Ytene: England's Ancient Forest
(1995)
An intriguing exploration of the changing landscape of England’s New Forest, this fifty minute production delves into the history and varied ecology of an ancient and diverse habitat.
An intriguing celebration of the region’s unique and diverse wildlife, world-renowned producer John Sparks spent over two years working on the production, capturing some of the area’s most elusive species. The more familiar sights of fallow deer and the area’s famous wild ponies are interspersed with stunning close-up photography of rarer firecrests, hawfinches, woodlarks and tadpole shrimps.
This atmospheric biography examines the effect that varied land use has had on the resident flora and fauna, weaving in the history of the humans who have sought their livelihoods within this vast woodland. From the Saxons who christened it Ytene to William the Conqueror declaring it a New Forest, the production provides an insight into the relationships that have always existed between the forest’s numerous inhabitants and man himself.
Ytene: England's Ancient Forest is an engaging account of the land’s evolution, charting its progression from a sacred land where Romans’ feared to tread to a National Park, now embraced by millions of tourists each year.
