The New Forest, England, UK – I often imagine that there are not many places where everyone’s excuse for being late to class is that there was a herd of donkeys on the road.
The New Forest National Park will always be my home, and not – as it is to most of the people in the UK – just a local tourist spot.
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Many of my childhood photos show me bundled up in layers for the British winter with a sprawling forest background.
The streets consist of a unique display of houses from traditional thatched cottages to modern brick-built bungalows.
My home and commutes stretch through the vibrant national park. It is best known for being home to the real life Alice, the girl at the center of Lewis Carroll’ s Alice in Wonderland.
It’s also home to someof the only free-roaming ponies and cattle in the UK.
Despite their beauty, the ponies, cows, bulls, donkeys, sheep and other animals often cause trouble with the local transport, resulting in the majority of cars to sport an “I go slow for ponies” bumper sticker.
But I think all people in my local area forget to appreciate the vibrancy and immersion into nature around us, with stretches of heathland right on our doorsteps.
While I do love the animals, I often feel as if we lack a sense of community. This is likely caused by the internet tagging the area as an ideal place for retirement, which results in the average age here to sit at 50.
Trying to find other like-minded young people is a difficult task, but not impossible.
The one exception to this is the annual Christchurch food festival, which attracts people from every corner of the forest – especially families – to come and taste delicious food from local small businesses with a side of live music and entertainment.
There, you can try new foods, such as one of my new favorites, chili chocolate fudge.
I feel grateful to live only a 20-minute commute away from my school. As one of the few in the area, Brockenhurst College attracts a wide variety of students with many of my classmates even travelling from one of the local isles every day by ferry.
It is situated in the heart of Brockenhurst, a very small village often overpopulated by some of the 13.5 million tourists that travel to the New Forest every year. They come year round, but the majority visit in the summer. You can spot them trying to sneak that one extra picture with a donkey and flooding the high street which consists of only a few shops.
One of these shops is the Bakehouse, which sits in the center of the high street and is usually spotted with a queue of students lining up outside.
Despite the queue, all the local people would argue that their pastries are always worth the wait. This is due to their vast selection of baked goods and puddings that seem to satisfy any sweet craving.
I do not envy those with a completely urban life.
With its access to flourishing beaches and forests, there is no place I would rather live than here.
Tallulah Binder is a Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
