InfoBritain

 

Kingley Vale, West Sussex

View from Bow Hill looking towards Portsmouth

 

The Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve is a few miles north west of Chichester in West Sussex. The Reserve includes the ancient woodland in the area of Bow Hill. This reserve contains one of the finest yew forests in western Europe. There are trees here which are perhaps the oldest living things in Britain. The largest yew trees can be found at the foot of the valley. These trees may be 2000 years old. Their shapes are contorted by time and countless storms. Walking through the yew grove has been compared to walking through a cathedral.

Yew Grove

While most of the walks at Kingley Vale take you through sun dappled yew cathedrals and over open downland, there are some sections where the walk skirts extremely dense yew forest. These areas give some idea of the Wildwood which once covered Britain, and struck fear into the hearts of many of the settlers who had to live beside and within it. The tree canopy looks so green and bright from above, but look into the depths of the wood and there is an almost lifeless gloom. There are a few lines of Wordsworth's which sum up these woods:

 

 

 

 

Like Leafless underboughs in some thick wood

All withered by the depth of shade above

(From The Excursion)

 

The Kingley Vale Nature Trail follows numbered posts around the reserve, and it is requested that visitors stay on the paths to protect the unique environment. The whole of the circular walk takes about an hour and a half, and is steep in some sections. Take water with you.

Directions: Kingley Vale is not well signposted and can be difficult to find. To get to the reserve leave the A286 at Mid Lavant and continue on to the village of West Stoke. On the west side of the village there is a signposted turning to the National Nature Reserve car park, which you will see about a hundred meters after the turning. The reserve is a ten minute walk along a footpath leading from the car park to the main entrance. At the entrance there is a small, unmanned visitors centre with displays and information about the reserve. There are no toilets. The reserve is near the Cycle Chichester route of the Sustrans National Cycle Network. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred over Kingley Vale.

Access: there is good access between the car park and the visitors centre, but after that the terrain becomes more difficult. The valley area is fairly flat, but the paths in the area of Bow Hill are steep.

Contact:

phone: +44 (0) 1733 455101

e-mail: sussex.surrey@english-nature.org.uk