FREE The New Essential Guide to the National Park 2021

Maps Events guide Places to explore Walking & cycling

The Essential Guide is brought to you by: Front cover image by Nick Whittle New Forest commoners

One of the first things you notice here in the New Forest are the free-roaming animals. The ponies, cattle, pigs, donkeys and, in certain areas, sheep graze and forage on unfenced open areas. These animals are owned by local families using their commoning rights.

The members of these families have helped shaped the landscape riders have always are called ‘commoners’ – ordinary for centuries. This traditional enjoyed open access in the New people with an extraordinary practice of commoning is vital in Forest, which has lots of suitable commitment to this special place. supporting our rare habitats which tracks. When leaving Forestry They have commoning rights from are a world capital for wildlife. land, remember to use land they own, rent or share that bridleways. On private land riders allows them to graze their animals must keep to the bridleways. on the Open Forest. All year round These are shown on the commoners have to tend to their Ordnance Survey maps and are Welcome livestock, so you might see them, The New Forest National Park is a spectacular, yet fragile usually indicated by fingerposts with trailers, rounding up their and/or blue arrows or dots. landscape made up of a unique mix of forest and open ponies, or checking on their cows. It’s all part of the New Forest’s long heathland that’s a haven for rare wildlife species - with a range history as a working forest. of organisations working together to care for this special place. The iconic New Forest ponies are the real architects of the Forest and Forestry England looks after as possible, and by buying from 1,500 of the nation’s woods local food producers. forestryengland.uk/newforest and , including much of engnewforest The Forest is a special place that the best-known open land and Sadly, many ponies and other 2. Please don’t feed the animals. can be enjoyed all year round, newforestnpa.gov.uk productive woodlands in the New livestock are killed or injured It is vital that they graze naturally, but please help us look after it by Forest. It works closely with other newforestnpa on the roads of the New Forest both for their own survival all year following the New Forest Code. organisations in the area including each year. Every animal killed is round and for the benefits County Council, the a great loss to the Forest, and to brings to the landscape. Hampshire and its owner, so if you enjoy seeing 3. Please don’t leave water out Wildlife Trust, the , the animals in the National Park for the animals at any time of the Council and then please help us protect them year. There is always natural water the New Forest . through some simple actions: How to report a problem available, and it is important for As guardians of the National Park with a Forest animal 1. Please #keepyourdistance from the Forest that the grazing shifts the New Forest National Park Road traffic accident involving the animals. However tame they naturallyThe area according in which to the a weather. Authority ensures this outstanding may appear they are unpredictable, a pony, cow, pig, sheep or 4.pony Please lives help reduceis known animal landscape has the highest level and can bite and kick. Take donkey call: 999 accidents by driving with extra care, of protection to preserve it for the particular care around ponies and as its haunt. particularly in poor visibility. Just nation to enjoy for generations Sick, injured or dead pony, cattle with young, especially if you The ponies move around their #add3minutes to your journey to come. cow, pig, sheep or donkey call: have a dog with you. haunt according to the seasons across the New Forest to keep 02380 282 050 (office hours) and weather. In the summer You can help nature and reduce yourself and the commoners’ 0300 067 4600 (after hours). ponies often go to shade under your carbon footprint on your visit animals safe newforestnpa.gov. the same trees each day, by walking, cycling and using the Please see: newforestnpa. uk/add3minutes. commoners have names for as much gov.uk/report-a-problem for more information each of these ‘shades’ and will search them out when looking Please #BeForestFriendly for their ponies. and follow the New Forest Code

