In this country we are blessed with many national parks and forests that adorn our countryside. Although we have an ever-growing population, the countryside can be an escape for those who find the pressures of city life too much and need an escape. It can also be an abode for someone that has possibly lived in a hectic environment and felt that their home ought to be somewhere that reflected their laid-back lives. With the current Coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s parks have been a haven for a majority of people due to the escapist nature of what is going on. It is proven that the possibility of infection is lowered if in a open outdoor area, making nation parks the ideal destination for those that are allowed to travel and explore in their time off.
The National Park closest to me in Portsmouth is The New Forest. Spanning from West Hampshire into Dorset, the forest is a incredible mixture of both forestry and wide open fields being home to many, many species. With about a 40-minute journey up the M27 then M3, you can reach the New Forest from Portsmouth so is ideal for a day out of hiking, rambling, bird-spotting or any other nature-based hobby. It is more specifically situated between Southampton and Bournemouth. The drive into the New Forest will also take you past some very quaint villages and hamlets, showing the more rural side of living.
This brings us into the forest now and amongst the trees and fields that adorn the landscape. With over 40 car parks to choose from, you have a really vast and differing selection of destinations. Some of these areas are strewn with woods and creeks, some with acres of land that span as far as the eye can see. Personally, my significant other and I prefer the mix between the two. Especially on a sweltering day, we can take in the visuals and panoramic view of the landscape from a hill but also enjoy the wispy breeze that a shaded forest brings. With these varying habitats naturally come a number of animal species. This varies throughout the different terrain although famously a lot of horses call the New Forest their home. With having been to about 6-7 different places within the New Forest I have found unequivocally that there is certainly plenty of different creatures to spot. With a lack of humans (most of the time), deer and other timid animals come out and although spotting them is scarce, reptiles like British snakes have also been spotted.
After visiting completely legally with lockdown lifted to the certain point that we could visit open areas with those within our family, myself and my other half went to a place in the New Forest called Acres Down. This was a perfect example of the mixture of terrain we wanted. After arriving at Acres Down we parked up within a smallish car park surrounded by trees and mounds that gave it a surround. There were only a few people present who had set up a picnic on the adjacent hill. With two trails off opposite ends of the car park, there was a choice of routes to take dependant on your preference of terrain. After short but steep incline, the landscape opened up with acres of land and a bowl-like shape in the hill, the sheer size and scale of which can only be seen in person and not described. Feeling like you’re part of something slightly feral but peaceful is wonderful way to escape the frantic nature of the urban world you leave behind. Within the 2 hours of walking around the outside of the bowl and down into the dip, we viewed many varieties of shrubbery, tree and animal. Animals also create a soundscape for the area. A mass of bird gathering in the trees cooed and communicated throughout with a high-pitched positive chirp. This next to the low neighing of the horses creates a wild chorus of chatting without intent.
In terms of species within the New Forest, we saw some rare species too. After trawling through a small bit of dense forest my girlfriend froze behind me as I nonchalantly kept walking over the tree roots towards a clearing. I asked why she said “STOP!” really loudly and she notified me with a hint of panic in her voice with the word “SNAKE”. I sort of scoffed as within the UK, seeing wild snakes is extremely rare due to the disturbance of the land around them scaring them off. As I turned around to see what she has seen, a long black snake lay straight in the middle of the path, coiled as though frightened or ready to attack. After navigating a way around the path towards me, we googled what on earth this black snake could be. After a very quick search we discovered that it was in fact a Black Adder! Black Adders are one of the only poisonous indigenous snakes in Britain. This shook us both a bit and after taking some distanced photos of our discovery we set off again.
Shortly after we came into the clearing at the top of the hill where behind us came a small herd of wild horses. With the sun glaring down a dry heat, their coats glistened as they trotted down the path across the shrubbery from us. We did suddenly realise however that due us visiting in what was May at this point, the horses had foals of only a couple of months in the world with them. Born in the spring they represented a motive to attack humans if they came to close. These instances reminded us that although the trip was about relaxing and visiting a peaceful place in a stressful situation, we were in a place that definitely belonged to the nature. Although filled with beauty, complacency is something we shouldn’t have for that of which we don’t fully understand.
The trail we ventured to on the opposite side of the park was actually a cycle track so had a wide path that had been stoned and was bordered by giant weathered trees. As about 20/30 mins passed on the walk, we came to a crossroad with the trail branching off into three more directions based on the preference of how far you want to go and what you’d like to see. We decided that due to the unknown entity of the trails that we faced; we would return the same way we came. On our left however was a great deal of logs that had been piled up by the side of the path. Behind those we saw a clearing of which was splintered with chopped trees and left-over bark strewn across the floor. Regardless of it possibly being sustainable forestry it made me specifically think about the loss of habitat for those innocent creatures we had seen only a few hours previous. Imagining a deer darting out of the way, snakes being crushed and birds taking off in sheer fear became something too real as I looked over that patch of forest.
I absolutely adore the British countryside and what it offers as regardless of the peacefulness it brings you, I find it also keeps you humble with gentle reminders of what was here years before us. The beauty of the landscapes and animals truly make me feel that we as a human race aren’t doing enough to sustain what we need versus the amount of damage we are causing to habitats and places we can go to appreciate life.
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