In the heart of Southern England lies a royal forest; a wild and magical place of ancient beauty that’s hardly changed since King William the Conqueror proclaimed it as his hunting grounds some 900 years ago. Stretching down from the famous Salisbury Plain to the rocky shores of the English Channel, the New Forest National Park is the largest and richest lowland wilderness in Britain, home to more ancient woods, mossy mires and rich heathlands than any other landscape in Europe.

In the one-hour film NEW FOREST: THE CROWN’S HUNTING GROUND (Wednesday 1st, 8pm), witness a remarkable year in the life of the forest, told through the eyes of its most iconic inhabitants; a newly born New Forest foal, a pair of goshawks nesting in the ancient woods and a red deer stag. From feast to famine, this is an extraordinary tale of how people and animals have shaped the destiny of a royal forest. And how its ancient laws, that have kept it safe for hundreds of years, are now coming under pressure.