The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the ''Low

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 ...

'' and ''Kent Downs,'' from its source at

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 ...

to its estuary at

Pegwell Bay Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast astride the estuary of the River Stour north of Sandwich Bay, between Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent. Part of the bay is a nature reserve, with seashore habitats including mudflats an ...

. The walk passes through some 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 ...

's finest landscapes, most important nature sites and most historic, unspoilt villages. The walk is signed with the

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...

of a

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

, a bird occasionally seen in the area. The route is of interest for its landscape and history, and for its archaeological, historical and architectural features. Part of the

Pilgrims' Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of comparatively recent coinage ...

followed the river valley from

Wye Wye may refer to: Place names *Wye, Kent, a village in Kent, England ** Wye College, agricultural college, part of University of London before closure in 2009 **Wye School, serving the above village ** Wye railway station, serving the above villa ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

after the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...

. The walk passes through a varied landscape of

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

, orchards, hop gardens and farmland; lakes, dykes and

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

; unspoilt

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and hamlets, and historic towns. It is possible to reach the walk from

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, 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 c ...

via the 12 kilometre long

Len Valley Walk Len or LEN may refer to: People and fictional characters * Len (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lén, a character from Irish mythology * Alex Len (born 1993), Ukrainian basketball player * Mr. Len, American hip hop DJ ...

The route

*a)

to Little Chart *b) Little Chart to Ashford *c) Ashford to

*d) Wye to

Godmersham Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village straddles the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs and its land is approximately one third woodland, all in the far east and west ...

*e) Godmersham to

Chilham Chilham is a mostly agricultural village and parish in the English county of Kent with a clustered settlement, Chilham village centre, in the northeast, and a smaller linear settlement, Shottenden. Well-preserved roads and mostly residential list ...

*f) Chilham to

Chartham Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Canterbury, England. The Great St ...

*g) Chartham to

*h) Canterbury to

Sturry Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river situated northeast of Canterbury in Kent. Its large civil parish incorporates several hamlets and, until April 2019, the former mining village of Hersden. Geography Sturry lies at the old Roman ju ...

*i) Sturry to

Upstreet Upstreet is a village in the civil parish of Chislet in Kent, England. It is in the local government district of Canterbury, and the electoral ward of Marshside. It is about 62 miles away from London. Upstreet is a ribbon development along the A ...

*j) Upstreet to

East Stourmouth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

*k) East Stourmouth to

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

*l) Sandwich to

Lenham to Little chart

– to :Walking south-east from

, across the church yard and then immediately into the countryside, through agricultural fields, gaining a first sighting of a stream running to become part of the River. The route then traverses a pedestrian crossing of the railway, to Lenham Heath and then over

High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...

and the Motorway ( M20) to Little Chart where the path joins the

Greensand Way The Greensand Way is a long-distance path of in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and ...

Little Chart to Ashford

– to :The Stour Valley Walk separates from the Greensand Way at Hothfield Common and merges again at

Godinton Godinton (sometimes known as Godinton Park) is a suburb of Ashford, Kent in England, with its stately home Godinton House within its outskirts. Godinton is located between Great Chart, Hothfield and the town of Ashford proper. The Orpington ...

, heading south to Great Chart, where the Greensand Way continues south, to Kingsnorth and

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

. Our walk follows the now larger upper reaches of the Great Stour eastwards to Singleton

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

and along the Ashford Green Corridor ( Local Nature Reserve) into Ashford's centre. :The Ashford Green Corridor web site has a very useful map showing Singleton Lake and other green areas within Ashford and the route of this part of the walk. In this section of the walk

common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogn ...

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

and possibly water voles can be seen. :

Ashford to Wye

– to :The

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem); ...

of the East Stour and the Great Stour is at the old mill at the bottom of ''East Hill'' in Ashford, and the walk continues from here, heading east to

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. ...

Lees and then north to

where the Stour Valley Walk crosses the

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Be ...

's southerly section.

Wye to Chilham

– to :There is a slight ascent as the route leaves

, rising from 35 m to 150 m, and some of the paths are narrow containing rabbit holes. :In this stage the Stour Valley Walk follows the path of the Great Stour river as it meanders through the countryside of East Kent. One of the most beautiful sections of this walk can be found between the villages of Wye and

, passing through a rolling landscape with panoramic views. There are regular bus and train links to both

and Ashford from the start and finish points of this walk. :From the station at Wye walk up into the village crossing the river for the first time, and turn left into Church Street. From the church follow the route signs for the

and Stour Valley Walk, pass through the college buildings crossing a road and then out into open farmland. Here the Stour Valley Walk and the North Downs Way separate, as the North Downs Way heads east, above the ''Wye Crown'' to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. Follow the path cutting diagonally left across the field towards woodland. :Once through the woodland the path dips into the valley offering views of the surrounding countryside and then continues through coppiced woodland to open meadow land and the village of

Crundale Crundale may refer to: * Crundale, Kent, a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England *Crundale, Pembrokeshire Crundale is a village near Haverfordwest in south Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. It is the principal residenti ...

. The path follows an unmade road branching off to the left across farmland leading into dense woodland, where it is lined with yew trees. The walk follows several sections of woodland, and as the route approaches Chilham, there are views of the castle. The path then branches to the left over a stile, this link path then takes walkers back down to the river to the Chilham mill. :For Chilham village square follow the road from the mill to the A28. The main square boasts timber framed houses, a 13th century church and the impressive castle gateway. :For the railway station turn right at the main road and continue for approximately 150 metres then turn left – the station should be clearly signed.BBC Discover Kent
/ref>

Chilham to Canterbury

– to :Leaving

village, head east across the river to pick up the main Stour Valley Walk, passing the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repre ...

, Julliberrie's Grave and then follow the route north-east to Shalmsford Street, and on towards

Thanington Without Thanington is a civil parish on the west edge of Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom. It extends to the south-west of A2 from Wincheap to the Milton Bridge in Chartham. It is the only parished area within the City of Canterbury. The north ward of ...

and

. :

Canterbury to Upstreet

– to

Upstreet to Sandwich

– to At Upstreet the path joins the

Saxon Shore Way The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...

heading towards

Sandwich to Pegwell Bay