Horror of horrors - it was Spanish Yew that made the bows that won the victory at Agincourt (and Welsh archers to boot). I learned all this at Kingley Vale, the most extensive stand of yew trees in Europe.
I had spotted something strange last year on my way down to caravan with the Dunbars. Google confirmed - it was a wood composed entirely of yew trees - a freak of changing land use practice had let offspring of ancient yews spread all over a hill side. There are plenty of yew trees in the UK (our third native species of conifer) but always an individuals. I spent a happy summer in the 1990's sticking yew trees on the first Postensplain map
Only to have Colin Spears (Bonnington Trophy winning chairman of the BOF map group) have them eliminated on the next version. In memoriam friend Russ planned a blue course as follows:
5.6km 200m climb 19 controls
1 74 Yew
2 33 Yew
3 56 Yew
:
18 45 Yew
19 100 Yew
Navigate 200m to finish
Kingley Vale must have been impressive even in pre-history - the many burial mounds on the overlooking ridge command views north and south over Sussex and Hampshire.
Ancient Yews on the valley floor
Impressive but not unique (http://www.ancient-yew.org/)
A stand where all the trees are yew - that is special - sadly not very friendly for orienteering
Saved for the nation by...
In amongst the yews were many strange and rare plants - Butchers Broom
and some form of vine or liana that I have not been able to identify...
and a local variety of Whitebeam
sad that this ability to identify and name plants, taught me by my botanist grandmother, no longer has any practical use
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