42-514: 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, unspoilt villages. The walk is signed with the logo of a heron , a bird occasionally seen in
84-529: A 100 m square. For example, the grid reference of the 100 m square containing the summit of Ben Nevis is NN 166 712 . (Grid references may be written with or without spaces; e.g., also NN166712.) NN has an easting of 200 km and northing of 700 km, so the OSGB36 National Grid location for Ben Nevis is at 216600, 771200. Grid references may also be quoted as a pair of numbers: eastings then northings in metres, measured from
126-499: A military grid. Four of these largest squares contain significant land area within Great Britain: S, T, N and H. The O square contains a tiny area of North Yorkshire , Beast Cliff at OV 0000 , almost all of which lies below mean high tide. For the second letter, each 500 km square is subdivided into 25 squares of size 100 km by 100 km, each with a letter code from A to Z (again omitting I) starting with A in
168-752: A point in the Atlantic Ocean well to the west of Great Britain. In Cornwall , the WGS 84 longitude lines are about 70 metres east of their OSGB 36 equivalents, this value rising gradually to about 120 m east on the east coast of East Anglia . The WGS 84 latitude lines are about 70 m south of the OSGB 36 lines in South Cornwall , the difference diminishing to zero in the Scottish Borders , and then increasing to about 50 m north on
210-527: Is a system of geographic grid references , distinct from latitude and longitude , whereby any location in Great Britain can be described in terms of its distance from the origin (0, 0), which lies to the west of the Isles of Scilly . The Ordnance Survey (OS) devised the national grid reference system, and it is heavily used in its survey data, and in maps based on those surveys, whether published by
252-461: Is applied. This creates two lines of longitude about 180 km east and west of the central meridian along which the local scale factor equals 1, i.e. map scale is correct. Inside these lines the local scale factor is less than 1, with a minimum of 0.04% too small at the central meridian. Outside these lines the local scale factor is greater than 1, and is about 0.04% too large near the east and west coasts. Grid north and true north are only aligned on
294-887: Is possible to reach the walk from Maidstone via the 12 kilometre long Len Valley Walk . 6 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (10.1 km) – grid reference TQ897522 to grid reference TQ950460 8 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (13.3 km) – grid reference TQ950460 to grid reference TR005425 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (8.9 km) – grid reference TR005425 to grid reference TR053467 8 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (13.3 km) – grid reference TR053467 to grid reference TR069537 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (12.1 km) – grid reference TR069537 to grid reference TR147577 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (13.7 km) – grid reference TR147577 to grid reference TR224629 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (16.9 km) – grid reference TR224629 to grid reference TR328583 At Upstreet
336-569: Is published by the Ordnance Survey is called the National Grid Transformation OSTN15. This models the detailed distortions in the 1936–1962 retriangulation, and achieves backwards compatibility in grid coordinates to sub-metre accuracy. The difference between the coordinates on different datums varies from place to place. The longitude and latitude positions on OSGB 36 are the same as for WGS 84 at
378-620: Is the system commonly used for the Channel Islands . European-wide agencies also use UTM when mapping locations, or may use the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), or variants of it. The first letter of the British National Grid is derived from a larger set of 25 squares of size 500 km by 500 km, labelled A to Z, omitting one letter (I) (refer diagram below), previously used as
420-639: The Ashford Green Corridor . After Ashford, the Stour breaches the North Downs; for most of this distance there are no tributaries. After the Brook stream enters from the right, there are now 15 miles (24 km) to Canterbury. In this stretch the river flows through the villages of Wye , Chilham and Chartham , with Wye being a fordable crossing. The historic city of Canterbury lies at
462-692: The English Channel which lies between the island of Jersey and the French port of St. Malo ). Over the Airy ellipsoid a straight line grid, the National Grid, is placed with a new false origin to eliminate negative numbers, creating a 700 km by 1300 km grid. This false origin is located south-west of the Isles of Scilly. In order to minimize the overall scale error, a factor of 2499/2500
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#1732771971583504-535: The Greensand ridge to the south, before breaking through the ridge near Hothfield into a broad valley. Three small streams enter from the north, having their headwaters on the close to Downs escarpment. Flood defences can turn this valley into a large lake and an embankment has had to be built to prevent overflow into the Medway catchment barely 100 metres (330 ft) away to the south. The river turns north east by
546-685: The Isle of Man ). The Irish grid reference system is a similar system created by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland and the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland for the island of Ireland. The Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM) coordinate reference system was adopted in 2001 and is now the preferred coordinate reference system across Ireland. ITM is based on the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system (UTM), used to provide grid references for worldwide locations, and this
