🎬What's New In The Forest. Filmed by members of The Wildlife Society, featuring memorable footage of a working forest, as it was circa 1973.

A brief history to describe the forest, then and now. A look at the various species of deer to be found. The geology. Forest law and the New Forest. Eyeworth Pond, a special place. A look at some of the more unusual Flora. The Forest Lawns and grazing. Common rights. New Forest Pony as a breed. Red Fox on a hillside and beware of Adders in the long grass. Setting up a filming hide on a Bullfinch nest. A pony drift. The Agister's responsibilities. The pressures of traffic filmed and described. Pollution and the proximity of Fawley Refinery. The Forestry Commission management. Timber extraction. Regulation of caravanning and camping. Draining bogs. The pony sales at Beaulieu Road.

Narrated by Tony Askew

Contributors:
Jack Dalley Inkpen, Berkshire
May Dalley Inkpen, Berkshire
Ronald Downham Croydon, Surrey
Angela Hughes Hammoon, Dorset
Violet Maxse West Burton, Sussex
Frances Murphy Hampton, Middlesex
John Murphy Hampton, Middlesex
Peter Nichols Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey
John Norie Hicliffe, Dorset
David Orr Redgrave, Suffilk
Geoffrey Paulson-Ellis Headley, Hampsire
Jane Paulson-Ellis Headley, Hampsire
John Pitcher Epsom, Surrey
Ricky Pitcher Epsom, Surrey
Jack White ARPS Tifield, Berkshire
Norman Wylie-Moore Heathfield, Sussex


Featured Fauna and Flora:
Adder
Bog Aspendale
Bogbean
Bog Myrtle
Bullfinch
Cattle
Common Frog
Cotton Grass
Damselfly
Donkies
Great Sallow
New Forest Ponies
Orchids
Red Fox
Spierwit
Sundew
Water Crowfoot
Wild Gladiolus

🎬British Pathé – Auction of the New Forest ponies, where some four hundred are sold mainly as riding ponies for children. After nine hundred years in the forest the breed is still going strong, in spite of traffic hazards in the Forest.

British Movietone News ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986.

🎬British Pathé – Beaulieu Road Station pony sales. Nice footage of a horse and pony fair in the New Forest. "Down in the New Forest, they hold an annual pony fair, where from far and wide buyers collect together." M/S of a man selling buggy whips. People stand around and listen to his patter (silent film) C/U of a man slicing bread - this is probably an open air sandwich stall. C/U of a stall laden with bottles of wine and pies! The pies are stacked one on top of the other - no unnecessary packaging here! M/S of a large horse pulling a cart with people sitting inside it. M/S of lots of ponies standing in a pen. "Ponies and horses of the New Forest, all sorts and sizes - smooth and shaggy." M/S of the horses in their pens, crowded together. M/S of three ponies standing together - cute. M/S of man running across the paddock with horse on a rope - showing him off. Frisky young pony bucks at the end of a rope. His owner slaps him on the rump. "All to pass under the hammer and find homes, perhaps many miles away." Various shots of ponies being pulled around by ropes. High angle shots of the crowds standing beside pens. "For the buyers - a willing servant - for the sold, alas, separation from Mother and their beloved New Forest home." Low angle shot of some ponies in the wild. Was an item in Eve's Film Review issue number 633

🎬British Movietone - Beaulieu, Hampshire. Memories of the first agricultural and commercial vehicles were revived at a rally in Hampshire - the first of its kind.

British Movietone News ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986.

🎬British Movietone - At Hythe by Southampton Water a full scale experiment is underway - Development Engineer Anthony Plunkett takes control of a rather ungainly contraption. Although it weighs three tons, air pressure raises it half an inch off the ground, allowing it to be pushed along with one finger. Enclose it in a aerodynamic shell and you have a hovertrain which could travel at a comfortable 200 mph.

British Movietone News ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986.

🎬A look at how the Forestry Commission manage the New Forest. From the early days of forestry to the changing attitudes to wildlife, this film looks at modern day harvesting in the New Forest National Park.