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| | | From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
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Richard Uridge | | | | |
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|  | The New Forest
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Helen Mark visits the New Forest, large areas of unspoilt countryside which also feature an elaborate system of rural trade and governance.
Helen begins her journey with four New Forest Keepers as they hunt down a number of rabbits that have been destroying newly planted oak trees. Keeper Graham Wilson explains the history of The New Forest Keepers, who were first mentioned in the Doomsday book.
Helen hitches a ride to Ashley Walk with New Forest Verderer Anthony Pasmore. He describes how Verderers are elected members of The New Forest whose job it is to manage the use of the land and protect the rights of the Commoners, whose ponies roam free on the heath.
Helen discovers that Ashley Park is the site of a former World War II weapons centre which tested bouncing and fragmentation bombs and a mighty "earthquake" bomb, known as The Grand Slam. It was the largest bomb exploded in Britain and left a crater 130 feet across and 30 feet deep. Ashley Walk was a secret place covering 4000 acres surrounded by a high wire fence. Bombing targets included 200 slit trenches containing dummies; submarine pens that cost £250,000 to build; aircraft pens where brand new American Airacobra fighters were used as targets; two massive walls 40 feet high, which resembled tower blocks and a "ship" with steel plates 40 feet long and 20 feet high, which was fired on with rockets. Over 400 craters were visible when the range closed in 1946 and most are still traceable today.
 | New Forest Ponies
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Helen meets New Forest Commoner Jenny Tillier, who explains that one of the most important features of the forest are its semi-wild ponies. The ponies are generally left to roam together on common land. Each animal is owned by a Commoner and must be marked with an individual brand before being left to wander the open forest. They are sold a number of times a year at a dedicated market which has just been modernised with the help of local money and an EU grant. Despite this, the market for ponies is poor and they fetch next to nothing. Last year prices were rock bottom and all the stallions were take off to prevent unwanted births. Commoners have to pool efforts to round up and manage the ponies, which are essentially wild. Ponies sold at market have some semblance of training, whereas in the past they would be sold completely wild. The market is mainly to dealers who sell the horses on up country or to experienced riders. Few would be sold as children’s rides, as they can still be a bit of a handful. Jenny refutes the suggestion often made by welfare groups or pony sanctuaries that a lot of animals are sold for meat, although this is the case with older animals past their best.
The pony or horse was an important part of the rural economy before the car, and the tradition of keeping them provided valuable income. Today the demand is for riding ponies, and only a handful of commoners are able to make a living keeping stock.
Helen ends her journey with Bruce Rothney, a conservation and recreation officer for The Forestry Commision. As they walk through the woodlands, he explains how the work of The Forestry Commission has developed since it was first set up after World War I to ensure Britain stayed supplied with stocks of timber. One of the Commission’s main objectives is to increase habitat diversity and, in the case of The New Forest, this means less pine and more mixed broadleaf. They are also introducing more recreation into The New Forest which, as Helen discovers, is an increasing concern to many of the indigenous people.
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RELATED LINKS
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