One of the things I really love is talking about the New Forest. My dear old father was a renowned storyteller. It was reckoned that some of his tales may even have had a grain of truth in them. But I don’t think that’s being very fair, all of his stories had a grain of truth in them it’s just that some of the grains were not very big. As the years have rolled by I like to think I may have inherited some of his talent. I can certainly stretch credulity to breaking point, and if you stick around I’d like to share some New Forest stories with you as we go along. Recently something happened that’s given me even more reason to talk about this place - the New Forest has been voted the best national park in Europe and 10th best in the world. I think the only thing I found surprising is that it wasn’t voted best in the world, but then I’m probably a bit biased. You see, I was born and bred in the New Forest and my families roots here go way back into the deep mists of time. One of my ancestors was probably out poaching when he saw King William Rufus get killed by the arrow. Pulling his cap firmly over his eyes he would have disappeared quietly back into the undergrowth and never said a word to anyone about it.
2 / 2But what’s so special about this place? I think that’s actually quite hard to answer. There’s no soaring mountains, no wide open grasslands, no mighty rivers. No, it’s the subtlety of the place that beguiles you. It’s a soft and gentle landscape. I’ve walked and ridden over the forest for many years now and it’s always changing and always different, but always seems to remain the same. It’s a strange place like that, but many odd things have happened in this quiet corner of south east England. The folklore and mystery to this place is fantastic. Almost every place name has a hidden
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