Britains New Forest covers over 200 square miles of the Hampshire Basin in Southern England.ampnbspProtected since Norman times and used as a home and hunting ground since time immemorial it is a remarkable landscape made up of rolling hillsides and vast swathes of open moorland and ancient woodlands sunken valleys and epic ridgeways.ampnbspIt was a melting pot and home for many of those who created the modern esoteric movement. But what drew them thereampnbspWhat local traditions lore and people may have influenced them What was the landscape they lived and worked inThe New Forest is one of the few remaining parts of the British Isles where the community remains connected to the landscape they live in.ampnbspNew Forest Folklore Traditions ampamp Charmsampnbsphighlights the relevance of this especially in terms of the deep connection between earth spirituality and the reality of rural living in the resulting traditions and their underlying lore and superstition that have remained largely unchanged since at least the 11th century.ampnbspStarting with its prehistoric and geological origins author and forest resident VikkiampnbspBramshaw details the process of its afforestation starting in Norman times and the subsequent and complex development of traditions of commoning the laws prescribing the rights of the forest residents and their animals rights which often clashed with the desires of the King to use the Forest at his pleasure for a Royal hunting ground.ampnbspFrom this sprang up many of the traditions of the Forest the beating of the bounds the building of the OneNight House the Romani Gypsy camps and the darker tradition of hanging transgressors of Forest Law on gallows trees.ampnbspDrawing on a wide range of sources academic professional and local people and their lore this book includes a detailed exploration of the Forests places of power its standing stones sacred springs special trees burial mounds and the rich tradition of magical marks to be found in