New Forest Commoner

Tag: food

  • New Forest: barter rather than dump unwanted produce

    Without a doubt we live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. The autumnal mists in the early mornings of late add more than a touch of picturesque atmosphere to the landscape, as they weave their slivery threads across the heathland and down into the valleys. It’s a fabulous time of year…

  • New Forest: Look, but don’t touch the animals

    This week I had a long Twitter conversation with someone concerned about the amount of people feeding and petting the donkeys at Hatchet Pond, near Beaulieu. In one incident a family went even further, and were trying to force a donkey foal into the lap of a child seated on the ground, so that the…

  • New Forest: outwitted by a greedy pony!

    I went to visit a commoning friend of mine recently while they were feeding hay to the cows in one of their fields, and thought I could be of some assistance by opening and closing the gate for them. Ordinarily this would not be a difficult task, but in this instance the situation was slightly…