0:00:02 > 0:00:04An hour's drive south-west of London,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07is a forest as old as England.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Step into it, and you enter another world.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21A last glimpse of an ancient wild wood
0:00:21 > 0:00:25that once stretched the length and breadth of Europe.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35This forest is like no other.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Here, pigs and ponies roam free.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Secret pockets of heathland shelter
0:00:44 > 0:00:47some of the rarest creatures in Britain.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52And people live a unique forest life
0:00:52 > 0:00:55that has survived since mediaeval times.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Through the eyes of those who live here,
0:01:01 > 0:01:06this is our smallest and most intriguing national park.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25# As the summer fades
0:01:25 > 0:01:29# To a watery light
0:01:29 > 0:01:31# And autumn's hues
0:01:31 > 0:01:34# Are coming to life
0:01:37 > 0:01:42# Can we start something new
0:01:42 > 0:01:44# Just me and you
0:01:44 > 0:01:47# Through low light and trees
0:01:47 > 0:01:50# A future unseen
0:01:50 > 0:01:54# Is a future I can believe... #
0:01:59 > 0:02:02All through the winter, the forest has slept
0:02:02 > 0:02:07but now the sap is rising in the trees once more.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09A promise of spring.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Well, you can't really explain it
0:02:14 > 0:02:18it's just a feeling you get after working in the woods for most of your life.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24It's just as if everything is sort of waiting to actually burst into life.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32BIRDS SING
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Dave Dibden is a coppicer.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Coppicing is an ancient way of harvesting wood from trees
0:02:49 > 0:02:53by repeatedly cutting them back down to their stump.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Dave has spent the winter coppicing a patch of neglected hazel woodland.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Now, in early April, he's looking for signs that the cut hazel
0:03:03 > 0:03:06is starting to grow again.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10When you cut in the winter and you think,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13"Nothing's gonna come back here," you know,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17it's just that stub you've cut off and you think, "Well, will it grow?"
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And then you start coming back in the spring time,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24you start seeing those little buds coming on.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29You start seeing the new shoots come up,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33the first little leaf forming on these new little hazel shoots.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It's marvellous when you start seeing that and you think,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39"Yeah, everything's working."
0:03:39 > 0:03:43And it's amazing how it do work. Nature is absolutely wonderful.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52The budding of the hazel in Dave's small corner of the New Forest
0:03:52 > 0:03:55signals the return of spring.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01As he works the coppice through the coming seasons
0:04:01 > 0:04:02he'll play a vital role
0:04:02 > 0:04:06in uncovering the forest's rarest wildlife gems.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14As spring spreads through the forest,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18the canopy renews itself once more.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Beech, ash, oak.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26These are the trees of the ancient wildwood
0:04:26 > 0:04:29the green heart of England.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40For a thousand years, the New Forest was a source of wood for warships
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and venison for kings.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Today, it is a vital sanctuary for wildlife.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01But not all the animals here are completely wild.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Wherever you go in the New Forest, there are ponies.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Ponies are so iconic of this place,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14they have practically come to define it.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20But though they roam freely here,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22they are all owned.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28Beautiful evening.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33What a lovely view tonight. Right the way to the Isle of Wight.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Robert and Lyndsey Stride are New Forest commoners.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Our family goes back quite a long way in the forest.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44It goes back hundreds of years.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46- Look at the foal play.- Playing now.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47Commoners are farmers,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49who, since medieval times, have had the right
0:05:49 > 0:05:52to graze their animals communally on the forest.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53Here he comes.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Robert and Lyndsey are taking an evening walk
0:05:57 > 0:06:00to check up on the spring's new foals.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03It's playtime before bed time.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07I wonder how many foals we'll have this year?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Oh, I dunno.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12'It's amazing how many people who think that the ponies are wild
0:06:12 > 0:06:16'and when you tell them that they are owned, they can't believe it.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'The ponies are sort of an integral part of our life.'
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Yeah, nice bay filly with two white feet behind.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25'Most people see the forest as a wild place
0:06:25 > 0:06:30'but we see it as a working forest that is an extension to our farm.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:33I bet her mother's got a foal somewhere. She's away from her.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40She'll have to be caught up and branded.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Commoning here has never been an easy life.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48The New Forest grows on poor soils,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51so is no good for agriculture.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54It's one of the reasons it still survives today.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00But over the centuries, commoners have found ways to work with the forest...
0:07:02 > 0:07:04..and those traditions have been passed down
0:07:04 > 0:07:07from one generation to another.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Come on, I'll pull you up.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Robert and Lyndsey are expecting twins shortly.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- It's like climbing Mount Everest. - It is when you're pregnant!
