Great
Stour Way
has fantastic new seating and picnic table
The Great Stour Way, the new riverside path from
Canterbury
to Chartham, has a new seat and picnic table by the old Elham Valley
Railway embankment, about a 10 minute walk from
Toddlers Cove/Reims Way.
The Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership commissioned sculptor, Steve
Portchmouth to carry out the work. The
seat features lots of riverside animals such a pike, swan, duck, trout,
kingfisher, otter, water vole and a magnificent heron. The seat was sponsored by Viridor and local cycling group Spokes.
There are also six bike parks next to the seat.
The seat compliments other seating at
Thanington
Lakes
and at the Chartham end of the route. There will also be two rustic oak
logs placed alongside the path in September which will act as seating.
The path is now part of the National Cycle Network, route 18, and for
people from
Canterbury
it’s a gateway to the
Stour
Valley
and to the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
As with all shared use paths users are encouraged to be courteous, with
cyclists giving way to pedestrians, and for dog walkers to clean up after
their dogs. Users and their dogs should also be aware that at certain
times of the year there will be livestock on the path and that they should
not disturb nesting birds on the river, lakes or fields.
The route in
Canterbury
can be accessed by cyclists following route 1 signs to Whitehall Road
and then route 18, by pedestrians from
Westgate
Gardens
or by mobility scooters from
Reims Way
or
Whitehall Road
.
The route features RADAR gates and users of mobility scooters will require
a RADAR key to open these.
The Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership is working on a leaflet for the
route which should be available in the autumn.
For further
details telephone 01233 813307/ email kentishstour@kent.gov.uk.
