We recently had a few days away in the beautiful New Forest, which has become a favourite place of ours in the last few years. I love the pace of the forest, which I find to be a capsule of peace and tranquillity in amongst the hubbub of fast-paced modernity. Here, it feels like things change slowly, if at all, and when I'm in the forest, I get the sense that I'm living the same experience that people have enjoyed for hundreds of years. There are many walks throughout the forest, of which we've done a few in previous visits. On this occasion, following a brief stop in Ringwood, we took the slow lanes to the Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary where, on a drizzly day, the forest is exhibiting its first displays of Autumn.
Our walk begins with the Canadian Memorial, a wooden roadside cross set up to remember the Canadian forces who were present in the New Forest on the lead-up to D-Day. The site was chosen because it marks the spot where Canadians frequently gathered for church services. It's a lonely place, and the juxtaposition of the peaceful forest and the recollection of the Normandy beaches is stark and reflective. It feels a world away from the horror of war, and yet many Canadians who enjoyed the simple quietude of the forest in 1944, would very shortly lose their lives in the defence of liberty. It's worth a moment to pause and consider this.
A gravel trackway takes us away from the memorial, across heathland and down into the depths of the treescape. Sensing the downturn in the weather, the local ponies begin taking shelter in the bracken, and we pass a number of them nestled in the ferns. Further down the track, signs indicate that we're entering the deer sanctuary, and it isn't long before we spot a couple in the nearby field. As far as I can work out, the deer here are wild, but the herd is fed daily by the local New Forest keeper between April and September, meaning that they tend to remain fairly local at this time of year. The type of deer here are wild fallow deer, evidenced by their typical spotted coat, and were of course a joy to see.
Beyond the deer sanctuary, we have a good walk in the trees, eventually making our way to an enormous yew tree, which I just have to take a look at. I'm fascinated by yew trees, mostly because their ancientness makes me marvel at what they have witnessed in the passage of time. It's amazing to think that the tree I'm looking at could well have been standing when William the Conqueror evicted the peasants to create this forest, nearly 1,000 years ago. In fact, it could be even older than that - I once read of a yew tree in the grounds of the churchyard at the Hampshire village of Lockerley, which was growing at the time of Christ. I just love that thought.
Not too far from this tree lies the Radnor Stone, an ornately carved stone dedicated to the late Earl of Radnor, Forestry Commissioner from 1942-63, and Verderer of the New Forest from 1964-66. One may instantly draw comparisons to the Rufus Stone, and I wonder whether that was the inspiration for this modern memorial. I suppose if I was a Verderer and a life-long forest man, the location would be perfect for my memorial - untouched by the modern world, sitting quietly amongst the trees, no doubt visited more frequently by deer and ponies than by any human, a lovely place in which to be remembered.
Our walk from here takes us past the north side of the deer sanctuary, and back to the car. The weather has further deteriorated, but it's been a lovely walk, punctuated by Schnitzel meeting a similar-sized sausage dog in the car park. William is full of fresh air and fast asleep, so for us it's a slow and scenic drive back through the reaches of the forest to our hotel, where a comfy and cosy bar awaits.
