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. 104