New Forest is part of the district, south of the fictional town Helstone in North and South. In the novel, New Forest is the place where Margaret and her brother, Frederick, had spent many days playing through the park. Hampshire itself is the largest county in southwest England, where the port Southampton (another setting within the novel) sits. Hampshire has 15 national parks, including New Forest, meaning the county isn't just known for Southampton's port trades, but also its nature and old trails that weave through the county. New Forest Park is known for its odd parts of the park, including the graves of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Alice Hargreaves. It also has rare creatures including the Sand Lizard and the Wild Gladiolus. It also holds pannage, which is domestic pigs released into the park to eat nuts. In North and South, these two places are meant to help set up the scene and provide real settings for where the Hale family lives in Helstone. Hampshire is the ideal place to set up a novel dripped in romanticism. Nature is a huge part of romanticism, and the tones of separation by wealth bring the Helstone together. This also means when Mr. Hale walks to Southampton for a paper, it doesn't bring the reader out of the world Gaskell created. This is also where Margaret grew up and when compared to Southampton, is more romantic and beautiful than the "rugged" and "greedy" town of Southampton (shown when Margaret is disgusted by the Gormons).

Works Cited 

“History, Highlights & Facts About Hampshire, England: England 101.” History, Highlights & Facts About Hampshire, England | England 101, 2021, www.england101.com/page/Hampshire.

Roizen, Ron, et al. “Wilderness and Roadless, the King's Forests.” The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views, 9 June 2016, forestpolicypub.com/2016/06/09/wilderness-and-roadless-the-kings-forests/.

“Some Interesting Facts about the New Forest.” Some Interesting Facts about the New Forest National Park, 2021, thenewforestguide.com/new_forest_facts.htm.