Editing Runnymede (section)

== Topography ==
[[File:Runnymede-meadow-eghamend.jpg|thumb|right|Runnymede water-meadow viewed from south-east of National Trust land]]
[[File:SouthThamesRunnymede.jpg|thumb|Long Mede pasture at Runnymede viewed from north-west of National Trust land]]

The name Runnymede refers to land in public and [[National Trust]] ownership in the Thames flood plain south-west of the river between [[Old Windsor]] and [[Egham]]. The area includes (to the west of [[A308 road]]) the Long Mede and Runnymede, which together with Coopers Hill Slopes is managed by the National Trust. There is also a narrower strip of land, east of the road and west of the river, known as the Yard Mede. On the west bank of the river, at the southern end of the area shown on the above map, are (inter alia): a recreational area with a large car park; a number of private homes; a large distribution centre; and a hotel.

The landscape of Runnymede is characterised as "Thames Basin Lowland", an urban fringe. It is a gently undulating vale of small fields interspersed by woods, [[shaw (woodland)|shaws]], ponds, meadows, and heath.<ref name="Council report">{{cite web|url=http://ww2.runnymede.gov.uk/business/ImpactAssess/state%20report/Natural.pdf |title=Natural Environment: Profile of the Runnymede Landscape |last=Anon |year=2004 |work=First Annual State of Runnymede Report 2004 |publisher=Runnymede Borough Council |pages=2 |access-date=1 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722002027/http://ww2.runnymede.gov.uk/business/ImpactAssess/state%20report/Natural.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011 }}</ref> The National Trust area is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) which contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Both sites are overseen by Runnymede Borough Council.<ref name="Council report" />

The National Trust holding includes:

* {{convert|188|acre|ha}} donated in 1929 set behind a narrow riverside park with occasional benches on the southern river bank, with car and coach parking;
* {{convert|110|acre|ha}} of broadleaved woodland on Coopers Hill Slopes, given in 1963 by the former Egham Urban District Council.{{#tag:ref|In April 1974, the Council was subsumed within Runnymede Borough.|group= n}}

Long Mede is a meadow north of the ancient "mede" (meadow)<ref>[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/115384 mead, n.<sup>2</sup>] Oxford English Dictionary (subscription required). Retrieved: 2015-09-27. "Mead" means "meadow", historical spelling "mede".</ref> of Runnymede towards Old Windsor and has been used for centuries to provide good-quality hay from the alluvial pasture. Runnymede itself lies towards Egham. It is likely that Runnymede proper was the site of the sealing of Magna Carta, although the [[Runnymede#Magna Carta Memorial|Magna Carta Memorial]] stands on Long Mede.

The sealing of Magna Carta is also popularly associated with [[Magna Carta Island]], on the opposite (east) bank of the Thames.<ref name="Tatton-Brown">{{cite journal |first=Tim |last=Tatton-Brown |title=Magna Carta at 800: uncovering its landscape archaeology |journal=Current Archaeology |issue=304 |date=July 2015 |pages=34–37 }}</ref> It has also sometimes been associated with the nearby [[Ankerwycke Yew]]. These and their surrounding landscape of [[floodplain]] and parkland may once have formed an integral part of Runnymede, as the river has occasionally changed its course here. Ankerwycke and the ruins of the 12th-century Priory of St Mary's were both acquired by the National Trust in 1998. As the Thames forms the county boundary at this point, these areas now lie in [[Berkshire]].