The Elham Valley is a chalk valley carved by the River Nailbourne situated in the North Downs in East Kent. The valley is named after the settlement of Elham. Other settlements in the valley include Etchinghill, Lyminge, Barham, Kingston, Bishopsbourne and Bridge.
Located in the upper slopes of the valley are a number of examples of unimproved chalk downland such as Baldock Downs and Park Gate Down. At Bishopsbourne and North Lyminge there are examples of traditional sheep-grazed pasture and water meadow.
The Elham Valley Way, a 22.5-mile (40 km) recreational walking route passes through the valley. The route starts at Hythe and finishes at Canterbury Cathedral. It utilises much of the erstwhile route of the Elham Valley Railway, constructed in the 19th century and connecting Folkestone and Canterbury. This was closed in 1947, although a railway museum is located at Peene, immediately north of the Channel Tunnel station.
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Sussex is the city of Brighton and Hove.
The Little Stour is one of the tributaries of the River Stour in the English county of Kent. The upper reaches of the river is known as the Nailbourne, whilst the lower reaches were once known as the Seaton Navigation.
The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Kent Downs AONB.
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs. The North Downs Way National Trail runs along the North Downs from Farnham to Dover.
Folkestone and Hythe is a local government district in Kent, England, in the south-east of the county. Its council is based in the town of Folkestone. The authority was renamed from Shepway in April 2018, and therefore has the same name as the Folkestone and Hythe parliamentary constituency, although a somewhat narrower area is covered by the district.
The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover, including a small section of the London Borough of Bromley. The AONB also includes the Greensand Ridge, a prominent sandstone escarpment which lies south of the chalk escarpment of the North Downs.
Cheriton is a northern suburb of Folkestone in Kent. It is the location of the English terminal of the Channel Tunnel as well as of the major army barracks of Shorncliffe Camp.
St Swithun's Way is a 34-mile (55 km) long-distance footpath in England from Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire to Farnham, Surrey. It is named after Swithun, a 9th-century Bishop of Winchester, and roughly follows the Winchester to Farnham stretch of the Pilgrims' Way. The route was opened in 2002 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
Etchinghill is a village in Kent, England, about 5 km north of Hythe, and 1 km north of the Channel Tunnel terminal at Cheriton, near Folkestone. It is in the civil parish of Lyminge. The village has a standard golf course noted for its hills, as well as a pub restaurant called The Gatekeeper which claims to be the closest pub to the Channel Tunnel. Village facilities include a basketball court, two football goals, and a village hall. A large BT Group communication mast, which was used as a telecommunication relay during the Cold War, still stands in the village.
Bishopsbourne is a mostly rural and wooded village and civil parish in Kent, England. It has two short developed sections of streets at the foot of the Nailbourne valley 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Canterbury and centred 9 miles (14 km) from Dover. The settlement of Pett Bottom is included in the civil parish.
Lyminge is a village in southeast Kent, England. It lies about five miles (8 km) from Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel, on the road passing through the Elham Valley. At the 2011 Census the population of Etchinghill was included. The Nailbourne stream begins in the village and flows north through the Valley, to become one of the tributary streams of the Great Stour. The hamlet of Ottinge lies to the NE on the road to Elham. Lyminge is home to the Grade II* listed Sibton Park, now owned by the Holiday Property Bond but previously a school.
Elham is a village and civil parish in East Kent situated approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of Canterbury and 5 miles (8 km) north west of Folkestone in the Elham Valley. At the 2011 Census the population included the hamlet of Ottinge and village of Wingmore.
The Elham Valley Railway was a line connecting Folkestone and Canterbury in Kent, England. It opened between 1887 and 1889 and closed in 1947.
The BL 18-inch railway howitzer was a British railway gun developed during World War I. Part of the progression of ever-larger howitzers on the Western Front, it did not enter service until 1920.
Elham railway station is a disused railway station on the Elham Valley Railway which served the village of Elham in Kent and the surrounding villages. Situated to the east of Elham the clapboard station was opened in 1887. In 1931 the line was singled and one platform was closed. Regular passenger services were withdrawn on 1 December 1940 when the line was taken over for military use. In 1946 the line was reopened for goods traffic but a year later this service ceased when the station was officially closed. After closure the station building was demolished but one platform still exists forming a retaining wall of a garden for a house now built on the station site.
Canterbury South was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1889 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.
Bridge was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1889 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.
Bishopsbourne was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1889 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.
Barham was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1887 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.
Lyminge was a station on the Elham Valley Railway serving the village of the same name. It opened in 1887 and finally closed to passengers and freight in 1947.