Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve
Kingley Vale is a large nature reserve in West Sussex, north of Chichester. It covers about 204.4 hectares (505 acres) and is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its biology. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and a Grade I site in the Nature Conservation Review. A portion of the land, about 147.9 hectares (365 acres), is designated as a national nature reserve. Part of the land is owned by the Forestry Commission, and Natural England manages the site. The reserve has an information centre and a nature trail for visitors.
The landscape is dominated by a vast yew forest, one of Europe’s most impressive. Some yew trees are as old as 2,000 years, making them among Britain’s oldest living plants. Yew forests were greatly reduced in the past because ancient yews were prized for longbow staffs. Other trees in the wood include oak, ash, holly and hawthorn. Ash dieback disease in the 2010s created new clearings that allow other plants to grow.
The chalk grassland around the trees supports a wide range of flowers and herbs. More than 50 bird species have been recorded here, though only about six birds breed in the yew woodland. Mammals include deer, yellow-necked mouse, water shrew and dormouse. About 39 butterfly species are mainly found in the grassland.
Kingley Vale has rich heritage and archaeology, including a Romano-Celtic temple at Bow Hill, an Iron Age settlement at Goosehill Camp, and the Devil’s Humps Bronze Age burial mounds. There are also prehistoric flint mines and various earthworks, such as a rectangular enclosure at Bow Hill Camp.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:09 (CET).