0:07:20 > 0:07:24It's their hope that their children will want to carry on
0:07:24 > 0:07:27with this unique way of life.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29But times are tough.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33The year ahead promises to be a challenging one.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Today, we think of forests as places entirely made up of trees,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46but the New Forest has never been like that.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Between the swathes of ancient woodland
0:07:48 > 0:07:51are wide open spaces, heathland,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54bogs and grass lawns.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59"Forest" doesn't actually mean "woodland"
0:07:59 > 0:08:02but comes from the old Norman word
0:08:02 > 0:08:05for a place reserved for the King to hunt deer.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Nearly a thousand years ago,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13William the Conqueror needed a regular supply of venison
0:08:13 > 0:08:16to feed his court at nearby Winchester.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20This wild land was perfect for hunting
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and had deer in abundance.
0:08:24 > 0:08:30So, in 1097, William made it his very first Royal hunting ground
0:08:30 > 0:08:32or "new forest".
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Ever since those early days,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43there have been keepers charged with protecting the Royal deer
0:08:43 > 0:08:45and the trees that sheltered and fed them.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Martin Noble is retired now
0:08:49 > 0:08:52but while he was head keeper, he came to understand
0:08:52 > 0:08:55as well as anyone the quiet, but age-old battle
0:08:55 > 0:08:59between grazing animals and trees.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Well, this is a tiny little oak tree,
0:09:07 > 0:09:12originally an acorn of course, came from a nearby oak tree
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and managed to survive through the winter
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and in the spring was able to set down a root
0:09:18 > 0:09:23and now it's produced a shoot with three tiny little leaves on.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Sadly, the prospects for this little tree are slim.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I mean, it's a beautiful little tree
0:09:29 > 0:09:33and it's a great shame to think it's going to get eaten, but at this stage
0:09:33 > 0:09:35if the top is nipped out - and it probably will be -
0:09:35 > 0:09:39certainly by the winter, if not before, and it'll die.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45The good news is that an oak tree will produce many thousands of acorns
0:09:45 > 0:09:50and it only needs to have one of those acorns surviving
0:09:50 > 0:09:52to produce a mature tree
0:09:52 > 0:09:56in 200 years to replace the tree it came from.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Animals have always grazed the forest,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12but because ancient woodland has become so rare in Britain,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Martin has had to learn over his working life
0:10:14 > 0:10:17how to give trees a helping hand.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31In the past, people were allowed to collect fallen wood for the fire.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38We now realise dead wood provides a vital home for wildlife,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42so today, keepers ensure it's left alone.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And there's an added benefit.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Where a dead branch falls,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55it can cradle a seedling, too.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58This little oak tree's had the fortune to fall as an acorn
0:10:58 > 0:11:00into this patch of bramble.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03The bramble itself was formed
0:11:03 > 0:11:06because of a tree, or branch of a tree, which had fallen earlier
0:11:06 > 0:11:07and allowed it to get a foothold.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12And the bramble now is acting like a barbed wire fence, effectively,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16around the developing oak tree, and providing it with protection
0:11:16 > 0:11:21from grazing animals, such as deer, ponies, cattle, etc.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28Hopefully, with luck, it'll survive to a good old age.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34It's said that an English oak takes 300 years to grow,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37300 to live and 300 to die.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41That is a life worth nurturing.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Although first set aside as a hunting ground,
0:11:54 > 0:11:59it was the New Forest's trees that became its most valued resource.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01As demand for timber grew,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03areas of woodland were fenced
0:12:03 > 0:12:06to protect them from grazing animals.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12Some of these enclosures grew the oak for Nelson's warships.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Others protected coppices.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Hazel was once a hugely important raw material
0:12:22 > 0:12:24for anything from broomstick handles
0:12:24 > 0:12:29to the wooden hurdles that fenced the nation's livestock.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34Today, the value of coppicing is being rediscovered,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and the Forestry Commission, who manage much of the New Forest,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41are calling on the skills of people like Dave Dibden.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44I manage it for them on a rotation basis,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47so you've got ten acres. You do an acre one year,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51the next you move on to another acre until you've got to your tenth year.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54That's your ten acres done and you're back to your first one,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56so you've got a continual diversity of growth of hazel.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04The benefits aren't just in a renewable source of wood.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Where Dave has cut back the overgrown coppice,
0:13:07 > 0:13:08there's been a revelation.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14By clearing out all the old hazel,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16where it had been in the years before,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20just over-stood, dark and cold,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23it's just as if you've flicked a switch.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28I've allowed the sunlight to actually come in,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and re-germinate the seeds that are in the ground.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34They could have been laid dormant there for 50 years or more.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Violets, stitchwort, spurge -
0:13:40 > 0:13:44plants like these were once the only way of banishing smells,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46flavouring stews or treating ailments.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58It's also good to see now the hazel I cut in previous years
0:13:58 > 0:14:02is all come into leaf. It will produce a lot of habitat,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05a lot of cover underneath now for a variety of birds
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and the species that'll come back there, insects as well.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10You get the insects back
