Kingley Vale

Of all the places we send guests, Kingley Vale gets the most awed reports back. It is a national nature reserve — one of Britain's first, designated back in the 1950s — folded into a dry chalk valley on the south side of the Downs near the hamlet of West Stoke, and it protects what is widely reckoned to be one of the finest yew forests in western Europe. The drive from the estate takes about 25 minutes, south-west over the Downs through Chilgrove or down the A286 and along the lanes past East Ashling.

At the heart of the reserve stands a grove of ancient yews whose ages are honestly anyone's guess — centuries at minimum, and some estimates run to a thousand years or more, which would make them candidates for the oldest living things in Britain. Whatever their birthdays, they are extraordinary to walk among: vast fluted red trunks, limbs that have sagged to the ground, rooted and risen again, and a green twilight beneath the canopy where almost nothing else grows. Children reliably declare it the home of dragons; adults go quiet. Local legend has it that the grove sprang up where Viking raiders were defeated and buried, which is unprovable and entirely in keeping with the atmosphere of the place.

Climb on past the grove — it is a steep pull on chalk — and you come out of the trees onto the open ridge at the Devil's Humps: a group of Bronze Age burial mounds standing proud of the turf, raised for chieftains some three and a half thousand years ago. The reward for the climb is one of the great views of the south coast — the spire of Chichester Cathedral, the creeks of Chichester Harbour silvering towards the sea, and on a clear day the Isle of Wight lying along the horizon. The contrast, from the dark of the yews to all that light and distance in ten minutes' walking, is what makes Kingley Vale unforgettable.

The reserve mixes ancient woodland and flower-rich chalk grassland, so there is always something. In autumn and early winter the yews hang heavy with red arils and fill up with redwings, fieldfares and mistle thrushes gorging on them — one of the best berry-bird spectacles in the county. Red kites and buzzards patrol the ridge, green woodpeckers work the anthills on the slopes, and in high summer the grassland is thick with orchids and chalk downland butterflies. Take binoculars up to the barrows and scan towards the harbour; on a good day you can add distant waders and wildfowl to a woodland list without moving your feet.

• Getting in — park in the free car park at West Stoke (Downs Road, north-west of Chichester), then walk the flat three-quarters of a mile of track to the reserve entrance. There are no facilities at the car park or on the reserve, so bring water.
• The walk — the classic circuit through the grove, up to the Devil's Humps and back around the ridge is roughly three miles; allow a good two hours, and wear proper shoes, as the chalk is steep in places and slippery when wet.
• Dogs — welcome on leads; the reserve is grazed and ground-nesting birds use the grassland in spring and summer.
• Timing — misty autumn mornings and thrush-filled winter afternoons are the connoisseur's choices, but the view from the barrows earns its keep in any season. This is a managed nature reserve (Natural England), so stick to the paths through the grove.