WE are off for a few days next week, spending it in the New Forest. Some people in the office, especially a young lad from South Africa, find the idea of calling a 1,000-year-old forest “new” as odd in the extreme.
I first went there as a lad with my parents, staying at a forgettable B&B in Bournemouth, but was enchanted by the New Forest, the woods and heaths and the wildlife.
Although it was declared as a royal forest by William the Conqueror, the nature of the area was initially defined about 12,000 years ago after the Ice Age ended, the initial birch and alder woodland being replaced by beech and oak. Early land clearances, in the Bronze and Iron Ages and latterly in the 12th and 13th centuries, created areas of heath, which due to the poor soil did not regenerate.
The area was declared a royal deer reserve about 1079 by William and recorded in the Doomsday Book soon after. However, it was the location of the death of two of his sons.
Richard, his second son, died about 1070 when he collided with a tree branch whilst hunting. More famously, his third son, who succeeded him, as William II, was killed on August 2, 1100, by an arrow which deflected off a tree and went through his chest.
Known as William Rufus, his body was initially abandoned by his mates and his brother, Henry, hotfooted it to Winchester to secure the Treasury and was duly crowned Henry I.
There has always been speculation about the events and whether Rufus was murdered. He was reportedly a difficult character who did not marry.
The friend who fired the arrow was later identified as William Tirol. The supposed spot was marked by a carved stone pillar, the Rufus Stone, later replaced by a metal pillar.
The spot appears to have been defined for a visit by Charles II, so is probably not accurate. However, there is a pub nearby called the Sir Walter Tyrrell, and a most pleasant venue.
After all these shenanigans, the forest is a snapshot of England hundreds of years ago, with delightful walks and villages - a really special place to visit.