What's Old is New

I've just spent a weekend in the New Forest, a place I've always wanted to see but have never visited before.  It was called the New Forest a thousand years ago (when it was already 11,000 years old), to confuse American tourists.  And it's stunning, so rich in biodiversity.  It has a medieval feel to it, a mosaic of wood pasture, grazed by cattle and horses, and at this time of the year, herds of pigs turned out into the forest to fatten on acorns (pannage). Almost inevitably, wherever I visit I'm disappointed at the land management practices from a conservation standpoint, but I can't say that about the New Forest.  Dead wood is everywhere, pretty much left where it falls.  The New Forest Authority is doing a first rate job of managing an ancient landscape under intense tourist pressure - hats off to them.  If only more areas were managed with the same care.