Kingley Vale NNR lies within the South Downs National Park in Sussex.
The reserve is a steep sided dry valley (dry Coombe) which from the top offers stunning views over Chichester Harbour and the Cathedral.
The lowest part of the coombe are covered with the finest example of ancient Yew forest in Europe with many of the large trees at least 500 years old. The oldest has a girth measuring more than 5 metres.
Their shapes are weird and fantastic contorted by time and centuries of storms. This along with the layering of the huge limbs makes the trees look like giant serpents with many eyes and ears and it feels like you are constantly being watched by them. The Yew grove at night is no place for the faint hearted!