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and you get all the small birds back after the little insects.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26Trees, left to their own devices, can crowd out everything else.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28But with his skilful management,
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Dave's 10-acre patch has become a miniature wonderland for wildlife.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47The New Forest's diverse treasures also lie beyond the trees.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Throughout the forest are unusual pockets of land,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58where the soil is so sandy and acidic,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00trees find it hard to grow.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Over his life as Keeper,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Martin Noble has become fascinated by these lowland heaths -
0:15:07 > 0:15:11so unique, they're of global importance.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Now in his retirement,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17he continues his watch over some of the rarest animals in Britain.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20One of the things I've been doing for years
0:15:20 > 0:15:23is monitoring certain areas of the forest
0:15:23 > 0:15:26for the reptiles that live there.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31As the sun warms the heath in spring,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35male sand lizards begin chasing after females.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42In the late 1980s, Martin pioneered a programme of captive breeding,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and successfully brought the lizards back from the brink of extinction.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Sand lizards are so rare because this habitat is rare.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57The New Forest has more than a quarter
0:15:57 > 0:16:00of Britain's remaining lowland heaths,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04and so is crucially important for heathland creatures.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Martin's careful stewardship extends
0:16:06 > 0:16:09to those that might not have so many friends.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15One of my favourite reptiles is the adder.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17There are certain places where, in the spring,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20if you walk very carefully, you can seem them out in the open,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22soaking up the warm sunshine.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Adders are our only venomous snake, but they're not aggressive.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30If you leave them alone,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33they'll just slip quietly away into the undergrowth.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43These heathlands are also home to some of Britain's rarest birds.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Like the tiny Dartford Warbler.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53It survives through the cold months seeking out insect larvae
0:16:53 > 0:16:55hidden in the gorse buds.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00But it's vulnerable to harsh winters,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02so exists on a knife edge,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05hugging the warm south coast of England,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08but at the northern limit of its range.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15For the Dartford Warbler, Spring never comes soon enough.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28Hobbies are migrants, arriving all the way from West Africa.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33They rely on the heathland for feeding and breeding.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38I just love hobbies. They're just such beautiful little birds,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41little falcons, similar to but smaller than the peregrine,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and hunting smaller prey, so they hunt small birds,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46even dragonflies and things like that
0:17:46 > 0:17:49they'll catch on the wing, wonderful flyers.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05The heathland is as much a part of the New Forest as the woodland,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08and it all needs looking after.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12It's a responsibility that everyone who lives in the forest
0:18:12 > 0:18:15takes seriously today.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Get you out in the forest,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21take you back to see your offspring.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23See, this horse is 13 to 14 years old.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26He's been all over the forest now, hasn't he?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28It's early May,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32and Robert Stride and his father Richard are taking their stallion,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Rushmore Playwright, out onto the forest to run with the mares.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Rushmore's been kept on Richard's farm all winter,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44where he's been living an easy life,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46but that's all about to change.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Hopefully, the horse might lose a bit of weight.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55After a short journey to where the mares are grazing,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58it's time for Rushmore to be released.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59Come on, boy.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07HE NEIGHS
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Look at the mares coming. Look!
0:19:17 > 0:19:20It's been a while since the call of a stallion has been heard
0:19:20 > 0:19:22on this bit of the forest.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27HE NEIGHS
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Mares coming from miles around!
0:19:42 > 0:19:44HE LAUGHS
0:19:49 > 0:19:51There's two nice grey mares -
0:19:51 > 0:19:54proper forest ponies. Let him go.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05There was a time when Rushmore spent all year with the mares.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07But recently, commoners have decided
0:20:07 > 0:20:11to reduce the number of foals born on the forest.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16Stallions like Rushmore now have just a few weeks of freedom.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21He didn't get them in foal last year, did he?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I think he possibly will lose some weight.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28THEY LAUGH
0:20:28 > 0:20:32I think you possibly would if you had so many women as what he's got on the go.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34THEY LAUGH
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Very lucky chap.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44Though he has just a short time on the forest,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48the Strides are hoping he'll sire around 25 foals,
0:20:48 > 0:20:49which will be born next spring.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59Commoners are all too aware that too many ponies leads to overgrazing.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06But no ponies would be the end of their traditional way of life.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Look at that. - Sad day if you don't see a stallion
0:21:09 > 0:21:12rounding up the mares in the forest.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17The key for Richard and Robert is in balancing the old ways
0:21:17 > 0:21:20with what's ultimately best for the forest.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26He's been dreaming of that for 11 months, and now...
