Welcome to the

#RealNewForest

Shared with you by the New Forest Commoners Defence Association

Welcome

Discover the real New Forest – an incredible living, working landscape, shaped over centuries by the animals that graze it, and the people who own and care for them – the “commoners”: Ordinary people, with ordinary jobs, but with an extraordinary commitment.

If you want reliable, straightforward answers to your questions about the New Forest and prefer fact over folklore then this is the site for you. Please do explore. We’ve included more information than ever before. If you know what you’re looking for then do use the Search button above to go straight to the right place.

You can also support us by applying to join the CDA. You don’t need to be a commoner to join as an Associate Member.

All members are invited to the 2020 AGM: 7.30pm, Friday 3rd April, Lyndhurst Community Centre

For the Commoning Voices Exhibition audioguide

About Commoning

Click for More

About the Commoners Defence Association

Click for More

Latest News

What’s the New Forest done for us?

18th November 2019

The past three years have given ample time for Britain to think about what a break from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could mean for the countryside and nature. Could the ... READ MORE

New Forest commoners advised to remove cattle horns

15th October 2019

The New Forest Commoners' Defence Association (CDA) is advising commoners in the New Forest to dehorn their cattle. This unprecedented move comes after a series of serious ... READ MORE

Robert Stride & Julian Glover

Kick on! The Glover Review & The New Forest

23rd September 2019

CDA Chair, Tony Hockley, offers his personal views on the review of national landscapes The review of Designated Landscapes led by Julian Glover faced a huge ... READ MORE

Special CDA/Verderers Meeting for Cattle Commoners

30th August 2019

Recreation & Cattle 7.30pm, 19th September 2019, Lyndhurst Community Centre All cattle commoners are invited to a special meeting hosted jointly by the Official Verderer ... READ MORE

Forestry England’s housing sell-off halted by Ministers, for now…

5th August 2019

In May 2019 the CDA wrote to Michael Gove alerting him to Forestry England's new and unauthorised approach to marketing Crown-owned land and homes in the New Forest. After a long ... READ MORE

Commoning year

January

January can be a tough start to the New Year, with commoners often caring for their animals in the dark and wet, having to fit it around their other work.