New Forest Essentialguide Includes: to the National Park 2016 Maps Events Guide Places to Explore Enjoy Your New Forest Adventure
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TheNew Forest FREE EssentialGuide Includes: to the National Park 2016 Maps Events Guide Places to explore Enjoy your New Forest adventure The New Forest Essential Guide is brought to you by the Forestry Commission and the New Forest National Park Authority. 1 Designed Caring to the New Forest by animals for the forest Whatever your reason for visiting, the New The New Forest National Park covers over Forest offers a wealth of places and activities 200 square miles. About one-third of this is to experience all year round. Whether you known as the Open Forest – the woodland, How to enjoy and care for the heath, boggy area and grassland where fancy an active day or just want to while commoners’ animals graze. New Forest National Park. away a few peaceful hours enjoying its You may find five kinds of humans so it’s best to look but beauty, a visit is one forever remembered. animals roaming free: ponies, don’t touch. Ponies, donkeys, Litter Fungi Ticks & cattle, donkeys, sheep and pigs. You can tell who owns the cattle & pigs Your food and litter could harm the The New Forest is a Site of Special Lyme disease Scientific Interest with over two thousand The Open Forest looks like it ponies as each commoner has a ponies and donkeys. Please take Ticks are small creatures related to spiders, does because their eating and brand, often inherited from their There is plenty of natural food for the varieties of fungi, many of which are rare The New Forest National Park is a world-class The National Park Authority has overall your litter home if bins are full. they can be found in the wooded and trampling keep the habitats in family, which you can see on the grazing animals so please don’t feed them. and internationally-important species. landscape of spectacular beauty, rare responsibility for ensuring that the area is grassy areas throughout the UK. They are good condition. Although they pony’s hip, shoulder or saddle. It’s against the byelaws and human food We appeal to people to look, but don’t wildlife and ancient traditions - thanks to a safeguarded for people to enjoy now and most active from April to October. Ticks bite don’t do it on purpose, it’s as can harm them. Some hand-fed ponies pick. Commercial harvesting is not range of organisations working together. in the future. It does this through its role Each pony tends to stay in one Barbeques to attach to the skin and start to feed on though they’re designing the become aggressive with people who, quite permitted and foray leaders must obtain as the planning authority, through funding area, which we call a haunt. the blood. Make sure you check for ticks at The Forestry Commission manages Forest like an architect designing rightly, keep their picnics to themselves. Disposable BBQs are welcome at a licence. We’re reviewing the guidelines and grants, delivering projects, producing Here it finds all the natural the end of your visit to the Forest, because nearly half of the area, including much of a house or shopping centre. Even stroking ponies is dangerous - they Bolderwood, Blackwater and Wilverley on picking for personal consumption. policy and championing forest issues. food it needs. Giving ponies they can transmit bacteria that cause the best-known open land and forestry may look friendly but they can bite and where stands and water are available. New restrictions will be trialled to lessen There are about 700 or donkeys human food is not diseases, such as Lyme disease. Inspect plantations, on behalf of the Secretary of State kick, especially mares with foals. Raised non-disposable BBQs are allowed the impacts on this very special habitat, commoners who own the good for them and feeding the on the hard-standing areas of our car your skin for ticks, especially areas such as for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Find out more at visit forestry.gov.uk/newforest or call animals which roam free – each animals by hand encourages parks, providing water is available. Fixed your arm pits, the back of your knees and newforestnpa.gov.uk/aboutus. 0300 067 4601 for the latest details. Other significant landowners include the commoner owns or rents land them to develop bad habits. Dogs stand party sized BBQs are available to hair lines, and remove any ticks as soon National Trust, Hampshire County Council, @newforestnpa which gives them the right to let They pester people for food and hire, please call 0300 067 4601. Also, a as possible. Try and wear light-coloured The New Forest is great for dogs but to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife NewForestNationalParkAuthority their animals graze the Forest. some even bite or kick if they barbecue site is available for hire at Lepe clothing, so ticks are easier to spot, and use minimise disturbance to wildlife, livestock Camping Trust and private estates and landowners. The animals are not used to don’t get it! Country Park provided by Hampshire insect repellents. Also, avoid long grass and and other people, please keep your dogs County Council (please book in advance There are ten campsites in the New Forest, stick to the footpaths when out walking. close by you and visible at all times - if 023 8089 9108 or www.hants.gov. run by Camping in the Forest, as well as necessary use a lead. Pick up after your Slow down uk/lepe). Because uncontrolled forest a number of private sites. Please note dog, especially around car parks, on IT’S THE LAW: New Forest Animal fires are a great threat, campfires are that camping in the wild and overnight Driving and be Report all accidents Emergency Hotlines paths and where people play or picnic. parking is not allowed in the New Forest. involving a pony, cow, not allowed in the New Forest without The speed limits on unfenced roads greatly donkey, dog, pig or careful sheep to the Police as the permission of the landowner. reduce the number of accidents involving soon as possible, and animals. Slow down and give walkers, 12 things to spot within 24 hours. Birds Horse riding cyclists, horse-riders and animals a wide To help ground nesting birds rear their Cycling Seeing the Forest from the back of a berth. Be especially careful at night. young safely, keep yourself, dogs and Do enjoy the extensive network of off-road horse is an excellent way to explore ridden horses on the main tracks from the the area. Horse riders have open beginning of March to the end of July. routes, but keep to the waymarked tracks during the year and other designated routes. When access to the New Forest, but please Parking use tracks when the ground is wet. approaching people and animals call out Please park only in designated car parks, a warning and pass slowly and wide. Try not on a verge or in gateways. Lock your There is always something to see in the Explore the ground beneath your feet, look up to leave gaps for overtaking vehicles and car, taking any valuables with you and leave New Forest, whether your visit is on a warm into the tree canopy or across the heathland of never ride more than two abreast. Keep Forestry Commission car parks by dusk. summer’s day or in the fading light of a crisp the open forest – if you look carefully enough, to a safe speed, wear bright colours to be winter’s afternoon. you should be able to enjoy some of the sights visible and always use lights in the dark. on this page! As part of its Love the Forest Pearl-bordered Dragonfly Bluebell campaign, local conservation fritillary butterfly Acorns Grass snake Fallow deer charity, the New Forest Trust is asking couples getting married in the New Forest for their support. Donations to Love the Forest support the protection and improvement of the unique New Forest landscape, flora and fauna and the traditional forest way of life. New Forest foal Fungi Holly berries Buzzard Heath spotted Wood-sorrel Couples can support Love the Forest by asking orchid their wedding guests to make donations via the charity’s giving pages, instead of – or as well, traditional wedding gifts – and they can also buy Love the Forest branded wedding favours. More information can be found at newforesttrust.org.uk/weddings 2 3 The working forest See the best of the forest Discover more of the New Forest National Park – and make a real day of it. Ride open-top through the tree tops on the New Forest Tour, head to the seaside on the Beach Bus, or meet the friendly Travel Concierge for tips on the best places to go. TIMBER!The forestry industry in the New Forest dates back to the first inclosure in 1483. The timber produced in the Explore more on the forest was of national value throughout the subsequent New Forest Tour Ride the Beach Bus centuries in shipbuilding for the Royal Navy. The New Forest Tour is the perfect way for visitors to see more, explore more and Meet the Travel Hop on the Beach Bus to discover the hidden Timber production is now centred on the local keepers (wildlife rangers) and enjoy more of the New Forest National Park Concierge gems of the coast and countryside this summer. the nearly 9,000 hectares, which are recreation rangers on any conservation and enjoy views of free roaming ponies, Make the most of the coast and head to Lepe enclosed from grazing animals.