The light was failing in the woods as I plodded up the valley at the end of a long day’s walking. At dusk, these ancient woodlands cling tight, and the trees huddle round for the night. A little tired, I sat down to rest on a fallen log: a deer scuttered off through the trees and the woods fell silent.

A short time later, I broke clear of the trees and stepped out onto a wide heath in the last of the evening sunshine. It was as if some unseen film director had changed the location and turned up the lights. My mood lifted, and I covered the final mile with new enthusiasm.

A place apart
Arriving in the New Forest can give you a similar sensation: the place looks and feels so very different from the surrounding countryside that it’s almost like going abroad.

That’s not just an illusion. You’ll find around a tenth of all the world’s lowland heaths in southern England – and of these, the New Forest’s huge purple vistas are by far the largest and most important. Besides the heath, some 30,000 acres of woodland help the New Forest to live up to its name. Many of these woods have changed little since the end of the last Ice Age, and they are still managed for their wildlife and amenity value.

These are just some of the qualities that led to the designation of the New Forest National Park in 2005. The National Park Authority now has overall responsibility for planning, wildlife conservation and recreation within the Forest, but will work closely with the people and organisations that have made the Forest what it is today.

Origins
The English are funny about history. We still speak of New College, Oxford more than six centuries after it was founded – and the New Forest is a good deal older than that. The Saxon kings were already hunting in this part of Hampshire before the Norman Conquest. But in 1079, William I designated the New Forest as a Royal hunting park, and introduced strict forest laws.

On pain of death, individual peasants were forbidden to enclose their crops, take timber for building, or catch game for their tables. Nevertheless, William granted them a number of rights that were held jointly (or in common). These people became known as ‘commoners’; they could gather firewood or cut turf for fuel, and they were also allowed to pasture their animals on the open forest. This ancient system of ‘commoning’ created the New Forest’s characteristic landscape, and today's commoners still exercise similar rights. Over 5,000 of their grazing ponies and cattle help to maintain the familiar heathland clearings.

The Forest at war
Over the centuries, the Crown's interest in the Forest turned from the sporting to the strategic. Large areas of woodland were 'inclosed' to provide timber for Royal Navy ships, many of which were built at Buckler’s Hard on the nearby Beaulieu River. More recently, military airfields sprang up during the two World Wars. There was a bombing range at Ashley Walk, and Mulberry Harbours were constructed on the coast near Lepe in readiness for the Normandy landings in 1944.

Leisure
Today the pendulum has swung back, and up to twenty-five million people now use the New Forest every year for leisure and recreation. Walkers and cyclists can enjoy more than 100 miles (161km) of well-maintained off-road tracks, and there are plenty of places to stop for a cream tea, or a leisurely lunch in one of the Forest’s traditional inns.

Walking also mixes well with more formal attractions. Some of the routes in this book start from pretty country towns, passing close to places like Beaulieu Abbey, and the St Barbe Museum at Lymington.

Wildlife
The New Forest’s woods and heaths, together with its significant areas of bog, are internationally important for wildlife. For instance, the New Forest is a significant stronghold for the attractive little Dartford warbler, which is limited to lowland heaths, and the delicate wild gladiolus occurs nowhere else in Britain.

All six British reptile species are found on the heath, including harmless lizards and snakes. Adders live here too, their distinctive dark brown zig-zag markings setting them apart as Britain’s only poisonous snakes. But don’t let them put you off your walk: adders rarely attack humans, and you’re far more likely to be killed by a bee or a wasp sting.

Of course, you’ll see plenty of the New Forest’s famous ponies on most of your walks. Dogs can be a potential problem near grazing animals, but they also pose a threat to birds that nest on the ground or in low scrub. Please keep your dog under close control to avoid disturbing them, especially during the nesting season from March to July.

Setting off
Except on the major roads, there’s a maximum speed limit of 40mph throughout the New Forest. Do please drive safely within the limit – many ponies and other animals are killed every year as they wander in front of speeding cars. Incidentally, despite their placid appearance ponies can be aggressive, so it’s wisest to watch them from a safe distance.

Most of the walks in this book offer easy route finding, and some even have good, all-weather surfaces. But you’ll also find a few references to busy road crossings, as well as indistinct forest paths and trackless heaths, where you’ll need good weather and a degree of care. On these routes, a small GPS receiver can help you to make the most of the information in these pages.

It’s also worth taking a pair of binoculars and a good field guide with you on your walks. The route descriptions highlight particular things to look out for, and you’ll be surprised at how many different plants, animals and insects you can spot.

I had a wonderful time preparing these routes. If you get half as much pleasure from them as I did, then I can promise you some pretty enjoyable days out in the New Forest.

© David Foster 2009

what readers say ...

"Having read a few books on walks in the New Forest this is the easiest to follow and probably most comprehensive I have found to date."
Peter R Parks
Amazon reviewer