Four major rivers drain the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

River Medway

The catchment area of the Medway covers almost 25% of the county. The detailed map has a diagram of that catchment area, which includes its main tributaries: the rivers Eden, Bourne (or Shode), Teise, Beult, Loose and Len.

Tributaries of the River Medway

*The River Eden * River Grom *The River Bourne begins its course west of Oldbury Hill on the

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it r ...

in the parish of

Ightham Ightham ( ) is a village in Kent, England, located approximately four miles east of Sevenoaks and six miles north of Tonbridge. The parish includes the hamlet of Ivy Hatch. Ightham is famous for the nearby medieval manor of Ightham Mote ( Natio ...

and enters the Medway upstream of

East Peckham East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring. History The Domesday entry for East and West Peckham reads:- :'' The Archbishop himself h ...

, near

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated populat ...

. *The

River Teise The River Teise ( , ) is a tributary of the River Medway in Kent, England. Course The source of the Teise is in Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells. From there the river flows eastwards past Bayham Abbey and then through Lamberhurst. downstre ...

(pronounced ''tice'' or ''teeze'') begins in

Dunorlan Park Dunorlan Park is a park and grounds in Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK. Totalling approximately and containing a lake, the grounds were landscaped by Robert Marnock for Henry Reed, the merchant and philanthropist who owned the estate and the no ...

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmenvtra/477/477mem24.htm The source of the Teise. ¶13. and flows eastwards through

Lamberhurst Lamberhurst ( is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish contains the hamlets of The Down and Hook Green. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,491, increasing to 1,706 at the 2011 Census. ...

, passing Bayham Abbey. Here the small River Bewl, on which is the reservoir

Bewl Water Bewl Water is a reservoir in the valley of the River Bewl, straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex in England. It is about south of Lamberhurst, Kent. The reservoir was part of a project to increase supplies of water in the a ...

, joins the Teise. The Teise bifurcates 2 km SW of Marden, the minor stream flows directly to Twyford Bridge, Yalding, while the major stream joins the River Beult at Hunton, 1.5 km above Yalding. *The

River Beult The River Beult ( ) is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England. Course The Beult has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding, it is joined by the ...

(pronounced ''belt'') has its several sources west of Ashford, and then flows through

Headcorn Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone. The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidstone, on the A274 roa ...

and where it is joined by the major stream of the Teise. The river enters the Medway at

Yalding Yalding is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is situated south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. At the 2001 census, the parish, which incl ...

. * Wateringbury Stream rises at

West Peckham West Peckham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The River Bourne flows through the extreme west of the parish, and formerly powered a paper mill ( Hamptons Mill) and corn mill ( Oxenhoath Mill) ...

, flows south east towards

Mereworth Mereworth is a village and civil parish near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The Wateringbury Stream flows through the village and powered a watermill, the site of which now lies within the grounds of Mereworth Castle. Mereworth is pronou ...

and then flows in a generally easterly direction to join the Medway at

Wateringbury Wateringbury is a village and civil parish near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The Wateringbury Stream flows into the River Medway just above Bow Bridge. It formerly powered three watermills in the village, one of which survives. The ...

. It is some four miles (6 km) long and until the 20th century powered several

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

. *The River Loose is a relatively short river starting near

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

south east of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

running west through

Loose Loose may refer to: Places * Loose, Germany * Loose, Kent, a parish and village in southeast England People * Loose (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Loose'' (B'z album), a 1995 album by B'z * ''Loose'' (Crazy Horse album ...

and joining the Medway at

Tovil Tovil is a civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone, in Kent in the South East of England. It is a mixture of residential and industrial zoning, with an increase in commercial usage towards the centre of Maidstone, and more arable use on the out ...

. *The

River Len The River Len is a river in Kent, England. It rises at a spring in ''Bluebell Woods'' to the southeast of the village centre of Lenham from the source of the River Great Stour; both rise on the Greensand Ridge. Its length is c. It enters the ...

has its source at a small watershed south of

Lenham Lenham is a market village and civil parish in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, east of Maidstone. The picturesque square in the village has two public houses (one of which is a hotel), a couple of restaurants, and a tea ...

. A nearby stream is one of the sources of the

Great Stour Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

. The Len flows in a westerly direction and joins the Medway at

River Stour

The River Stour is also known as the Great Stour, especially above its confluence with the Little Stour at Plucks Gutter. Its catchment area covers the eastern part of Kent.

Tributaries of the River Stour

* East Stour - rising near

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

to Ashford. *

Little Stour The Little Stour is one of the tributaries of the River Stour in the English county of Kent. The upper reaches of the river is known as the Nailbourne, whilst the lower reaches were once known as the Seaton Navigation. The intermittent source ...

- north of Hythe to join the Great Stour at Plucks Gutter, north west of Canterbury. *

River Wantsum The River Wantsum is a tributary of the River Stour, in Kent, England. Formerly, the River Wantsum and the River Stour together formed the Wantsum Channel, which separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland of Kent. Now the River Wantsum is l ...

- part of the old Wantsum Channel separating the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

from Kent. * Whitewater Dyke - running from

Shadoxhurst Shadoxhurst () is a civil parish and a village on the remnant forest the Kent Weald, near Ashford in Kent, England between the Greensand Ridge and Romney Marsh. Geography Part of the vestige of county-sized woodland known as The Weald, Shadoxhurs ...

to Ashford * Ruckinge Dyke - from north of

Hamstreet Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England. The village is located 6 miles (10 km) south of Ashford (borough), Ashford on the A2070 road, A2070, the main road between Ashford, Kent, Ashford and Hastings. The majority of the villa ...

to Ashford * Aylesford Stream - its source is north of

Sevington Sevington is a historic village which has become a suburb of Ashford, Kent in England. History The geographically small village of Sevington is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ''Seivetone''. It appears as ''Se ...

Willesborough Willesborough is a village, now in effect a residential suburb, on the eastern side of Ashford, Kent, England. The area The South Willesborough Dykes area, on the west bank of the River East Stour, is an area of sheep fields drained by dykes. ...

River Darent

Its tributary is the

River Cray The River Cray is the largest tributary of the Darent. It is the prime river of outer, south-east Greater London, rising in Priory Gardens, Orpington, where rainwater percolates through the chalk bedrock of the Downs to form a pond where the ...

River Dour

A minor river from

Temple Ewell A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

to Dover

River Rother

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

en river. It is included here since for part of its journey near

Bodiam Bodiam () is a small village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It lies in the valley of the River Rother, near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green. The MP of the local UK Parliament constituency is Hu ...

it forms the boundary between

and East Sussex.

References

External links

Includes map of catchment area, River Medway
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