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.

The heavy boughs reach to the floor where they root and grow anew.