0:21:26 > 0:21:28BOTH: ..his dreams have come true.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41BIRDS CHIRP
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Summer is always the busiest time in the forest.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Millions of visitors flood into
0:21:51 > 0:21:54one of the most accessible bits of wilderness in Britain,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57but it's only 20 miles by 20 miles.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09At times like this, the forest can feel very small.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18But venture just a little way from the beaten track
0:22:18 > 0:22:20and you find another world.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Once you walk off the road, walk off the path,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38you could be in the middle of a forest 100 miles by 100 miles.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41You soon lose the sound of the road,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44the feeling of modern order.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Taprisha is a story teller.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53She grew up here and knows the place intimately.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56The source of her inspiration
0:22:56 > 0:22:59is walking in the forest.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03One of the mysteries about
0:23:03 > 0:23:07being in your own favourite part of the forest -
0:23:07 > 0:23:09and many of us who live here have
0:23:09 > 0:23:12just one little part of the forest that we call our own, really -
0:23:12 > 0:23:16is that, even though I've been here ever since I was eight, in and out,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19I never really know it off by heart.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22I never quite know where I'm going next.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I know the stream will be there,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and I know the trees and the time of year it is,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32but there's always something that surprises me.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39People often think nowadays in nature of it being very healthy
0:23:39 > 0:23:41to be out and about
0:23:41 > 0:23:44and very healthy to be moving through it,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48using their eyes in a sort of a panorama.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53And actually, the forest isn't such a panoramic landscape.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55It's just...
0:23:55 > 0:23:58a curlicue of tiny, different, little experiences.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10It's a place of discovery.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13If you have an eye for the artistic,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16there are amazing shapes in this forest.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Amazing things.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27The fear of getting lost in the forest
0:24:27 > 0:24:30is surprisingly real in all of us.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Maybe it explains why many people
0:24:32 > 0:24:35don't venture very far from their cars.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38But the deeper you go, the more you discover.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47The forest is full of so many places, they're really places.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52It's not one forest that's all the same all the way through.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56And the mood created by different kinds of trees
0:24:56 > 0:25:00and different kinds of places is intensely different.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Oh, I love beech trees!
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Their canopies are so thick in the summer
0:25:09 > 0:25:11that nothing grows beneath them.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14And so they create extraordinary spaces,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17right in the thick of the forest.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22I had no idea this place existed.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25They're all in a circle...
0:25:27 > 0:25:30..as if somebody's planted them
0:25:30 > 0:25:34like temple columns, to stand there.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37And in-between?
0:25:38 > 0:25:41This vast, vast, temple-like space.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58From the ground, the trees reach vertically up to the light...
0:26:01 > 0:26:05..and high, high above is this beautiful green ceiling.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13The sun shining through gives the impression of stained glass,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15as delicate as in any cathedral.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24How much better to find yourself in a cathedral
0:26:24 > 0:26:27than in a car park.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Summer for Dave Dibden
0:26:44 > 0:26:47is about sorting through all the hazel that he cut in the winter.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50It might not look like much,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55but he has an eye for what can be turned into useful products and sold.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58When I'm cutting during the winter months, coppicing it,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01you haven't got time to sort of sort too much of it out.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03It looks like a load of old twigs
0:27:03 > 0:27:06and a lot of old branches, which it probably is,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10but a lot of gardeners now are going back to the old way of growing things,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13and as I work the rows up,
0:27:13 > 0:27:18you'll see that I'll just sort through stuff that I can think
0:27:18 > 0:27:20we'd better use for pea and bean sticks,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and anything else that comes out.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26And people generally do like 'em that shape
0:27:26 > 0:27:28I mean, some don't seem to worry too much,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31but the peas don't mind really what they grow up,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34but that's just a nice sort of shape
0:27:34 > 0:27:37that can sit up alongside a fence in your garden.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40It's just another way of keeping our woodlands alive,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and the more people buy this sort of stuff,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47the more we can work our coppices to where they used to be worked.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50The dogs are doing tug-of-war.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53HE LAUGHS
0:27:55 > 0:27:59That's one a bit different, look.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00It's a hazel,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04but when the hazel's growing, this is the honeysuckle
0:28:04 > 0:28:07that would be growing with it when it's young.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12And as the hazel grows, it gradually tightens up and gradually grows,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and you can see this bit here, it grows right in to it.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18When that's cleaned up and seasoned for a year,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22in the workshop, peel this honeysuckle off,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26trim it up and use that as a walking stick.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28When it's properly finished off,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Dave can get over £30 for one of his twisty walking sticks.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35He's well known for them.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40But the real rewards for his work are right here in the forest.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47This summer, he saw his first pearl-bordered fritillary in the coppice.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53The caterpillars of this rare butterfly feed only on violets,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57which have flourished here since Dave cut back the overgrown hazel.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02They used to call it "the coppicer's butterfly",
0:29:02 > 0:29:07as it followed the old coppicers from clearing to clearing.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10As coppicing died out, it did, too.
