Stour Valley Walk (Guide & What to see)
The Stour Valley Walk is a long-distance footpath that runs for approximately 58 miles (93 km) through the Low Weald and North Downs of East Kent. The route follows the River Stour through a beautiful countryside, picturesque villages, historic towns, meadows, salt marches and ancient woodlands.
The walk begins near the source of the River Stour in Lenham and ends at the Stour Estuary in Pegwell Bay, near Sandwich.
Along the way, you will walk through large towns, such as Ashford or Canterbury, but also visit the smallest town in Britain – Fordwich. There are also lot of pretty villages, such as Wye, medieval town of Sandwich or Richborough Roman Fort (most likely the first place where Romans landed in Britain).
I like that the the Stour Valley Walk is easily accessible by public transport and you can start it from lots of different points (even walk it in the ‘wrong’ direction since it’s mostly flat. I have walked various sections of the path (sometimes several times) and it’s always lovely to see how the countryside changes with seasons.
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My favourite part of the walk
The walk scenery changes with each section and I really like that, but if I had to pick my favourite sections, it would be the beginning from Lenham until just before Ashford. The countryside here is quite sleepy with tiny villages, pretty houses and there are not that many people around.
But, it’s also nice to walk right next to the Stour river, which is why I also like the non-official Stour Valley path along the river from Canterbury to Fordwich (the official path is in more greener area of Canterbury, but it doesn’t follow the river close enough). It’s of course quite built up there, but it’s one of my favourite things to do in Canterbury when I visit, as it’s lovely to escape the busy centre for a bit.
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Stour Valley Walk Long Distance Path Info
DISTANCE: 58 miles (93 km)
STARTING POINT: Lenham
FINISHING POINT: Pegwell Bay
WALK DIFFICULTY & TERRAIN: easy walk, mostly flat or slightly down the hill walk, slightly hilly section in early stages through the North Downs, could get wet and boggy in places especially after long rain and in the lower parts of the Stour Valley
FACILITIES: There are pubs, cafes, shops along the way (mostly around the larger towns and villages), accommodation in Ashford, Canterbury, Sandwich etc.
ACCESSING THE PATH: Easy to access by public transport, especially trains on most sections of the walk, including Lenham, Ashford, Canterbury, Sandwich
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What’s the best way to walk the Stour Walley Walk
There is no definite right or wrong way to walk this long distance path, but I think it makes sense to start at Lenham and follow the river down. This way you’ll see how the river gets bigger and you will also walk slightly down or level as you follow the trail.
The walk follows the course of the River Stour, which means it generally maintains a gentle downhill trajectory as it traces the river from its source to the sea. The walk begins at Lenham on the North Downs at an elevation of approximately 115-120 meters above sea level. From there, the path gradually descends as it follows the river’s natural flow.
The first day’s walking from Lenham has the most noticeable elevation changes as you descend from the chalk hills. Once past Ashford, the trail becomes increasingly flat as you follow the lower parts of the Stour Valley. The final sections from Canterbury to Sandwich and on to Pegwell Bay are pretty much level as you cross the flat marshlands and coastal plains of east Kent.
The total elevation gain across the entire route is modest, with approximately 618 meters of climbing spread over the 58-mile journey.
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The Stour Valley Walk sections
To make the walk a little more comfortable (and to have the time to visit some of the attractions, towns and villages along the way), I divided the walk into 5 days.
The whole walk is 58-mile (93 km), which is roughly 11–12 miles (18–19 km) per day, which I think it’s quite manageable. Also, if you have only one or two days, you can pick the section that’s the closest to you (or have the best train connection to where you live) and then come back to do another section later on (which is what I normally do).
Day 1: Lenham to Ashford
Distance: ~12 miles (19 km)
Walk from Lenham through the countryside, passing Charing and Little Chart, finishing in Ashford—a good spot for accommodation and amenities.
Day 2: Ashford to Wye
Distance: ~11 miles (18 km)
Leave Ashford, following the River Stour through Great Chart and Godmersham, ending in the picturesque village of Wye.
Day 3: Wye to Canterbury
Distance: ~11 miles (18 km)
Enjoy the North Downs scenery as you head from Wye to Canterbury, a historic city with plenty of options for an overnight stay.
Day 4: Canterbury to Sandwich
Distance: ~12 miles (19 km)
Depart Canterbury, passing through Fordwich and Stodmarsh Nature Reserve, and finish in the medieval town of Sandwich.
Day 5: Sandwich to Pegwell Bay
Distance: ~12 miles (19 km)
The final stretch takes you along the river and through coastal landscapes, ending at Pegwell Bay by the sea.
