Long Mede and the commemorative trees
Planting oak trees has a special symbolism at Runnymede. HM Queen Elizabeth II (in 1987) and other Heads of State, as well as several descendants of the twenty-five Magna Carta barons, have planted oaks here over the years.
The attractive meadow, Long Mede, has been used for haymaking for centuries and this traditional method continues today.
In 1539 a specially built tower permitted King Henry VIII to observe hunting and coursing, as he would have been too portly to ride by this time.
Cooper's Hill Woods
The eponymous 16th-century Cowper family farmed part of this manor for the Crown but were better known for flouting its Forest Laws.
The ancient boundary oaks within the woodland must have been acorns in Cowper's day. They mark the edge of the long-vanished land-holdings. Today these oaks provide shelter for a greater diversity of wildlife than any other native tree, including bats and insects as well as birds.
The National Trust manages the wood with all these residents in mind and only permits essential traditional woodland activities, such as selective thinning, coppicing and pollarding, to disturb their tranquillity.
Langham Pond and Meadow
Langham Pond, an area of contrasting marsh and open water, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. The pond is the remnant of an old ox-bow lake, formed when a meander of the River Thames was cut off and subsequently by-passed by the river. A fine example of a lowland wetland habitat, it is a feeding ground for herons and kingfishers, as well as supporting over 20 species of dragonflies and damselflies.
A hay meadow is one of the richest habitats nature can provide. The diversity of plant-life attracts many insects hungry for nectar. In summer Langham Meadow is alive with the frantic activities and sounds of bumblebees, crickets and beetles and often over ten species of butterfly can be counted here.
The Lily Pond
This sheltered creek, favoured today by waterfowl (especially the resident Mute Swans which nest among its dense plants), was once used to soak 'withies'– long shoots cut from Willow beds further upstream. The bark could then be easily removed and the withies bundled and shipped downstream to London and Amsterdam for use in wicker furniture and fence-making.
Ankerwycke
On the opposite bank of the Thames from Runnymede lies the important archaeological site of Ankerwycke, an area of parkland acquired by the National Trust in 1998 and containing the remains of the 12th-century St Mary's Priory and the Ankerwycke Yew - a magnificent tree believed to be over 2000 years old.
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