0:29:12 > 0:29:18Now, the adults have returned for the first time in generations.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21It's like a big jigsaw.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Things click into place.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25You can't push nature,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29but over a period of time, it will click, click, click, click.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31And in the end, you've got a big picture,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33and things come back.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37The full richness of the New Forest comes out
0:29:37 > 0:29:41only when people are part of the bigger picture.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43BABIES CRY
0:29:48 > 0:29:53This is Edward Charles and Amelia May.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57The next generation of commoners
0:29:57 > 0:30:01arriving at the busiest time in the farming year.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Most people take paternity leave.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Luckily it rained for the week they were born
0:30:08 > 0:30:10so Robert could come to the hospital with me.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Didn't have to go haymaking that week.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16But the following week, he did go haymaking, so we didn't see him much.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25Like all commoners, the Strides have some land.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30The rights to graze livestock on the forest are tied to that land.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33They can keep their animals here when they're not on the forest,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37and grow winter fodder for their cows.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41And if the sun's shining, haymaking can't wait,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43even if you've just had twins.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Haymaking is a fundamental part of a commoner's life.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50I mean, if you haven't got any feed in the winter, you're stuffed.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57When the sun comes out like this, it's a real haymaker.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01The grass wilts as you're looking at it, which is good for us.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02Makes our life a lot easier.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18By midsummer, Robert's pastures need a rest.
0:31:18 > 0:31:19Come on, come on.
0:31:19 > 0:31:24So he now leads his cows out into the forest to find fresh grazing.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Dad always says it's good for a cow to go out in the forest.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44It keeps them active in their minds.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46You'll turn them out and away they'll go.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Animals are not silly, are they? They know which plants to eat.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04If you had enough time to study what a cow eats in a day
0:32:04 > 0:32:08you would have a surprise to what a cow would eat out in the forest.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11We're used to seeing cows in fields,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15but their ancestors evolved in the ancient forests,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17so they're quite at home here.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21And whenever they move back into their ancestral home,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24they join the ponies and the deer,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28in having a profound effect on the nature of the forest.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41The ancient woods are not really the dense woodland you might expect.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Because with the grazing pressure from ponies, cattle and deer
0:32:44 > 0:32:48there are a lot of open spaces within the trees.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53One of the most visible elements is what we call a browse line,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58this is effectively a line, up to which the ponies and other species can reach.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14It means that there's clear visibility between the trees.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17When you're walking in the woods you can see through
0:33:17 > 0:33:19and it makes it very attractive for the walk
0:33:19 > 0:33:23because you can see a long way ahead although there are quite a lot of trees around.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30The open nature of these ancient woods,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34isn't just a result of recent grazing practices.
0:33:34 > 0:33:39People and their livestock were helping to shape them from the earliest times.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44If you go back far enough into Mesolithic times,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46maybe 8,000 years ago, then this would have been
0:33:46 > 0:33:50the sort of land that most of Britain and a large part of Europe would have been.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53And I have a feeling that the reason that so many of us
0:33:53 > 0:33:55actually love the New Forest, and love walking in it,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58is because this is the sort of habitat we would have lived in.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01It's something in our psyche which says
0:34:01 > 0:34:03this is really what our habitat should be.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13The New Forest is the very last place in Western Europe
0:34:13 > 0:34:18where we can directly experience this link with our own forest past.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23It's a connection that some feel is fundamentally important to us today.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28"And then said Father, it's time for a midnight stroll.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30"When you have come to the end..."
0:34:30 > 0:34:33I think the forest is rooted deeply inside all of us.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38"Well that night they put on coats for it was getting cold."
0:34:38 > 0:34:43As a storyteller, I tell folk tales from all around the world
0:34:43 > 0:34:48but still for me, this is where the stories I love most come from.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Hansel And Gretel, Robin Hood, The Hobbit,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56so many of the stories we heard as children
0:34:56 > 0:34:58owe their genesis to the wild wood.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10Well, many of the movies we see, and the novels we read,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13even in urban settings, continue to play out the same themes.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16The forest draws you in,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20but at the same time you're frightened of what you might find there.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22It's a metaphor for life.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28We all carry this place around with us in our imaginations,
0:35:28 > 0:35:32but today, most of us have lost that physical connection.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37If you can actually get out into the forest,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40it can be a hugely powerful experience.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46The forest is not just a fascinating place. I think
0:35:46 > 0:35:50it's the ancient heart of our culture.
0:35:59 > 0:36:06Late summer in the New Forest, is the start of the annual pony round-ups, known as "drifts",
0:36:06 > 0:36:09and the first social engagement for the Stride twins.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13It's a big thing in the social calendar of the forest.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18It looks like a bit of a Wild West show, I think, to the outside world.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26The drifts are a once-a-year chance to gather up ponies for sale
0:36:26 > 0:36:29but they're also a way of checking up on their welfare.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36You need a bit of luck and lot of skill to catch ponies.