588-836: The North Sea at Pegwell Bay . Above Plucks Gutter , where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour . The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes known as the Upper Great Stour or West Stour . In the tidal lower reaches, the artificial Stonar Cut short cuts a large loop in the natural river. The Stour has Kent's second largest catchment area (the River Medway having
630-672: The Stonar Cut , made use of an existing sluice to cut across the neck of the loop, and were completed in 1776. During World War I , huge volumes of both troops and supplies were needed on the Continent and, in the utmost secrecy, a new port was built at Richborough. Landing facilities along the Cut were built, and the East Kent Light Railway was extended to service the port. Nothing now remains of much of those works, and
672-713: The railway town of Ashford. The route of the Stour Valley Walk follows the river. The source, of what is known at that point as the Great Stour, is near the village of Lenham , within a short distance of the River Len , a tributary of the Medway . The source is at a high elevation close to the North Downs escarpment. At first, the river flows south east in a narrow valley parallel to the escarpment and
714-478: The "Canterbury Navigation, or River Stour". He includes an account of its course and the improvements being carried out at that time to assist navigation, and details of new port facilities. Man has used the River Stour and its tributaries for centuries as a source of power. Many different processes were performed by the use of water power:- Corn milling, fulling, paper making and electricity generation. Many of
756-482: The Cut has been allowed to return to its natural state. In Roman and medieval times, the river was an important highway, connecting Canterbury with the Continent. Fordwich became important to shipping after the silting up of the southern entrance to the English Channel . In 1831 Joseph Priestley wrote his Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals and Railways . In it he described in one section
798-465: The Ordnance Survey or by commercial map producers. Grid references are also commonly quoted in other publications and data sources, such as guide books and government planning documents. A number of different systems exist that can provide grid references for locations within the British Isles : this article describes the system created solely for Great Britain and its outlying islands (including
840-460: The ancient estuary of the river; Wade, west of Birchington ; and Ash Level. In the mid-18th century, it became necessary to alleviate the problem of flooding along the lower course of the Stour. The action of tidal drift of shingle along the coast had resulted in the huge loop at the estuary end of the river, and on 29 November 1774 an Act of Parliament was enacted to bypass the loop at the narrowest end, at Stonar . The works, to become known as
882-521: The area. The 58 miles (93 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
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#1732771971583924-525: The central meridian (400 km easting) of the grid which is 2° W (OSGB36) and approx. 2° 0′ 5″ W ( WGS 84 ). A geodetic transformation between OSGB 36 and other terrestrial reference systems (like ITRF2000 , ETRS89 , or WGS 84 ) can become quite tedious if attempted manually. The most common transformation is called the Helmert datum transformation , which results in a typical 7 m error from true. The definitive transformation from ETRS89 that
966-487: The current tidal limit of the river. Beyond Fordwich, the river passes between several former gravel pits and through the reed beds of the Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve . Beyond the nature reserve lies the open farmland on the reclaimed marshes surrounding the river crossing at Grove Ferry Picnic Area , near the hamlet of Upstreet . At the hamlet of Plucks Gutter , the second of
1008-536: The junction of four branches of the Roman road Watling Street which connected Canterbury with ports around the Kent coast – Lympne , Dover , Richborough and Reculver . Within the city, the river flows in two channels, one through the centre of the city, and the other to the north of the city walls. The two channels rejoin to the east of Canterbury, before the river reaches Fordwich , a former outport of Canterbury and
1050-498: The large tributaries enters the main river: the 18.9 miles (30.4 km) long Little Stour , which begins life as a spring stream in Bekesbourne . From here on, the river is normally known as the River Stour. The twin villages in the parish of Stourmouth (West and East) mark the original point where the Stour entered the erstwhile Wantsum Channel , a strait used for hundreds of years until silting and land reclamation turned
1092-464: The largest). The lower part of the river is tidal; its original mouth was on the Wantsum Channel , an important sea route in medieval times. The river has three major tributaries , and many minor ones. For much of its length, it flows in a generally south-west to north-east direction. The historic city of Canterbury is situated on the river, as are the former Cinque Port of Sandwich and
1134-500: The mills survive today as house conversions, with two of them still working commercially. Both roads and railways make use of the river. The Watling Street link to Richborough ("Rutupiae") and their link from Canterbury southwards made use of the North Downs gap. The rail links from Canterbury to the Isle of Thanet and also to Ashford , and the main A28 road follow identical routes. The 51.5-mile (82.4 km) Stour Valley Walk follows
1176-549: The need for seagoing craft to take the longer route around the loop at Sandwich. From the tidal limit at Fordwich to the sea, the river is fringed with marshes . Most of them are located on what was the floor of the Wantsum Channel, whilst those to the south lie behind the sand dunes of the Sandwich Flats. These marshes are criss-crossed with drainage ditches. The principal marshes are those of Chislet , within