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What to see along the Stour Valley Walk
Lenham
Lenham is a pretty village with a long and interesting history as it was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086.
The centre of Lenham is a historic market square surrounded by old buildings, including some timber-framed houses and a St. Mary’s church, which was built in the 1100s. Just outside the village you can see a large chalk cross (the Lenham Cross) cut into a hillside in 1922 to remember local soldiers who died in World War I.
The village once housed a workhouse built in 1723, remnants of which are incorporated into the Douglas Almshouses just off the square, and the old village gaol, which served until after World War I.
Little Chart
Little Chart is a small village and it had a recorded population of just 14 households in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it was part of the hundred of Calehill. The village was historically connected to the salt industry, which was well-documented in the Domesday records.
Little Chart’s parish records date back to the mid-16th century, with christenings recorded from 1556, marriages from 1562, and burials from 1564. The village once had an important ford over the Great Stour river.
The old church of Little Chart was bombed by a doodlebug during World War II and it’s now in ruins. New church was built in 1950s closer to the village centre. The village has a cricket tradition, with the Little Chart Cricket Club being formed as part of the Kent Village Cricket League.
The old Ford Mill, named after the former ford over the Great Stour still operates today dealing in salvaged paper.
Hothfield Common Nature Reserve
Hothfield Common was historically used for over 1,000 years as unenclosed pasture for grazing livestock and it’s never been cultivated. People from surrounding villages would gather here wood, turf and peat for fuel.
The nature reserve is one of the Kent’s last four valley bogs and it certainly has a completely different feel to it from the rest of the countryside round there, when you walk through it.
Godinton Park
Godinton House and Park is a historic estate dating back to the 14th century when Alan de Godynton was Lord of the Manor. The property passed through the de Godynton family until 1399 when it was sold to the Champney brothers.
Later, the Toke family owned the estate for approximately 455 years from 1440 to 1895. Around the turn of the 19th/20th century, then-owner Mr. Ashley Dodd commissioned the renowned architect Sir Reginald Blomfield to update the house and redesign the gardens.
Godinton House has one of the most beautiful gardens in Kent. There are 12 acres of perfectly designed gardens surrounded by tranquil parkland. Both house and the gardens are open to public and the house tearooms are very popular with locals.
Ashford
Ashford’s history dates back to Saxon times, when it was just a small village. In 1243, Ashford received its first market charter, which was later renewed in 1348 and 1466, establishing it as one of Kent’s most significant market towns by the 1600s.
The town grew rapidly in the 19th century when it became a major railway centre with locomotive works. Ashford today has more heritage sites than any other borough in Kent, including 2,395 listed buildings, 42 scheduled monuments, 43 conservation areas, 6 registered parks and gardens, and two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Ashford Cattle Market, which relocated from its original High Street location to Elwick Road in 1856, has been moved to Orbital Park where it’s still being used by over 5,000 farmers.
Wye
Wye has ancient origins dating back to pre-Roman times. The name “Wye,” recorded as “Wi” in the Domesday Book, comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “wih” meaning idol or place of heathen temple.
Long before the Norman Conquest of 1066, Wye was a royal manor and and administrative centre of the Lathe and Hundred of Wye (one of seven administrative districts in Kent between the 6th and 13th centuries). The Romans built settlements near the River Stour, and during Saxon times, Wye fell under the royal control of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Kent and later become a market town.
The village had a famous agricultural college (originally the College of St. Gregory and St. Martin), which was founded in 1447 by Archbishop John Kempe and used until its closure in the early 21st century. The college contributed to a lot of agricultural research, including the development of hop varieties such as Wye Challenger, which was named after the village.
Chartham
Chartham village can trace it’s origins back to Saxon times when it was known as “Certeham” in the Domesday Book of 1086. The village grew around the River Stour with the church of St. Mary’s Church, built in the 13th century.
In 1668 large fossil bones were found here during the sinking of a well. This was one of the earliest discoveries in England, that contributed to the development of modern paleontology.
In 1875, the East Kent Lunatic Asylum (later renamed St. Augustine’s Hospital) was built on Chartham Downs on the outskirts of Chartham village. The asylum was built to accommodate over 900 patients and operated until the late 20th century, when it was closed down.
The Chartham mill, which is specialising in the production of tracing paper was founded in 1938.
Canterbury
Canterbury’s history started as a Roman settlement called Durovernum Cantiacorum around 43 CE before becoming a major Anglo-Saxon center by 597 when St. Augustine arrived to convert King Ethelbert of Kent to Christianity.
In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights of King Henry II and the cathedral become one of Europe’s most important pilgrimage sites. So much so, that Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales at thee end of 13th century.