0:36:38 > 0:36:39You've got to use stealth.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44If they see you riding out through, they'll twig.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Usually split up into small groups
0:36:47 > 0:36:49and everybody knows where their positions are.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53You've got to come round, sort of in a pincer movement
0:36:53 > 0:36:55and it's like a surprise attack, really.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11At the end of the day, it is a job, not just a jolly,
0:37:11 > 0:37:15but there's something about riding across the forest after ponies at speed.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Some people say we're absolute maniacs.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Well.. most people actually.
0:37:19 > 0:37:20- Idiots.- Idiots.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32We do get fired up and we will get annoyed with one another and say,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35"Why the hell didn't you do this, why the hell didn't you do that?"
0:37:35 > 0:37:39You always told me as a boy, if you didn't get swore at,
0:37:39 > 0:37:40you wouldn't be any good.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43We're all right again the next day, or the day after.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- It might take a couple of days. - Settle down.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53Usually you go out three or four times on a drift
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and sweep different areas to get as many ponies in as you can.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02You've really got to pit your wits against them to catch them.
0:38:04 > 0:38:10Some of the riders will be waiting in key positions to push them on towards the pound.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17But things don't always go to plan.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35They don't all get caught, there are some very elusive ones.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40The plan worked, three-quarters of the plan,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42the ponies came right down to the pound,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46but the riders weren't up with the ponies
0:38:46 > 0:38:50and ponies had a chance to think, and if you give ponies a chance to think, they'll outwit you.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54And they turned back before we could catch up with them.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58And once they've turned back, that's the end of it.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05You have good days and bad days on drifts.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Last week we had five mares and foals to take home,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10today we've got nothing, but that's the way it goes.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14Even though I haven't got anything to go home with, somebody else has.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17It's their turn to take their ponies home this week,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20and next week it'll be my turn again so that's the way it is.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25By coming together at the drift,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28the commoners can collectively look after the welfare of the ponies
0:39:28 > 0:39:31and properly manage their numbers on the forest.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37The ponies are first wormed, then reflective collars are fitted
0:39:37 > 0:39:39to make them more visible to cars at night.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45To show that the fees for keeping them on the forest have been paid,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48their tails are cut.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Each area of the forest with its own unique pattern.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58Any new foals that are staying on the forest are now marked
0:39:58 > 0:40:01with the owner's brand, so that everyone can see
0:40:01 > 0:40:04who is responsible for the animal's well-being.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Ponies that have been picked out for sale
0:40:09 > 0:40:11are now taken home by their owners.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15But they won't know whether they've made a profit
0:40:15 > 0:40:18until the pony sales in the autumn.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01By late August, morning dews are growing heavy
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and summer visitors are preparing to leave.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26Across the forest, heather is now in full bloom.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34The last of summer's nectar,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37with the first signs that autumn is not far away.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49In Dave's coppice, this year's shoots are now at head height,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51but until the sap is down again,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54he can't start cutting his next patch of hazel.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02With time on his hands, there's a chance to practise another lost skill.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06Charcoal burning -
0:42:06 > 0:42:09once an essential part of every woodsman's year
0:42:09 > 0:42:12and a way of using up any left-over hazel.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16You get a real good fire going, a real good hot base.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20And then the drum, I raise it up about roughly about four inches with wooden blocks.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25You pack it in the drum as tight as you can, really.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It's looking quite good at the moment.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32It's building up a lot of heat,
0:42:32 > 0:42:36actually inside the drum now, which is what we want.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41You don't want the wood to really burn
0:42:41 > 0:42:43so you're more or less cooking it,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45but once you know it's well alight at the bottom,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48you can start shutting the air out.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53Then you're just keeping the fire... It's just turning over then.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55And it's not roaring away.
