Perhaps it's the diversity of magical vistas that range from ancient woodland to open heathland and stretch out to a 36-mile coastline encompassing mudflats and saltmarslies. Or maybe it's the free-roaming ponies that languidly graze the countryside and wander indolently alongside the roads. Whatever the reason, there's a certain sense of the exotic in the New Forest, and travellers venturing here can't fail to feel a sense of ’getting away from it all’ thanks to the area's unique culture, its laid-back atmosphere and exceptional scenery.
Established as a royal hunting forest by William the Conqueror in 1079 for the pursuit of “the beasts of the chase’, his ownership of the area extended to banning local communities from using the forest to graze livestock, forageThese days, this ancient tradition of ‘commoning’ still exists, and the livestock seen here now may look wild but are actually owned by a community of latter-day commoners.
