The Ancient Yew Forest of Kingley Vale

Tucked betwixt Stoke Down too Bow Hill , close the hamlet of West Stoke well-nigh 3 miles due north W of Chichester , inward West Sussex inward southern England , is Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. Established inward 1952 , it was 1 of the commencement National Nature Reserves to endure opened inward Britain. The reserve covers an expanse of 160 hectares , including 1 of the finest yew forests inward western Europe. Some of the trees hither are equally much equally 1 ,000 years one-time , their trunks contorted past times historic menses too countless storms into incredibly bizarre shapes. Giant side branches swirl into the soil similar snakes , where they made secondary roots. From these immature trees accept arisen. The the world nether these trees is too so nighttime that no vegetation of whatever sort , non fifty-fifty grass , grow.

kingley-vale-yew-forest-7

Photo credit: Katariina Järvinen/Flickr

It’s hard to tell how one-time the yews are at Kingley Vale. Yews typically accept lifespans betwixt 400 too 600 years , exactly to a greater extent than or less specimens tin terminate alive longer. The historic menses of yews is notoriously hard to create upwardly one's heed because equally the trees historic menses , their trunks becomes hollow which makes band counting too carbon dating impossible equally in that place is hardly whatever one-time wood left. Added to this , yews accept this odd might to arrest their increment for centuries on cease if weather condition are unfavorable , until the environs becomes favorable 1 time again which reawakens the tree , too it starts growing again. During these years , the tree stops adding tree rings too girth to its trunk. Determining the historic menses of yews is , therefore , by too large guesswork. There are claims equally high equally v ,000–9 ,500 years , exactly these values are unrealistic.

According to local legend the yews at Kingley Vale were planted equally a memorial for a battle fought betwixt the Vikings too the Anglo Saxons inward the twelvemonth 859 , exactly to a greater extent than or less sources claim the trees are 2 M years old.

Nevertheless , the survival of the Kingley Vale yews is remarkable because most ancient yew trees across Europe were felled later the 14th century when English linguistic communication bowmen started preferring staves to endure made from straight-grained yew wood , which is reputedly the hardest coniferous timber inward the world. This wood was imported past times majestic decree amongst barrels of vino from Portugal too Spain.

Kingley Vale is 1 of the few major groves of yews remaining today.

kingley-vale-yew-forest-5