Documentary, filmed over a two year period, exploring the wildlife found in the New Forest in southern England, which the Saxons called Ytene. The woodland, bogs and heaths of the area are home to wild ponies, fallow deer, badgers, foxes, wildfowl, and insects. Seasonal changes are shown, and some elusive species, such as firecrests, hawfinches, woodlarks and tadpole shrimps are pictured. The programme is interwoven with a history of land use in the area from mediaeval times.