2 3 FREE Walking pack Subscribe to our Walking email newsletter at newforestnpa.gov.uk Free walking and receive a free online walking pack of routes and in the routes app ranger tips. There’s an easy way for New Forest you to follow the best walking routes in the New Forest this year – the National Park’s Follow our waymarked walks and trails... walking routes app. The following trails are marked on the ground by wooden marker posts Available for Android and iPhone, with coloured bands. An overview map of each route is displayed at the the app features 27 walking routes of various lengths from coastal start point in the car park. All routes are circular and will bring you back to strolls to woodland walks. your starting point. The numbers refer to map locations on centre pages. It makes following the routes easier 2 6 3 than ever, with GPS navigation From Bolderwood car park From Blackwater or Reptile Centre car park: allowing you to see your location Watch Trail Brockhill car parks: Reptile Trail at all times. This removes the need 0.75km/0.5 miles Tall Trees Trail 2km/1.5 miles to read a map or decipher written A short stroll leading you to a 2.5km/1.5 miles Enjoy a circular walk through the directions, making it perfect for the deer-viewing platform overlooking Follow the marker posts and you woods. The trail mainly follows a casual walker. fields where wild herds of fallow will be guided along a shady path fairly smooth, gravelled surface. deer are frequently seen. The beneath mighty Douglas firs and Learn more about Each route on the app also features 8 Wilverley car parks: No smartphone? path is a moderately smooth, redwoods that were planted the special qualities points of interest, where you can gravelled surface with gentle during the reign of Queen Victoria. Wilverley Wander of the New Forest find out interesting history or No problem! slopes and benches along the The path has a fairly smooth, 4.2km/2.5 miles while enjoying a nature facts along the way. All walks are available to way. The trail is accessed by a gravelled surface. The trail is flat A longer and more informal trail Download for free at download and print at which winds through this diverse healthy stroll. gate which has a low catch. with frequent resting places and newforestnpa.gov.uk/walksapp newforestnpa.gov.uk/routes no gates. and working woodland. The paths Jubilee Grove Trail are moderately smooth, gravelled 1.5km/1 mile Blackwater Arboretum Trail surfaces with some short, steep Including the deer fields, this 0.75km/0.5 miles slopes. Please note that part of this Learn more about the meandering route leads you past A circular route which leads you trail is on a cycle route. some majestic trees, the oldest past tree species from around the Walking wildlife, history and of which date back to 1860. world. By following the unique 5 Knightwood car park: culture of the New Benches from which to admire panels you can use your senses Knightwood

and Cycling Cotswold Farm Park Forest during this their beauty can be found along to discover the secrets that these Less than 0.25 miles Cheltenham Gloucester the way. The path is a moderately trees hold. Benches are located A short stroll to one of the most Cirencester Gloucestershire popular festival. smooth, gravelled surface with two along the walk. The path has a famous trees in the New Forest. Festival Hoburne As well as dozens of guided short ‘but fairly steep’ slopes and fairly smooth, gravelled surface Believed to have been planted Blue Anchor Bristol Hoburne Bristol Cotswold Bath walks led by knowledgeable local Channel frequent resting places. The trail with one very gentle slope. before 1600, this tree is still Ilfracombe Adventure Weston-super-Mare Centre 2021 Woolacombe Minehead West Cheddar experts, this year there’ll also is accessed via a gate which has going strong and is a spectacular Somerset Dunster Gorge Railway Castle Wells Barnstaple Glastonbury 7 From Whitefield Moor or National Park be guided rides to encourage a low catch. example of the ancient practice of North Puttles Bridge car parks: Somerset Downs responsible cycling in the approved pollarding. Benches are located Hoburne Holiday Park for the sale of leisure homes St Mabyn www.approvedholidayparks.co.uk Hoburne Hampshire Radnor Trail Okehampton Ober Water Trails Bashley National Park. Themes typically throughout. The path has a fairly Blackdown Cranborne 3km/2 miles Tintagel Hills Chase Port Isaac New Forest Marwell include birdwatching, fungi 1.5km/1 mile (red trail) Polzeath Zoo Moors Valley National smooth, gravelled surface. Exeter East Park Padstow National Park Country Park Devon Lyme Regis A longer route which takes you Bodmin National Park West Bay 2.5km/1.5miles (yellow trail) Moor Beaulieu spotting, hidden histories, bark Motor Museum Exmouth Monkey Newquay World Newquay Portsmouth Abbotsbury into the heart of the Forest and Zoo Tamar Isle of Eden ranger walks for pooches and Two circular routes follow the Purbeck Valley Project Torquay Weymouth Dart Valley Railway Studland St Austell Lulworth Looe The Roseland Fowey Paignton Cove Miles of waymarked St Ives Plymouth Dartmoor across the Bratley Water stream. Heritage Coast Totnes Ober Water midway between its Zoo Hoburne woodland wild play events for Penwith Heritage Coast Hoburne Naish Penzance South Dartmouth Benches and picnic benches are Falmouth Hoburne Devon Park source and the sea. Close to this trails to explore! Land’s End Featured holiday home ABI Ambleside children. The Festival, which Doublebois

