The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the Low Weald and Kent Downs, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay.
The walk passes through some of Kent's finest landscapes, most important nature sites and most historic, un-spoilt villages. The walk is signed with the logo of a Heron, occasionally seen in the area.
The 51.5 miles (82.9 km) route is of interest for its landscape and history, and for its archaeological, historical and architectural features. Part of the Pilgrims' Way followed the river valley from Wye to Canterbury after the North Downs.
The walk passes through a varied landscape of downland, woodland, orchards, hop gardens and farmland; lakes, dykes and marshland; unspoilt villages and hamlets; and historic towns.
It is possible to reach the walk from Maidstone via the 12 kilometer long Len Valley Walk (booklet available from Maidstone Council).
Famous quotes containing the words valley and/or walk:
“How old the world is! I walk between two eternities.... What is my fleeting existence in comparison with that decaying rock, that valley digging its channel ever deeper, that forest that is tottering and those great masses above my head about to fall? I see the marble of tombs crumbling into dust; and yet I don’t want to die!”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Think me not unkind and rude
That I walk alone in grove and glen;
I go to the god of the wood
To fetch his word to men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)