So this place came from the excellent 'Wild Britain' series of books. What a magical place. It's a privilege to be able to walk amongst the 'oldest living organisms' in this country, and boy are they majestic. The vale in the wider sense is also tremendous - I had a lovely 2-3 hour walk.
From Wiki:
Kingley Vale has one of Europe's most impressive yew forests. The forest contains yews as much as 2,000 years old, which are some of the oldest living organisms in Great Britain.[10] Their survival is remarkable because most ancient yew trees across Europe were felled after the 14th century, being the preferred material for the staves of English longbows.
In 1472, with the increasing popularity of the longbow, the English government enacted a "yew tax" of four "bowestaffs" for every cask of wine unloaded at an English harbour.[11] This sparked a rush for ancient yew trees across Europe, decimating the forests.[11] Kingley Vale is one of the few major stands remaining; most yews elsewhere are solitary trees or small stands
