Man goes walking in forest at night but one thing makes him leave immediately

It has been voted as one of the best national parks in Europe - but one man says he turned around mid-hike after the 'atmosphere started to change'. New Forest National Park, covering Hampshire and Wiltshire, is one of the largest remaining tracks of Southern England's unenclosed pasture lands.

Its history spans nearly 1,000 years with William the Conqueror taking ownership of the area for hunts in 1079. While the forest is home to wild ponies today, it's said to be haunted by various ghosts throughout the centuries. After finding himself trekking through the forest at night, TikTok user @saintjidz experienced how 'creepy' it can be at night.

In his video, he said: "In 2022, it was voted the best national park in Europe [in TripAdvisor's 2022 Travellers' Choice Awards for Destinations] but what can go wrong when you're hiking at night?

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"We decided to slap on the Garmin, jump in the Mini, drive down south and visiting the New Forest.

"It was meant to be a simple trail, exploring the forest. But after veering off course, I had to hike through the darkness."

He then shows himself surrounded by ponies while trying to navigate his way through the forest.

He added: "Also known as the Whispering Forest, it's been around for nearly 900 years and with wild ponies roaming around at night, it felt like the atmosphere started to change."

When he came head-to-head with around seven ponies, he decided to turn back - not wanting to risk what could have happened otherwise.

"It was like silence of the lambs," he said: "I'm walking up and I'm seeing about seven ponies. You can never underestimate animals because if you encroach their space, I was like it's 7v1 - how am I going to manage that? I had to do a 360."

Commenting on his video, one user said: "New Forest is gorgeous don’t know if it’s your thing but in the New Forest is Beaulieu Motor Museum, which is in the Beaulieu Estate. If you don’t like cars then the gardens, abbey ruins and palace house is a must."

Another user added: "Nah all good down here. Lived here ages and been out in the woods plenty of times at night (have a dog that hates others) - it's even better night. Hope you had a good visit."

A third user said: "Most haunted forest in England and home to the witches of burly... if you believe that stuff."

One more user added: "Nah this is wild. I am not a forest in the dark their eyes lighting up too." A final user said: "You be brave."