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The Queen's Inclosure between the joined suburban settlements of Waterlooville and Cowplain
Bushy Coppice at the eastern end of the area

The Forest of Bere is a mixed-use partially forested area in Hampshire immediately north of Fareham, Portsmouth and Roman Road, Havant and including a small part of the South Downs National Park.[1][2]

The former uninterrupted forest is now a mix of woodland, open space, ponds, streams, heathland, farmland and downland interspersed by minor villages and the major settlements of Waterlooville (with Cowplain) and Eastleigh (with Chandlers Ford).[3] There are a number of paths and bridleways for walking and cycling. In the southern portion, towards the area south of the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, conifer plantations were created in the twentieth century.

History

In the 13th and 14th centuries, two royal forests formed a greater forerunner of the later vestigial forest between the New Forest and the Sussex border. North of Southampton between the rivers Test and Itchen was the Royal Forest of Bere Ashley. North of Portsmouth between the River Meon and the suburb of Bedhampton was the Royal Forest of Bere Portchester.[4]

Woodland habitats and contiguous country parks

Listed from east to west, excluding small copses and coppices

References

  1. ^ Map from the Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Ordnance survey
  2. ^ http://www3.hants.gov.uk/ltp06-forest-bere-map.pdf Forest of Bere Map Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Fareham Visitor Information Archived January 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Bazeley, Margaret (1921). "The Extent of the English Forest in the 13th century". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. doi:10.2307/3678331. JSTOR 3678331.

External links

50°54′N 1°02′W / 50.900°N 1.033°W / 50.900; -1.033

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