located along the trail. The path meandering stream is the open Hoburne will return from 16 October to Devon Bay is a moderately smooth, gravelled grassy expanse of Whitefield Moor. Welcome to your family’s special holiday place 7 November 2021, is sponsored surface with two short ‘but fairly The paths are moderately smooth, Imagine being able to get away and make special family holiday memories by Hoburne Holidays, one of any time you want – all year round! When you’ve got your very own safe steep’ slopes and frequent resting gravelled surfaces and compacted holiday place, it’s so easy. Hoburne has brand new luxury holiday homes the south’s largest and most places. The trail is accessed via a grassy ground with some gentle ready for 2021 to choose from, in and around the New Forest. successful family-owned tourism gate which has a low catch. slopes and a few resting places. To find more about holiday home ownership, visit businesses with three wonderful This trail can be muddy after hoburne.com/ownership family holiday parks local to the wet weather. Hoburne Limited. Registered Office: 10 Hoburne Lane, Christchurch, New Forest. newforest.gov.uk/ Holiday Home Ownership Dorset, England. BH23 4HP. Company Number: 1102096. walkingfestival 4 5 Thank you for helping us to protect Are you the New Forest’s Forest habitats from the damaging impacts of parking along ready plant life road verges. to ride?

The New Forest is home to many wild plants and flowers that provide Explore the National Park by bike with over food and nectar for insects. If you tread carefully through the Forest in 100 miles of family-friendly cycle routes. spring and summer you’ll find it’s bursting with colourful wildflowers, The off-road routes are marked Visit: newforestnpa.gov.uk/ Adventure including foxgloves, asphodel, wild gladioli, different species with numbered wooden posts. routes for all the best trails. You can navigate your way of orchids and many more flowers. Remember that these flowers Please follow both the cycling around the tracks by referencing Highway Code and the are protected by law and should be left for everyone to enjoy. these numbers to our cycle trail New Forest Cycling Code: For more adventurous cyclists, map or following the Ordnance newforestnpa.gov.uk/cycling there are purpose-built mountain Survey grid references also on bike skills circuits at Moors Valley You’d be forgiven for not noticing the Forest The common dog violet (Viola riviniana) the markers. Country Park, . Here edges as you drive through the landscape. The network is easily accessible Off-road cycling is you will find a network of forest They often look like muddy or grassy areas from railway stations at Ashurst, only allowed on the road graded trails, as well as blue that simply link the Forest to the road. In and Sway and links waymarked routes. ! graded single track. A cycle map is fact, these verges are incredibly important the main New Forest villages. It’s important that cyclists stick available from the visitor habitats supporting many different plant to marked trails all year round. centre on-site. species such as chamomile, harebell, small fleabane, field gentian and pennyroyal. We urge drivers not to park on the verges of the Forest, as this can really damage the Forest as the vegetation gets worn away, Cycle code tree roots become exposed and the ground impacted. Over time, this starts to reduce and map the footprint of the Forest, gradually eroding Thrives in sunny sites and like other small plants Grab a cycle trail map before and reducing it. that grow in the woodland areas, are helped heading out on your adventure. by hungry ponies grazing on the competing It shows both off-road and road- vegetation. This means that the violet can based cycle networks across the bloom and set seed, which is good news for the New Forest, plus details of bike rare pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly whose hire outlets. caterpillar feeds only on the leaves of violets. Available to pick up at outlets across the New Forest National £1 Park, including local information points. only Early purple orchid/bell heather/bog asphodel

