers 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 return to the Commoner's holding
   at night, and are not a nuisance. This is not a true Right, it is an
   established practice.

Geography

   Alder trees by the Beaulieu river near Fawley ford.jpg
   Enlarge
   Alder trees by the Beaulieu river near Fawley ford.jpg

   The New Forest Heritage Area covers about 580  km² (143321 acres), and
   the New Forest SSSI covers almost 300 km² (74131 acres), making it the
   largest contiguous area of un-sown vegetation in lowland Britain. It
   includes roughly:
     * 146 km² (36077 acres) of broadleaf woodland
     * 118 km² (29158 acres) of heathland and grassland
     * 33 km² (8154 acres) of wet heathland
     * 84 km² (20756 acres) of tree plantations ("inclosures") established
       since the 18th century, including 80 km² (19768 acres) planted by
       the Forestry Commission since the 1920s.

   It is drained to the south by two rivers, the Lymington and Beaulieu.

Wildlife

   Picnic area in the New Forest
   Enlarge
   Picnic area in the New Forest

   As well as providing a visually remarkable and historic landscape, the
   ecological value of the New Forest is particularly great because of the
   relatively large areas of lowland habitats, lost elsewhere, which have
   survived. The area contains several kinds of important lowland habitat
   including valley bogs, wet heaths, dry heaths and deciduous woodland.
   The area contains a profusion of rare wildlife, including the New
   Forest cicada, the only cicada native to Great Britain. The wet heaths
   are important for rare plants, such as marsh gentian Gentiana
   pneumonanthe and marsh clubmoss Lycopodiella inundata. Several species
   of sundew may be found in the Forest, and the area is also the habitat
   of many unusual insect species, including the Southern damselfly, and
   the great crested newt breeds in many locations.

   Three species of snake inhabit the Forest. The adder is the most common
   being found on open heath and grassland. The grass snake prefers the
   damper environment of the valley mires. The rare smooth snake can be
   found on sandy hillsides with heather and gorse.

   A program to reintroduce the sand lizard started in 1989.

   Numerous deer live in the Forest but are usually rather shy and tend to
   stay out of sight when people are around. Fallow deer are the most
   common followed by red deer. There are also smaller populations of sika
   deer and Muntjac.

   The New Forest is designated as an EU Special Area of Conservation.

Settlements

   Ponies walking the streets in Burley.
   Enlarge
   Ponies walking the streets in Burley.

   Among the towns and villages lying in or adjacent to the Forest are
   Lyndhurst (which claims to be the 'capital' of the New Forest),
   Brockenhurst, Fordingbridge, Ringwood, Beaulieu, Bransgore and
   Lymington. It is bounded to the west by Bournemouth and to the east by
   the city of Southampton. The forest gives its name to the New Forest
   district of Hampshire.

   See also List of locations in the New Forest

New Forest National Park

   Consultations on the possible designation of a National Park 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 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, concluding with that the
   proposal should be endorsed 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. The Forestry Commission retain their powers to manage
   the Crown land within the Park, and 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.
   National Park area in green; pink area shows the county of Hampshire
   for comparison
   National Park area in green; pink area shows the county of Hampshire
   for comparison

   The designated area of the National Park covers 571km² (141097 acres)
   and includes many existing SSSIs. It has a population of approximately
   38,000 (excluding most of the 170,256 people who live in the New Forest
   local government district). As well as most of the New Forest district
   of Hampshire, it takes in a small corner of Test Valley district around
   the village of Canada, and part of the Salisbury district in Wiltshire
   south-east of Redlynch.

   However, the area covered by the park does not include all the areas
   which were initially proposed; excluding most of the valley of the
   River Avon to the west of the forest and 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 Park, and
   by RWE NPower Plc to the inclusion of Fawley power station. The second
   challenge was settled out of court, with the power station being
   excluded. The High Court upheld the first challenge; as of April 2006,
   it is expected that an appeal against the decision will be heard by the
   Court of Appeal in Autumn 2006.

Visitor Attractions and Places

     * Buckler's Hard
     * Beaulieu
     * New Forest Show

Gallery

   Ponies grazing by the Latchmore Brook

   New Forest heath and ponies

   The Beaulieu River at Longwater Lawn
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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