George's New Forest

According to a recent poll, few English know how to highlight their National Day and Patron Saint – St. George. So, to celebrate the wonders of England in all its natural glory, why not spend an explorative weekend in the country’s largest and most important area of remaining lowland heathland - the New Forest?

The forest is home to a huge variety of rare plant and animal species, plus five of the six British reptiles occur here, including the rare Smooth Snake and Sand Lizard. Other wildlife highlights include Red and Sika Deer, Dartford Warblers, Nightjar, along with raptors such as Hobby, Goshawk and Honey Buzzard. Specialist natural history operator Naturetrek offers a long-weekend of expertly guided exploration through the New Forest, departing Lyndhurst 16th May 2008.

The vast 373 square kilometre area of rolling heathland, mixed forest and damp boggy hollows that form the New Forest in south-west Hampshire are recognised as one of the most important ecological areas of Britain. The land is managed under a pastoral system, incorporating ancient grazing rights and periodic controlled burnings of the heathland.

Indeed it is this age-old form of management that has both created and conserved the New Forest's unique ecological richness and diversity. As a result it contains a huge variety of rare plant and animal species, and holds an unparalleled range of birds, including over half of the total British population of Dartford Warblers (around 500 pairs).

Take an evening walk over the heathland in search of singing Nightjars, roding (displaying) Woodcocks and the New Forest’s bumper population of Fallow Deer. Visit Bolderwood, an area of dense, mixed forest and ornamental woodland supporting a small, and often highly elusive, breeding population of the tiny Firecrest. Keeping eyes turned skyward, birds of prey such as Hobby, Sparrowhawk and even the rare Honey Buzzard may be seen hunting above the treetops here.

A visit to Beaulieu Road Station in the early evening provides an opportunity to look for Hobbys out hunting dragonflies over the bog, and a trip to the Bishop's Dyke/Beaulieu Heath complex should provide sightings of the region’s rare and localised species such as Dartford Warbler and Woodlark.

The tour costs £245 p/p including 2-nights half board accommodation at the Forest Lodge Hotel, all transport over the weekend and expert naturalist guiding from Jon Stokes.

For more information, visit Naturetrek.co.uk.