6 7 See the best The sign of true of the Forest local produce View the New Forest National Park from a different perspective this summer. Experience the best views of the Forest on the open-top New Forest Tour and hop on and off where you like. Where to stay? Look out for For more information on the New Forest where to stay, what to see Marque on: and do in the New Forest visit: thenewforest.co.uk • Forest-reared meat When you’re in the New throughout the year. There • Local cheeses are campsites, self-catering • Seasonal fruit and veg Forest, look out for the establishments, family-run bed New Forest Marque & breakfasts, boutique guest • Beer, cider, gin, wine houses and larger hotels all and soft drinks which is the sign of proud to support local produce. • Cakes, pastries, pies true local produce. Many retail outlets stock fantastic and other sweet and savoury treats Everything you see with the local eats, drinks and treats distinctive blue logo has so you can take a taste of the • Jams and chutneys been grown, brewed, reared, New Forest home with you or • Artisan-produced soaps produced, or made right enjoy it during your stay. and skincare products here in the New Forest. Not forgetting beautiful arts • Bespoke hampers Not only will you be getting and crafts such as photography, fantastic local produce, but you’ll textiles and paintings inspired • Woodcrafts be supporting local businesses by the New Forest, as well • Paintings and photography and ensuring New Forest as woodcrafts using local New Forest Tour traditions continue to thrive. sustainable timber. • Handcrafted gifts, jewellery and knitted goods You’ll find the stamp of approval on There are also no less than five The New Forest Tour gives The perks don’t stop there, as you By donating to the New Forest cosy , quaint tea rooms, and vineyards in the New Forest, • Accommodation you the best views of the can enjoy a free ferry ride from Trust, you’re supporting high-end restaurants – all offering as well as beer brewers, cider and food outlets New Forest National Park Southampton to Hythe, as well conservation, education and a selection of menus bursting makers and gin distillers. commoning projects to help secure and is the perfect excuse to as great discounts at attractions with locally-sourced ingredients. There’s so much to choose from! leave your car at home. including , the future of the New Forest. Looking for a place to stay? All Visit newforestmarque.co.uk Ringwood Brewery and Beaulieu The Tour offers unrivalled treetop You can do this by choosing the New Forest Marque members to see the fantastic array National Motor Museum. views of free-roaming ponies, restaurants and hotels which look forward to welcoming you of produce on offer. ancient forests and picturesque The Tour runs hourly seven days support the charity; through local villages. There are three beautiful a week in peak season. donation boxes; or by donating routes to choose from: red, green See thenewforesttour.info online at: newforesttrust.org. and blue – and you can hop on for dates and times. Take a look uk/donate and off where you like and switch at the map on the centre pages Shop local routes – all on the same ticket. of this guide for routes. Well-behaved dogs are welcome Eat local and you can even bring your bikes Tour information (carried free). Listen to audio thenewforesttour.info commentary that brings the history Stay local and characters of the New Forest newforesttour to life. Give local Enjoy local

newforestmarque.co.uk @NewForestMarque

8 9 The New Forest’s free tap Local water refill service, across the Forest. Download the Refill app, Information Discover the bring your own water bottle, Points Whiteparish look out for the window stickers and get a free tap water refill. Bashley refill.org.uk Hoburne Bashley New Forest Holiday Park Downton Beaulieu New Moors Valley Country Park Forest Activities Booking Centre and Forest is close by Redlynch Eastleigh Brockenhurst Explore waymarked Treetop Adventure+ R Cyclexperience footpaths and cycle and Forest Segway all ive r R B

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Lepe newforest 10 Not to scale: This map is a representation of the New Forest National Park area and is not intended to 11 Isle of Wightbe used as a sole means of navigation. Please consult relevant Ordnance Survey maps or visitor guides. Coral necklace Meet your New Forest Coral necklace is a rare flowering plant with long trailing red stems and clusters of white flowers resembling Rangers beads threaded along a necklace. It can only be found in a few areas of the UK including here in the New Forest. Both Forestry England and the employ rangers, who you’ll often meet out and about in the New Forest. Pillwort Here, you’ll meet some of the team as they answer some of the most commonly asked questions by visitors to the New Forest.

