The
River Stour is a 60.5
mileA mile is a unit of length in a number of different systems. In contemporary English, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 1,609.344 meters or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters...
(97
kmKM, Km, or km may stand for:*Kilometre *KM - the Michaelis constant in Michaelis-Menten kinetics*Kernel methods*Kettle Moraine High School*Khmer language...
) long
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
which flows through
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
and
DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
in southern
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and drains into the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
. It is sometimes called the
Dorset Stour to distinguish it from rivers of the same name. The source of the river is at
StourheadStourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...
, in Wiltshire, where it forms a series of artificial lakes which are part of the Stourhead estate owned by the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. It flows south into Dorset through the
Blackmore ValeThe Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in North Dorset, and to a lesser extent South Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. The vale is part of the Stour valley...
and the towns of
GillinghamGillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3095 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...
and
Sturminster NewtonSturminster Newton, known to locals as Stur, is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is famous as the home of poet and author William Barnes, and, for part of his life, Thomas Hardy. The town had a population of 3,105 during the 2001 census, but is growing fast...
, where it is joined by the River Lydden.
The
River Stour is a 60.5
mileA mile is a unit of length in a number of different systems. In contemporary English, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 1,609.344 meters or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters...
(97
kmKM, Km, or km may stand for:*Kilometre *KM - the Michaelis constant in Michaelis-Menten kinetics*Kernel methods*Kettle Moraine High School*Khmer language...
) long
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
which flows through
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
and
DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
in southern
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and drains into the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
. It is sometimes called the
Dorset Stour to distinguish it from rivers of the same name. The source of the river is at
StourheadStourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...
, in Wiltshire, where it forms a series of artificial lakes which are part of the Stourhead estate owned by the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. It flows south into Dorset through the
Blackmore ValeThe Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in North Dorset, and to a lesser extent South Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. The vale is part of the Stour valley...
and the towns of
GillinghamGillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3095 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...
and
Sturminster NewtonSturminster Newton, known to locals as Stur, is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is famous as the home of poet and author William Barnes, and, for part of his life, Thomas Hardy. The town had a population of 3,105 during the 2001 census, but is growing fast...
, where it is joined by the River Lydden. At
Blandford ForumBlandford Forum, commonly Blandford, is a small historic market town on the River Stour in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England noted for its Georgian architecture The town had a population of 8,745 at the 2001 Census. Blandford is the seat of North Dorset's district council, although it is...
the river breaks through the
chalkChalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. It forms under relatively deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. It is common to find flint and chert...
ridge of the
Dorset DownsThe Dorset Downs are an area of Chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger Chalk Formation which includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.The Dorset Downs...
, and from there flows south east into the heathlands of south east Dorset. At
Wimborne MinsterWimborne Minster is a market town in the East Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town...
it is joined by the River Allen, and at its
estuaryAn estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...
at
ChristchurchChristchurch is a borough and town in Dorset on the English Channel coast, adjoining Bournemouth in the west, with the New Forest to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it is the most easterly borough in Dorset...
it is joined by the
River AvonThe River Avon is a river in the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset in the south of England, sometimes distinguished as the Salisbury Avon or the Hampshire Avon.-Etymology:...
before it flows into the English Channel.
For many miles the river is followed by the route of the now disused
Somerset and Dorset Joint RailwayThe Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
, which bridged the river five times.
Because much of the river's course is across
clayClay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired...
soil, the river's waterlevel varies greatly. In summer, low water level makes the river a diverse and important
habitatA habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal and plant species...
, supporting many rare plants. In winter, the river often
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
s, and is therefore bordered by wide and fertile flood plains.
A number of towns and villages in Dorset are named after the river, including
EastEast Stour is a village on the River Stour between Gillingham and Sturminster Newton in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The village has a population of 548 . The village lies on the A30 road a mile east of West Stour....
and
West StourWest Stour is a small village situated in the Blackmore Vale area of North Dorset, England. The village has a population of 187 . It is one of a group of villages known as The Stours, located in the River Stour Valley, five miles south of Gillingham...
,
StourpaineStourpaine is a village in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour and A350 road in the south east corner of the Blackmore Vale, under Cranborne Chase, three miles north west of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 608 ....
,
Stourton CaundleStourton Caundle is a village in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, about 5 miles east of Sherborne. The village has a population of 408 .-External links:*...
,
Stour RowStour Row is a village in north Dorset, England, situated beside Duncliffe hill three miles south west of Shaftesbury....
,
Stour ProvostStour Provost is a village in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Gillingham. The village has a population of 560 . 5.6% of dwellings are second homes....
,
Sturminster NewtonSturminster Newton, known to locals as Stur, is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is famous as the home of poet and author William Barnes, and, for part of his life, Thomas Hardy. The town had a population of 3,105 during the 2001 census, but is growing fast...
, and
Sturminster MarshallSturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in east Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish has a population of 1,895 and includes the village of Almer west of Sturminster Marshall, near Winterborne Zelston.Sturminster Marshall has a...
. Sturminster Newton is famous for its water mill and town
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.-History:The first...
, which still bears the notice warning potential vandals that damaging the bridge is punishable by
penal transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
.
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