0:42:55 > 0:43:01That's when it really starts cooking and you get loads and loads of white smoke come out.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06Charcoal is formed when the heat from the fire drives off water
0:43:06 > 0:43:08and impurities to leave just carbon.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15The white smoke is the water being turned into steam
0:43:15 > 0:43:20and you gradually see the smoke changing and it goes yellowy
0:43:20 > 0:43:23and that's the minerals being burnt off.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29The real skill is in constantly reading the smoke.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Get it wrong and you can easily burn the wood
0:43:32 > 0:43:35and end up with a pile of ash.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39A lot of it...OK, you can read it all in books
0:43:39 > 0:43:43but it's like a lot of all these old crafts, it's done by the feel of it,
0:43:43 > 0:43:45listening to the way it's drawing up through the drum
0:43:45 > 0:43:47and using your instinct, really.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52When it starts to really turn to charcoal,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55very thin smoke starts coming off then, bluey colour.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03And that's when you can start really shutting it down.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05You shut all your gaps up round the bottom
0:44:05 > 0:44:09and then you shut the top off without the air getting to it,
0:44:09 > 0:44:11it will just naturally go out.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Just let the drum cool down then.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20With a bit of luck you'll have some nice charcoal.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Just enough to make a few pound here and there on a bag.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32The charcoal from hazel coppices was once the most valuable source of fuel in Britain.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36It's almost pure carbon, burning hotter than coal.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41And for thousands of years was the only fuel hot enough to smelt iron.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45These days it goes for barbecues,
0:44:45 > 0:44:48so long as Dave can get it home safely.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Sometimes it has been known, you've just got to leave a little spark in there
0:44:52 > 0:44:58and it can reignite again, so the first few hours is crucial
0:44:58 > 0:45:01or else you'll be driving home and you'll say, "What's that burning?"
0:45:01 > 0:45:04and your bag's alight in the back of the truck, you've got another fire.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13It's the first pony sale of September
0:45:13 > 0:45:15and the biggest sale of the year.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24Tourists come from all over the world for the spectacle,
0:45:24 > 0:45:28but, for commoners, it's much more important than that.
0:45:28 > 0:45:29On the grate 15...
0:45:29 > 0:45:3140 or 30...
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Robert and Richard Stride have brought ten of their ponies today.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43I haven't got a bar behind them, have I?
0:45:43 > 0:45:45110, at 110 guineas?
0:45:45 > 0:45:47At 110, no money at all.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53The experts say that a forest pony's got the most placid and lovely temperament
0:45:53 > 0:45:55of any of the native breeds.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59They're usually easy to break in and handle.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14But the sale isn't going as well as hoped.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Today's not been the best sale I've ever been to.
0:46:19 > 0:46:20Prices are very depressed.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Some of the very best foals in there didn't sell
0:46:22 > 0:46:26and they only had reserves of £50 on them,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30so it's a sad indictment of the times, I think.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31At 80 guineas...
0:46:31 > 0:46:36Richard and Robert have sold eight of their foals, but at a loss.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39In a recession, there's less demand for ponies,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42and that's coupled with higher production costs.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50Each pony sold has to have a passport and an identifying microchip.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53which is placed under its skin.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56It's the seller who has to pay for both of these costs.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01There was foals in there, lovely foals, for £10.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05The cost of production is closer to 35 just for the paperwork
0:47:05 > 0:47:09and the microchip, so it's an absolute loss.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12It's pretty heartbreaking, really.
0:47:13 > 0:47:19It's not all about the money, I mean, it's the old traditions and the heritage of it all,
0:47:19 > 0:47:23but, it would be nice if they did make a bit of profit,
0:47:23 > 0:47:25instead of a loss.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33Even though times are tough, New Forest ponies, with their hardy nature and gentle temperament,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36do still find good homes
0:47:36 > 0:47:40and commoners have always been resourceful.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42We've got to evolve our systems to suit the market.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47It won't collapse, but it has got to change.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49Like my mother says, we've got to evolve with the times,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53it's no good being like a dinosaur. Look what happened to the dinosaurs.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17As Autumn comes to the New Forest,
0:48:17 > 0:48:22beech, birch, ash and oak, each in their own time,
0:48:22 > 0:48:24turn the landscape golden.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28GRUNTING AND BELLOWING
0:48:28 > 0:48:33As the leaves start to fall away, the forest echoes with strange new sounds.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Fallow deer bucks are proclaiming their dominance,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46hoping to mate before the winter sets in.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56The oaks are always the last to turn,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00but first they become heavy with acorns.
0:49:00 > 0:49:06It's time for commoners to let their pigs into the forest.
0:49:21 > 0:49:26Cows and ponies can be poisoned if they eat too many acorns,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29but pigs are immune to their tannins.
0:49:31 > 0:49:32And as they hoover them up,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35they reduce the danger to other livestock.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Meanwhile, the pigs get fat on the fruits of autumn.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01And for many, autumn is simply a time to get out into the forest
0:50:01 > 0:50:05and soak up a brief but glorious moment of colour
0:50:05 > 0:50:07before winter takes hold.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16What a joy to come back into the forest in autumn, you know,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18especially on a sunny day.
0:50:19 > 0:50:20It knows how to die.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24I think that's the joy about coming into the forest at this time.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27Just like after a really good party,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30everything sort of leaves at a different time,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34that family collects itself and says, "Right, birches, out of here,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37"on we go we've done our bit." And the oak says, "Nah, I'm sticking, on a while,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40"I've still things to do."
0:50:43 > 0:50:45And then the beeches go,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48"Well, before I leave, you know,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50"I'll do a turn."
