i love being part of the new forest.
it wasn't until i started my family tree that i found out that, like my portsmouth harbour ancestors, i have ancestors living on the edge of the forest going back a long way~to the 1400's.
so i took out a map and saw that over a 600 year period, even longer, ancestors through my maternal line remained within less than 40 miles of where i sit now.
no wonder i feel so very at home here.
i loved living in dorset and do miss it so much but things here seem much more wild, sometimes mysterious, when the mists have fallen and you cannot see through the trees...its almost as if you can walk through and find yourself in another land...
going out of the village we no longer pass fields full of crops or sheep, we go through a tangle of forest with the occasional wide open moor land, so high and windswept you can see the isle of wight in the distance.
instead of animals grazing in fields we have horses, cows, donkeys and at the moment as it is pannage season, pigs, wandering at will and grazing where they please.
and of course there are plenty of ancient places, in the new forest alone there are many round barrows/cemetaries, a couple only a mile away from my own little 'roundhouse' and hillforts a plenty.
i have heard tell that the old church in the village, st. nicholas, is on the site of an ancient settlement as there are ramparts surorunding it and it is very old being mentioned in the Domesday Book and the yew in the grounds is over 1000 years old...
maybe the ancient inhabitants of my village planted it there to ward of evil spirits?
5 comments:
Its amazing that you have traced back 600 years and only move 40 miles, the forest if obviously where you are meant to be :0)
Kx
Hi Lee,although you loved your old place it sounds like you have settled in a beautiful part of the country,so many things and places to visit.Looking back through your older posts I came across the picture of your new bungalow,wow,it looks wonderful,how lucky are you!!!
Hope you are feeling better and have got rid of your cold!
By the way I have enjoyed your choice of music,very relaxing.
I'll email you tomorrow after I've taken Beth to college.
Love to you both,
From Kathy and the girls
Hi Lee, You've been tagged. Check out my blog for the rules. xxx Pixie xxx
The New Forest looks and sounds a lovely and fascinating place. I've never been there but next time I'm in the Sussex/Hampshire area I think I must remedy that omission.
I just loved this post. I can't imagine how it must feel to know where you come from (that far back) and to be a part of that very place now. Wonderful photos, too.
Post a Comment