The New Forest point to point is a huge boxing day event, not just for the commoners, but for locals who like to go along and spectate and support.
This event can take all the year to arrange with finding an ideal site, meetings with authorities and ecologists to thrash out the details. On alternate years the event is held either on the South or the North of the forest and although the vicinity of the event is revealed 2 weeks previously, the finishing line isn't revealed to the riders or spectators until the day of the races. The riders are then escorted to the start of the race on the day.
Behind the scenes the point to point becomes more and more challenging to arrange due to sensitive habitats, health and safety and parking pressures. The New Forest point to point has been running for more than 100 years and marks the end of the yearly commoners calendar, but with vast shifts in the landscape over this time, parking pressures and restrictions such as unsafe bridges and climate change the opportunities to provide new sites are narrowing.
Let's support the commoners community by abiding to the rules when enjoying these special events and to keep the pressure on Forestry England to maintain the forest as it should be so we all can be enjoying these long lived and important traditions for at least another 100 years.
Photo by Lorraine Fitzgerald photography. https://www.facebook.com/groups/lorrainefitzgeraldphotography/?ref=share
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