The New Forest

Today I will tell you a little about the New Forest.
The New Forest is an area on the south coast of England.William the Conqueror created a park for hunting deer in the 11th Century, so the Forest is not New! It isn't really a forest either as there are large areas of heath and moorland where very few trees are able to grow.So it is a mixture of forest and heath and bog.
On March 1st 2005 The New Forest was made into a National Park and hopefully more will be done to protect this beautiful area for future generations.The Forest has its own traditions and customs and hopefully these will not be lost.The Forest is gradually being returned to its former state and the imported pine trees( and shrubs that have seeded themselves from neighbouring gardens) are being removed.
The ponies in the forest, whilst running semi wild belong to the commoners. The commoners have certain rights in the forest allowing them to graze their ponies and cattle and their interests are looked after by the agisters and verderers.
It is no longer profitable to be a commoner and they need help to keep their animals on the forest. It is the ponies that landscape much of the forest.
The Forest is also home to several species of deer. We have our native Red and Roe deer. When William created the forest he imported the Fallow deer. More recently Sika deer and Muntjacs have escaped from private estates.