1218-453: The north coast of Scotland . (If the lines are further east , then the longitude value of any given point is further west . Similarly, if the lines are further south, the values will give the point a more northerly latitude.) The smallest datum shift is on the west coast of Scotland and the greatest in Kent . These two datums are not both in general use in any one place, but for a point in
1260-429: The north-west corner to Z in the south-east corner. These squares are outlined in light grey on the "100km squares" map, with those containing land lettered. The central (2° W) meridian is shown in red. Within each square, eastings and northings from the south west corner of the square are given numerically. For example, NH0325 means a 1 km square whose south-west corner is 3 km east and 25 km north from
1302-491: The path joins the Saxon Shore Way heading towards Sandwich . 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (5.6 km) – grid reference TR328583 to grid reference TR345623 51°12′42″N 0°58′31″E / 51.21167°N 0.97528°E / 51.21167; 0.97528 River Stour, Kent The River Stour ( / ˈ s t aʊər / , rhymes with "hour" ) is a river in Kent , England that flows into
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1344-499: The river for much of its length. The Great Stour estuary at Plucks Gutter and Grove Ferry is renowned for its coarse fishing, particularly bream stocks. The lower-lying parts of Canterbury have in the past been particularly prone to flooding . The River Stour (Kent) Internal Drainage Board has the responsibility of reducing that risk in the river catchment area In 2006, male fish were found with signs of "feminisation" after having been exposed to treated sewage effluent in
1386-616: The river near Ashford. It was found that oestrogen enters the river when the nearby Bybrook sewage works discharges its end product. In 2009, Southern Water started work on a £4.2 million environmental improvement project at its Lenham treatment works to ensure wastewater is treated to higher standards. New reed beds, containing more than 7,500 reeds, will help clean up to 4.3 million litres of wastewater from more than 3,600 people each day. In 2017 The Marine Group based in Cardiff begun work with their water injection dredger on
1428-466: The river through Sandwich and Richborough to tackle some of the sediment build up. Author Russell Hoban repurposes the River Stour where it flows through Canterbury as the "Rivver Sour" in his 1980, post apocalyptic novel Riddley Walker . The River Stour features in the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale . Ordnance Survey National Grid The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system ( OSGB ), also known as British National Grid ( BNG ),
1470-460: The sea channel into a large drainage ditch. At this point the third large tributary, the 8.4-mile (13.4 km) Sarre Penn (named locally as the "Fishbourne Stream") enters with the Wantsum Channel. Here the river turns southwards to the once-thriving port of Sandwich , after which it loops back on itself to the north before entering the Strait of Dover at Pegwell Bay . The Stonar Cut obviates
1512-427: The south-west corner of square NH. A location can be indicated to varying resolutions numerically, usually from two digits in each coordinate (for a 1 km square) through to five (for a 1 m square); in each case the first half of the digits is for the first coordinate and the second half for the other. The most common usage is the six figure grid reference , employing three digits in each coordinate to determine
1554-405: The south-west to NN400900 in the north-east) the abbreviated grid reference 166712 is equivalent to NN166712. If working with more than one Landranger sheet, this may also be given as 41/166712. Alternatively, sometimes numbers instead of the two-letter combinations are used for the 100×100 km squares. The numbering follows a grid index where the tens denote the progress from West to East and
1596-554: The southwest corner of the SV square. 13 digits may be required for locations in Orkney and further north. For example, the grid reference for Sullom Voe Oil Terminal in the Shetland islands may be given as HU396753 or 439668,1175316 . Another, distinct, form of all-numeric grid reference is an abbreviated alphanumeric reference where the letters are simply omitted, e.g. 166712 for
1638-722: The standard projection for Ordnance Survey maps. The Airy ellipsoid is a regional best fit for Britain; more modern mapping tends to use the GRS80 ellipsoid used by the Global Positioning System (the Airy ellipsoid assumes the Earth to be about 1 km smaller in diameter than the GRS80 ellipsoid, and to be slightly less flattened). The British maps adopt a transverse Mercator projection with an origin (the "true" origin) at 49° N , 2° W (an offshore point in
1680-470: The summit of Ben Nevis. Unlike the numeric references described above, this abbreviated grid reference is incomplete; it gives the location relative to an OS 100×100 km square, but does not specify which square. It is often used informally when the context identifies the OS 2-letter square. For example, within the context of a location known to be on OS Landranger sheet 41 (which extends from NN000500 in
1722-588: The units from South to North. In the north of Scotland, the numbering is modified: the 100 km square to the north of 39 is numbered N30; the square to the north of 49 is N40, etc. The grid is based on the OSGB36 datum (Ordnance Survey Great Britain 1936, based on the Airy 1830 ellipsoid ), and was introduced after the retriangulation of 1936–1962 . It replaced the Cassini Grid which had previously been
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1764-458: The village of Great Chart in the direction of its outlet to the sea. The confluence with the East Stour , flowing from its source near Hythe , is to be found at Pledge's Mill at the bottom of East Hill in Ashford. The town of Ashford marks the start of the middle section of the river, sited at a crossing point of the river and on ancient track ways. In Ashford, the river helps form part of
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