Queen of the Forest

I've just got back from a wonderful trip to the New Forest and the South Coast of England. The New Forest is a very special place – peaceful, magical and full of history. The forest itself was established by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of 1066 as a "new" hunting ground. Hence the title "New Forest" even though it is almost 1000 years old!

Yesterday we went to see the Knightwood Oak, the oldest surviving tree in the Forest. It is thought to be over 600 years old, making it already over 100 years old when Henry VIII rode past it on one of his hunting expeditions! I found that pretty mind-boggling! The tree is over 7 metres in girth at the base and is known as the Queen of the Forest. Mind you, I am happy to say that the Knightwood Oak is a mere youngster compared with the oldest tree in Ashdown Woods. Our oak tree dates from about 1200 when the hunting chase was originally established.

There are five species of deer living the New Forest – red and roe deer that are native to the UK, fallow deer that were introduced by the Normans after 1066 because they were considered to be the best deer for the chase, and Japanese Sika Deer and Muntjac which are escapees from private collections. Yesterday we saw some beautiful fallow deer as well as the famous New Forest wild ponies grazing in the glades. There was a time when the population of deer in the Forest came close to extinction; during the 18th century the demand for ships of the navy required a great deal of oak and it was thought that the deer grazing damaged the trees. The deer were culled and the population dropped from 7000 to only 200 in the later 19th century. Happily the decision to get rid of the deer from the forest was reversed and today the population is around 3000.

I'll be blogging more about my trip and the history of the New Forest. I think it would make a stunning and unusual setting for a historical series…

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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