Welcome to New Forest Landscapes - a collection of landscape photography that follows this ever changing and unique environment throughout the year.

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The New Forest is the UK's newest national park, having become designated as such in 2005. It stretches from Southampton Water in the east to the Avon Valley in the west and from the edge of the Wiltshire Downs in the north, to the busy shores of the Solent coast in the south. It covers an area of around 220 square miles and has 26 miles of mostly low lying coastline.

 Surprisingly only about 40% of the forest is actually woodland, the rest being a mix of open ground and farmland. Over 38,000 hectares (nearly 67%) of the National Park is covered by the historic ‘Perambulation’. This is the area in which common rights apply and commoner’s livestock can roam freely. The historic system of commoning, together with traditional farming, continues to shape the landscape of much of the National Park.

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Having lived in and around the New Forest all my life, I have long felt a deep connection with the area. As it is situated in a densely populated part of the country, it offers a unique haven for wildlife and humans alike, allowing nature to thrive in a protected environment. It also gives respite to those of us who need to escape the modern world and reconnect with something more, which is important to me. It is an oasis of nature surrounded by a green desert of agricultural land and urban sprawl.

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From a creative point of view, it also serves as a canvas on which nature can paint its seasons and display its diverse meteorological temper upon, something which keeps me fascinated through the year. It is a place of constant cyclical change, allowing endless possibilities for creative expression and connection with the elements.

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I hope you find some of the images here give you a sense of the New Forest's unique atmosphere and what it's like to roam its large open heathland, explore its hidden pools, crunch through frozen bogs and rummage around under its ancient leaf canopy.

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Happy Wandering..

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Paul Haynes

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