There are lots of other historical attractions when you visit Canterbury, including St. Martin’s Church, England’s oldest parish church in continuous use, which dates to the 6th century and was used by Queen Bertha for worship before Augustine’s arrival.
You can also visit of St. Augustine’s Abbey ruins, the 14th-century Westgate Towers (England’s largest surviving medieval gateway), Canterbury Roman Museum or the12th-century Eastbridge Hospital of St. Thomas which provided accommodation for medieval pilgrims.
Fordwich
Fordwich is England’s smallest town, with timber-framed buildings and pretty riverside views.
Despite never having more than a few hundred inhabitants (the most recent census counted just 381 residents), Fordwich got it’s town status in 1184 when King Henry II granted it a Merchant Gild Charter.
This recognition reflected its importance as Canterbury’s port, where all of the Caen stone used by the Normans to rebuild Canterbury Cathedral during the 12th and 13th centuries was landed. The town later became a limb of the Cinque Ports, though it lost its official town status in 1880 when it no longer had a Mayor.
Fordwich’s historical significance as a port diminished over time due to the River Stour becoming increasingly silted up. The opening of a railway in 1830 linking Canterbury and Whitstable harbour marked the final end of Fordwich’s role as a port. As the river narrowed, the town built a bridge and started to charge tolls for crossing.
Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve
Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve is between Stodmarsh Village and Grove Ferry Picnic Site, is one of Kent’s largest wildlife sanctuaries (595 acres).
The reserve has large lakes, extensive reedbeds, and wet meadows and you can find here impressive variety of wetland birds including marsh harriers, Cetti’s warblers, bearded tits, and water rails.
Richborough Roman Fort
Richborough Roman Fort was established in 43 AD as the landing site for Emperor Claudius’s invasion force of 40,000 men. By the late 3rd century, as Saxon raids threatened the coast, Richborough was transformed into one of the Saxon Shore forts with massive stone walls that still stand impressively to several meters in height today.
The fort remained occupied well beyond the official end of Roman Britain in 410 AD which makes it one of the last Roman outposts in England.
Sandwich
Sandwich is one of the most complete medieval towns in England and is also one of the original Cinque Ports. First mentioned in historical records in AD 664, Sandwich name originally comes from the Old English “Sandwic,” meaning “sandy place” or “trading center on sand.
At its medieval peak, Sandwich was a bustling port and commercial centre with a population of about 5,000, similar to its current size of 4,985 residents according to recent data. Though it has lost its former status as a major port due to the silting of the Wantsum Channel, Sandwich still has a marina and you can take a boat trip on the river.
Pegwell Bay
Pegwell Bay, a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast between Ramsgate and Sandwich. The bay is famously depicted in William Dyce’s 1858 painting “Pegwell Bay, Kent – a Recollection of October 5th 1858,” which captures its distinctive white cliffs and expansive sands.
Historically, Pegwell Bay is believed to be the traditional landing place of Hengist and Horsa, the legendary Germanic leaders who helped establish Anglo-Saxon rule in Britain, as well as St. Augustine who brought Christianity to England in 597 AD.
During the Victorian era, the bay was a popular destination for holiday-makers, fossil hunters, and rock poolers, with 19th-century visitors even attempting to establish a pleasure pier to rival nearby Ramsgate, though this venture proved unsuccessful and was dismantled before the century’s end.
Part of Pegwell Bay is now a nature reserve with mudflats and salt marsh that provide essential environments for migrating waders and wildfowl.
How to get to the Stour Valley Walk by public transport (and by car)
1. Starting at Lenham (traditional start point):
- Take a Southeastern train from London Victoria to Lenham. The journey typically takes around 1 hour 15 minutes with direct trains available at certain times. Lenham station is a short walk from the village and the official trailhead
2. Returning from Pegwell Bay (end point):
- The nearest major town to Pegwell Bay is Ramsgate. From Pegwell Bay, you can take a local bus or taxi to Ramsgate station.
- From Ramsgate, Southeastern trains run directly to London St Pancras International (high-speed, about 1 hour 15 minutes) or to London Victoria (about 1 hour 50 minutes).
Alternative access points:
- The trail also passes through Ashford and Canterbury, both of which have excellent train connections to London (Ashford International and Canterbury West/East stations).
- Ashford International is served by high-speed trains from London St Pancras (about 38 minutes).
Several other towns and villages along the Stour Valley Walk have train stations or good public transport links, which makes it easy to join or leave the walk at various points. This includes Lenham, Charing, Ashford, Wye, Chilham, Chartham, Canterbury, Sturry (for Fordwich), Sandwich.
This blog post was originally published on 11 June 2025 and last updated on 11 June 2025
