Читать книгу Walking in Kent. 40 circular short walks and day walks онлайн

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While the Medway divides the county into west and east, that other long river, the Stour, makes a writhing journey from its source near Lenham to the sea at Pegwell Bay, via Ashford, Canterbury and Sandwich. This too is a delightful river, but its character is quite different from that of the Medway’s. Meandering through downland, woodland, orchards and hop gardens, it almost loses its identity on entering Canterbury. But that identity is regained outside the city walls, and just beyond Fordwich (which lays claim to being Britain’s smallest town) it snakes among lakes, dykes, and a magical marshland nature reserve. One walk suggested from Stodmarsh unravels some of the mystery of this utterly charming district, while the Stour Valley Walk journeys for a little over 51 miles/82km from source to sea. The Stour and the Medway are both rivers of character, but the little Nail Bourne stream is sometimes dry for months – or even years – at a time. However, the valley it drains is a delight of small villages linked by the 22½ miles/36km of the Elham Valley Way, sampled here on walks from Bridge and Elham itself.