What is New Forest?
{{Infobox protected area | name = New Forest National Park | iucn_category = II | photo = Beaulieu river at longwater lawn.jpg | photo_caption = The Beaulieu River cuts through Longwater Lawn, about {{convert|4|km|0|abbr=on}} from its source near Lyndhurst | location = [[Hampshire]], England | nearest_city = [[Southampton]] | coordinates = {{coord|50|51|47|N|01|37|05|W|display=inline,title}} | area = New Forest National Park: {{Convert|566|km2|abbr=on}}<br> New Forest: {{Convert|380|km2|abbr=on}} | established = 1079 | visitation_num = 14.75 million (est) | visitation_year = 2009 | governing_body = New Forest National Park Authority {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_date = 22 September 1993}} }} The '''New Forest''' is an area of southern [[England]]. It includes one of the largest remaining pieces of open pasture land, [[heathland]] and forest in the heavily-populated [[South East England|south East of England]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newforest.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=295|title=Commoning in the New Forest|publisher=New Forest District Council|accessdate=2 February 2013|archive-date=27 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627152334/http://www.newforest.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=295|url-status=dead}}</ref> It covers south-west [[Hampshire]] and extends into south-eastern [[Wiltshire]] and towards easter, [[Dorset]]. The name also refers to the New Forest [[National Park]], which has similar boundaries. The New Forest District is a subdivision of [[Hampshire]] that covers most of the forest. There are many villages dotted around the area, and several small towns in the forest and around its edges. ==History== [[File:Royal.Forests.1327.1336.selected.jpg|frameless|right|300px]] The New Forest was created as a [[royal forest]] by King [[William the Conqueror|William I]] in about 1079 for the royal hunt, mainly of [[deer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/li_history |title=History of the New Forest |publisher=New Forest Nation