Can walking in the New Forest improve my mood? Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, The New Forest is one lose weight and become healthier. Walking also does wonders for your mental health by reducing stress, reducing anxiety and releasing Pillwort is a small creeping fern with endorphins. If you join a walking group like Walking For Health or the of the most important grass-like leaves. In decline across Ramblers then you can socialise and meet some new friends along Western Europe and lost from nearly the way. Download our free New Forest Walking App and see what half of its known locations in the UK, amazing walks await you. freshwater and coastal it is widespread in the New Forest Adam Vasey, New Forest National Park Authority Access Ranger making it one of the most important landscapes in the UK. populations in Europe. Can we stroke and feed the New Forest Ponies? The New Forest is famous for the ponies who roam freely here but There are over a dozen individual rivers, Great crested many people don’t understand that they are semi-wild and find all of newt the food they need on the Forest. Feeding them foods they do not eat streams and their tributaries flowing through naturally, even fresh vegetables or fruit (like apples and pumpkins) the Forest on their way out to , can make them really unwell and it also encourages them to come Southampton Water and River Avon. too close to people and roads. To keep them, and yourselves, safe please keep your distance and avoid feeding or petting them. Across the Forest there are Pond. This small, shallow lake is Amy Howells, Forestry England Ranger also several lakes, hundreds of the most wildlife rich of its kind Ponds in the New Forest are home to ponds and a network of remaining in lowland England, How can I help protect the coastline? great crested newts, the UK’s largest that hold and store water. These and home to almost 90% of the newt species with adults growing up to We’ve seen greater numbers of people from all walks of life being boggy areas, or mires as they are rarest wetland plants in the UK. 17cms long. Known as warty newts or drawn to the coastline for a sense of space, freedom and an escape. known, are some of the last left Unfortunately, this special place little dinosaurs due to their distinctive However, many coastal habitats are fragile and easily damaged while in Europe. In fact, 75% of areas is now under threat from over- crest, they are a protected and priority wildlife can be frequently disturbed by us and our dogs. It’s important like this left in North West Europe use and pollution. An action species across Europe. to check where you can walk, swim, canoe, or launch a boat before are here in the New Forest. plan is in place to restore the you go. Please also take your litter home to dispose of responsibly. The incredible plants and animals pond and visitors are being Medicinal leech Gillie Molland, New Forest National Park Authority Lead Ranger that live at the heart of the asked to play their part in this. New Forest are all dependant To help protect streams and Is there a fire risk in the New Forest? on these different sources of ponds in the New Forest please Fire is a major risk in the New Forest and is increasing each year, fresh, clean water for food, remember swimming and water as we experience hotter and drier conditions, as a result of climate shelter and as places to breed. sports are strictly prohibited and change. Wildfires can be devastating and quickly destroy huge These waterways also play a are much more suited to nearby amounts of forest and wildlife. A fire can so easily be started from fundamental role in addressing beaches in the local area. We a single spark, a careless action that could take many decades for climate change by storing carbon also ask that dogs are kept out The mighty medicinal leech is found nature to recover. We ask everyone visiting to help us reduce the risk and preventing flooding for of the water to avoid disturbing in just five water bodies in the New of a wildfire by not using BBQs, campfires or fire of any kind on the communities further downstream. wildlife, stirring up damaging Forest. The largest of all leeches it Forest during their visit. One of the most notable and chemicals in the sediment, and can grow up to 20cms long. It uses its Martin Rea, Forestry England Seasonal Ranger well-known stretches of water carrying material into the water three jaws and 100 teeth to feed on in the New Forest is Hatchet with may cause pollution. amphibians and the occasional snack on a ! Forestry England rangers New Forest National Park Authority rangers 0300 067 4601/[email protected] 01590 646 600/[email protected] Forestry England, The Queen’s House, Lyndhurst, New Forest National Park Authority, Lymington Hampshire, SO43 7NH Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington SO41 9ZG

12 13 Goshawk An important place for wildlife Goshawks These large hawks nest in the canopy of some of the Forest’s Known as the ‘phantoms of tallest trees and often return to the forest’, goshawks are one the same nest several years in a of the most elusive birds of row. Their wings are tailor made prey. Once on the brink of for skilfully and silently flying extinction nationally, they are a through the woodland. They can real conservation success in the be identified by the white feathers New Forest. With support from with horizontal grey stripes on Forestry England Wildlife Rangers their fronts and darker grey their population has grown from feathers on their backs and wings. just two in 2002 to around 40 pairs of these amazing birds living and breeding here today. You can still find creatures here long since lost from many other parts of the UK and Europe. This is just one of the reasons why the New Forest has the highest possible conservation status and protections available. Adder Sand lizard Dragonflies and damselflies The New Forest is home to 75% From rare birds on the brink of extinction travelling here of all the species of dragonflies from Africa to breed, to Britain’s largest mammal the red and damselflies, including the deer, calling it home, and all of the UK’s native reptiles - extremely rare southern damselfly only found in the New Forest and the New Forest is truly a haven for wildlife. three other areas of the UK. Other species to look out for include the emperor dragonfly and the golden- ringed damselfly. The network of freshwater ponds, streams and boggy areas across the New Forest Curlew Ground nesting birds Disturbing them can highlight the location of the nests and cause are essential breeding grounds The New Forest is a Special Reptiles As the weather improves the the parents to flee exposing their for these beautiful creatures. Protection Area for birds, and one UK’s only venomous snake eggs and chicks to predators. The Forest is home to all six UK of the last places in the UK where can sometimes be spotted native reptiles: sand lizards, rare and endangered species Their nesting season runs from basking in the sun to warm adders, slow worms, grass Damselfly including the nightjar, woodlark, March through to the end up. A protected species, the snakes, smooth snakes, Dartford warbler, and the curlew of summer. During this time adder can be easily identified and common lizards. – now globally threatened with please help us protect them by by the distinctive zig zag pattern extinction, come to breed. staying on the main tracks and Sand lizards have been declining along its back and can reach ensuring dogs do the same, across the UK and are now one lengths of around 80cms. These birds rely on the open, using a lead where necessary to of its rarest reptiles - only found damp heathland and boggy avoid them disturbing nests on in a handful of places across areas of the forest. Nesting the open areas of the Forest. the country. The New Forest is a not in trees but on the ground, stronghold for this species and they are extremely vulnerable. an important breeding ground.

