The New Forest is an area of southern England. It includes one of the largest remaining pieces of open pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire and towards east Dorset.
The name also refers to the New Forest National Park which has similar boundaries. The New Forest local government district is a subdivision of Hampshire which covers most of the Forest. There are many villages dotted around the area, and several small towns in the Forest and around its edges.