insideKENT Magazine Issue 23 - February 2014 | Page 104
DAYSOUT
Stour Valley Walk
TAKE ON THE 58-MILE WINDING PATH OF THE RIVER STOUR FROM ITS
SOURCE AT THE VILLAGE OF LENHAM TOWARDS THE HISTORIC CITY OF
CANTERBURY AND ON TO THE STRAITS OF DOVER NEAR PEGWELL BAY. THIS
LONG-DISTANCE WALK CAN BE BROKEN INTO SMALLER, MORE MANAGEABLE
SECTIONS, CREATING A MEMORABLE JOURNEY OF CHARMING VILLAGES,
ORCHARDS AND WOODLAND.
Woodland and villages line your route as the river winds through the outskirts
of Ashford and Hothfield Heathlands. This unique landscape is the last
valley of heathland and lowland valley bog left in Kent. Today the grazing
livestock which once roamed this area have been reintroduced in order to
create a mosaic of open heath and grassland, resulting in bright patches
of heather, dwarf and common gorse and heath spotted orchid.
Your walk begins at the
heart of the Garden of
England in the charming
market village of
Lenham. Leaving the
village you’ll follow the
banks of the tranquil
river and continue
across field paths and
through rolling
grassland.
Continue across a
patchwork path of fields and orchards and look out for mills dotted along
the banks of the river, which have harnessed the water’s power to support
a number of local industries in the area.
Busy Ashford lies along your trail with its historic buildings, but stride through
the town and you’ll soon reach a relief of peaceful fields on the other side.
Further on Chartham, Godmersham and Chilham line the banks of the river.
Pause for local produce and ales in these picturesque towns or continue
through the fields, skirting areas of woodland and head towards magnificent
Canterbury.
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