14 15 Red stag Deer First introduced for Royal hunting parties in medieval times, New Forest today there are around 3,000 deer roaming freely across the Forest. The five species found here are fallow, sika, muntjac and the only two species native woodlands to Britain – roe and red. As Britain’s largest mammal the male can reach a height New Forest woodlands have impressive of 140cms and weigh as much as 190kgs! Their numbers have displays of vibrant autumn colours. declined over the centuries, but Enjoy a walk in the woods and see what reintroductions have ensured the future of the herds. different types of fungi you can spot. The Forest is a great place to see This is a wonderful place to see fungi, the New Forest deer in their natural environment, is a stronghold for many rare and endangered species, New Forest pigs and even some still being discovered that are new but it is important to remember Livestock that they are wild animals and to science. Fungi are essential to the New Forest’s should be treated with respect. There are of course some other ecosystem and ‘web of life’ – which is why we ask you This is particularly the case very famous animals here in the not to pick fungi from this special place. New Forest…the ponies, cattle, during rutting season in the Besides being essential rotters and recyclers, they donkeys, pigs, and sheep who autumn when stags are fighting provide food for some animals and are vital to many roam across the landscape. Every for territory, and in the spring insects, to enable them to complete their life cycles. one of these animals is owned by and summer when mothers Also, fungi are great to just admire and they are a commoner, people who exercise are with their newly born marvellously photogenic too. young. Throughout the year rights from their land to graze please do not allow dogs to animals on the open forest. They chase or get close to deer. are not pets and their behaviour can be unpredictable so please give them space and do not feed or touch them. Fungi facts

1. Fungi cannot make their own food using energy Porcelain What’s on? from sunlight, but grow by absorbing food and water from their surroundings – 2021 most importantly from living and dead plants, and animals. 2. Many fungi live on the roots of trees and other plants. This is known as a mycorrhizal Chanterelle mushrooms association (from the Greek ‘myco’, meaning fungus, and ‘rhiza’, root). The fungi Look but help the plant take up more nutrients by increasing the effective surface area of please If you’re looking for ideas to the roots and in turn take help you make the most of sugars from the plant. Stinkhorn fungus don’t pick your visit, then go online and 3. Woodland fungi such as types of amanita, boletus, lactarius check out these events pages: and russula will only grow with newforestnpa.gov.uk/events certain trees (a helpful guide when identifying the fungi). forestryengland.uk/new-forest It may surprise you to know newforestheritage.org.uk/events/ that many trees grow less well without fungi supporting them. Turkey tail fungus 16 17 Visit the New Forest Heritage Centre Trees help us to breathe, they’re home to More a wonderful variety of wildlife and they supply home-grown timber for the nation. We love trees, they have a key role to play in addressing climate change, but of course than planting them is only really a first step. All trees need to be looked after to ensure trees they can reach maturity.

