Exploring the oldest tree in England

The perfect autumnal Sunday meant one thing – an opportunity to get out into the countryside for some welcome fresh air. It is always easier to motivate the kids with a mission, and on this occasion we were on a quest to discover what is reputed to be the oldest tree in England.

The Crowhurst Yew is in the churchyard of St. Georges, Crowhurst which nestles in glorious Surrey weald countryside.

As you can see, we had a great time exploring the yew tree and its famous door. Rumour has it that when the tree was hollowed out in the 19th century a cannon ball from the English civil war of the 1600’s was found embedded inside. Unfortunately we didn’t find any munitions this time round.

With adventurous spirits kindled we then set off across the fields behind the church for a ~2.5km circular stroll. This took us through a welcome stand of proper old woodland full of oak and beech, and fields lined with a swiss cheese of rabbit warrens. Along the way we skirted the grounds of Crowhurst Place, a listed 15th century manor house. Apparently it has a moat – surely the #squadgoals of the Middles Ages.

This was certainly a great walk, perhaps made all the more welcome as it got us out into the fresh air after a week of lockdown. The idea came from this book Kiddiwalks in Surrey by David Weller, which we have found to be a good source of inspiration to get out and about – surely the main objective of such a book. The only thing that was a little tricky was the parking on the roadside but we got there early so it was OK. By the time we returned there were plenty of others parked up who apparently had the same idea.