Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve

Kingley Vale has one of Europe's most impressive yew forests. The forest contains yews as much as 2,000 years old, which are some of the oldest living organisms in Great Britain.[8] Their survival is remarkable because most ancient yew trees across Europe were felled after the 14th century, being the preferred material for the staves of English longbows.

In 1472, with the increasing popularity of the longbow, the English government enacted a "yew tax" of four "bowestaffs" for every cask of wine unloaded at an English harbour.[9] This sparked a rush for ancient yew trees across Europe, decimating the forests.[9] Kingley Vale is one of the few major stands remaining; most yews elsewhere are solitary trees or small stands.[9]

Other tree species in Kingley Vale include oak, ash, holly and hawthorn. The chalk grassland is home to many flowers and herbs that form a diverse mosaic of species. Over 50 species of birds are found, although only six species breed in the yew woodland. Mammals include deer, yellow-necked mouse, water shrew and dormouse. The 39 species of butterfly at Kingley Vale are mainly found in the grassland.[10]

Kingley Vale has a rich and diverse heritage with remains of a Romano-Celtic temple at Bow Hill.[11] Iron Age settlement site known as Goosehill Camp,[12] the Devil's Humps Bronze Age round barrows and prehistoric flint mines. There are also a number of unidentified archaeological remains in the form of linear earthworks, a rectangular enclosure known as Bow Hill Camp and evidence of settlement at the base of the hill.[13]

• Map sources for Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve
• Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve
• Richard Williamson, The Great Yew Forest. The Natural History of Kingley Vale, London, Macmillan, 1978. ISBN 0-333-22739-5

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