Open daily • Dog friendly Here in the New Forest, Forestry it’s hard to appreciate their value. Free entry, donations welcome England’s local teams tend to the In fact, our wet heathland stores With our New Forest museum, family fun tree, special exhibition young trees planted inside the carbon, reduces the impacts of gallery and reference library - there’s something for everyone! inclosures, stopping them from floods, provides cleaner water becoming overgrown, ensuring and habitat for wildlife. If we they get the right amount of light, don’t protect these heathland and guarding them against damage areas as well, we will not only newforestheritage.org.uk from deer, rabbits and other lose these remnant habitats nfheritage newforestheritage newforestheritage animals. from our landscapes, but also the nature they support. As our climate changes, the trees in our forests must be fit for the Over many centuries some of Farmyard FOR DELICIOUS future and we are actively taking these open habitats have become FUN FOR LOCAL PRODUCE part in research to learn how to naturally colonised with trees. If Everyone VISIT OUR best help them to adapt. Our we are to protect these precious FARM SHOP work doesn’t stop there, ensuring open habitats and their unique healthy and resilient forests is wildlife, there will be times when about much, much more than just trees that have encroached onto trees. It also means we must work heathland need to be removed. In Open DAILY hard to look after the wider nature other areas we are encouraging A farm-tastic day for the whole family to and critical habitats they support. greater number of trees and enjoy, with a full schedule of animal activities helping them become fit for a which run throughout the day. Here in the New Forest, we Farm produce shop and gift shop. future climate. It’s very much about have a unique landscape and Tel. 023 8029 2837 the right tree in the right place. mixture of habitats that are For LATEST UPDATES VISIT: www.longdownfarm.co.uk simply not found anywhere else Only in this way can we truly on this scale. An incredible 75% support a healthy forest that FULLY COMPLIANT With Covid-19 Safety Measures of lowland heaths left in North can thrive long into the future Western Europe are here in this and help us all address the one small corner of the UK. challenges of a changing climate. These open areas of the Forest often look bare and on first glance

18 To advertise in the 2022 edition of the New Forest Essential Guide, please call Media 3 on 023 9235 1920 or email [email protected] 19 Caring for the Forest

Ponies, donkeys, Cycling Ticks cattle, pigs & sheep Cycling is allowed only on Check your children, dog and For their safety and your own please the waymarked tracks and other yourself for ticks when you get back leave the animals alone – although designated routes. When approaching – they can lead to . owned and cared for by local people and animals, please call out people called commoners, they are a warning and pass slowly and wide. Driving unpredictable and best treated as wild. Try to leave gaps for overtaking Please don’t feed or pet them; there vehicles and never ride more than The speed limits on unfenced is plenty of natural food and it’s best two abreast. Keep to a safe speed, roads greatly reduce the number that they don’t come to rely on people’s wear bright colours to be visible of accidents involving animals. attention. They may look friendly but and always use lights in the dark. Slow down and give walkers, cyclists, they can bite and kick, especially horse-riders and animals a wide berth. Be especially careful at night. ponies with foals. Fungi Please leave fungi for other Parking Dogs people to enjoy. Fungi are essential The New Forest is great for dogs to the New Forest’s internationally Please park only in designated but to minimise disturbance to wildlife, protected ecosystem. Foray leaders car parks, not on a verge or in livestock and other people, please keep must apply for permission for gateways. Lock your car, taking your dogs close by you and visible at all educational excursions from Forestry any valuables with you and leave times – if necessary use a lead. Pick up England in advance. If you suspect Forestry England car parks by dusk. after your dog, especially around car or see commercial picking please call parks, on paths and where people Forestry England on 0300 067 4600. Unidentified objects play or picnic. Areas of the New Forest were Camping used to test bombs in World War I Birds Only use designated campsites and II. Please keep away from objects To help ground-nesting birds with proper facilities. No overnight that might be dangerous and notify rear their young safely, keep yourself, parking is allowed in the car parks the police immediately on 999. dogs and on the main tracks and wild camping is not permitted from the beginning of March to the in the New Forest. Litter left behind Working forest end of July. in the Forest, like glass bottles Stay safe by obeying warning and plastic containers can cause signs and keeping away from work Litter real harm to local wildlife. And sites and vehicles. the human waste left by campers Your food and litter could harm isn’t good for the Forest either. the ponies and donkeys. Please take your litter home if bins are full. Horse riding Horse riders have open access Barbecues & fires to the New Forest, but to reduce damage to the ground please To reduce the risk of wildfires use tracks when it’s wet. damaging the forest, no campfires, Forestry England rangers BBQs or stoves are allowed. 0300 067 4601/[email protected] Forestry England, The Queen’s House, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7NH The New Forest Essential Guide New Forest National Park Authority rangers is a joint publication with Forestry 01590 646 600/[email protected] England and the New Forest New Forest National Park Authority, Lymington Town Hall, Avenue Road, newforestnpa.gov.uk/NFcode National Park Authority. Lymington SO41 9ZG