River Dour

The River Dour is a chalk stream in Kent, England. It rises near the villages of Temple Ewell and River and runs for about six and a half kilometres to Dover Harbour. The river once had a wide estuary where Bronze Age people landed their boats. In 1992 archaeologists found a 3,500-year-old seagoing boat in the estuary silt. The boat now sits in Dover Museum for visitors to see. Later the Romans used the same sheltered water as a harbour for their fleet. Over centuries the estuary silted up and Dover built new harbours. Along the river’s banks stood thirteen watermills. Eight were corn mills and five made paper. Buckland Mill near Buckland Bridge started grinding grain in the 8th century and now holds flats. Crabble Mill has been restored as a working corn mill and museum. The Old Mill at Kearsney survives as a private house, while other mills serve different uses today. Iron foundries, sawmills and a tannery once operated beside the water before most were closed or converted. A walking trail follows the river from Temple Ewell down to Wellington Dock in Dover. The route is about six and a half kilometres long and takes roughly two and a half hours to walk. It passes Kearsney Abbey, a former grand house standing beside the stream. The path winds through quiet meadows and under old bridges, ending at the modern dock where fishing boats tie up. The river’s clear chalk water and the remains of its industrial past make the walk a gentle journey through time.