0:50:53 > 0:50:55They exit in style.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16It's light through colour,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19light through gold.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23And it's a colour that just...
0:51:24 > 0:51:29..it feeds you, it makes you feel a real deep joy.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42I am of that age where suddenly you find yourself
0:51:42 > 0:51:44at more funerals than christenings.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49I've lost six close family members and two dear friends,
0:51:49 > 0:51:54and in the confines of my home,
0:51:54 > 0:51:56sometimes life hasn't made sense.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00But...
0:52:01 > 0:52:04..constantly by myself, with my dog,
0:52:04 > 0:52:09with a good friend, I've gotten out into the forest,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13and there's a really deep sense of contentment
0:52:13 > 0:52:18and a deep interaction with things that are true
0:52:18 > 0:52:21and are just doing what they do.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24This is not the holiday world of time taken out of real life.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27This is real life, this is a real place,
0:52:27 > 0:52:32and we so need to be in real places.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36When we're autumnal, when we're worn out,
0:52:36 > 0:52:41whether we're 16 and worn out, or 60 and worn out,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44the forest will give something back.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48It's regenerative, it builds you up again,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51it puts you back on your feet.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28For over six months, the forest has been cloaked in leaves.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33Winter brings a new, stark beauty,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37as the bones of the forest are laid bare once more.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41It's now that the trees most clearly reveal stories from the past.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48There's a place I love called Soarley Beeches.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54A place that says as much to me about the New Forest as anywhere.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00It's a group of beeches of such impressive proportions
0:54:00 > 0:54:03that you can't help but be moved by them.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12But these trees are not entirely natural.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15The reason they look like this is because they are pollards.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21Pollarding was an ancient way of harvesting the wood from trees
0:54:21 > 0:54:23by chopping the branches off at head height.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28When pollarding stopped here over 300 years ago,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31these trees just kept growing, branching out
0:54:31 > 0:54:35from where they were cut to form these extraordinary shapes.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46Today, these New Forest giants are coming to the end of their lives
0:54:46 > 0:54:50and with them the record of a lost practice dies too.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56But to think that such iconic trees were the result
0:54:56 > 0:55:00of a few woodsmen's cuts so long ago
0:55:00 > 0:55:03tells us a great deal about the true nature of this forest.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10The thing I love most about the New Forest
0:55:10 > 0:55:12is this deep sense of continuity with the past.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Soarley beeches for me is a clear reminder that this wilderness
0:55:18 > 0:55:22has been made by nature, but in a long alliance with people,
0:55:22 > 0:55:26to provide something which I don't think exists really anywhere else.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34Nearly a thousand years ago,
0:55:34 > 0:55:39William the Conqueror protected this forest for its deer.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42Unwittingly, he preserved something that has become unique.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48In 2005, the New Forest was made a national park
0:55:48 > 0:55:52to recognise the value of its landscape and wildlife,
0:55:52 > 0:55:57but just as importantly the relationship between forest and people.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Robert and Lyndsey Stride believe the long tradition of commoning
0:56:03 > 0:56:07is fundamental to keeping the special nature of the forest
0:56:07 > 0:56:09secure into the future.
0:56:11 > 0:56:12Oh, that's better...
0:56:12 > 0:56:17'The forest will always be facing challenges
0:56:17 > 0:56:22'but essentially the forest will always be
0:56:22 > 0:56:25'and I hope that,
0:56:25 > 0:56:27'you know, for the twins,
0:56:27 > 0:56:30'they're going to have that same sense of freedom
0:56:30 > 0:56:35'that we had as children, and that they will learn to love the forest.'
0:56:37 > 0:56:42'Nearly every member of our family is still actively involved in commoning one way or another,
0:56:42 > 0:56:48'so I would hope that these two will carry on the traditions of keeping ponies and cattle and pigs
0:56:48 > 0:56:52'and trying to keep the forest going in the traditional way.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59'Without active commoners managing the forest and the landscape,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02'through their animals grazing it,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05'the forest would be a very different place for everybody.'
0:57:14 > 0:57:18For centuries, people have grazed their animals on the New Forest
0:57:18 > 0:57:20and harvested its trees.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28Managed with care, it has phenomenal power to regenerate itself.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35Work against it, and all will be lost.
0:57:35 > 0:57:40Work with the forest, and you'll find it infinitely dependable.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45# Can we start something new
0:57:45 > 0:57:48# Further than you
0:57:48 > 0:57:51# As death is to birth
0:57:51 > 0:57:54# The Moon to the Earth
0:57:54 > 0:57:58# Find a future I can believe... #
0:58:02 > 0:58:06Next time, we travel north to a vast wilderness
0:58:06 > 0:58:09where Britain becomes truly arctic.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12Where conditions are so extreme
0:58:12 > 0:58:16that they challenge even the toughest of survivors.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20The Cairngorms.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd