25th November 2025

The source of the stream at Great Pedding is somewhere in Ash, probably Ringleton Manor. It flows past the sewage works at Dambridge and joins the Wingham river. This eventually joins with the Little Stour at Seaton near Wickhambreux. The valley it has created has, in many parts, damp permanent pasture, rising to arable cultivation and orchards. Sheep and a few cattle graze the pastures to either side of the stream between Ash and Wingham. This section of the stream is the only flowing water in Staple and creates a valuable habitat and wildlife corridor. Wildlife can be seen here that would be unlikely to be seen elsewhere in Staple. Marsh Harriers hunt these marshes and Grey Herons and Egrets are regular visitors. In summer, Reed and Sedge Warblers breed here as does the delightful Yellow Wagtail. The stream and the ditches that drain into it are home to Moorhens and Coots and Mallards and Teals frequent it in winter. A Kingfisher is occasionally seen, Cormorants feed here and a Peregrine Falcon often uses the tall poplar trees at Beaute Farm as a look-out perch. There are Corn Buntings and Meadow Pipits and the sound of summer from the Skylarks. The water and stream-banks host a unique flora and dragonflies and damselflies breed here. It's a lovely area, fascinating at any time of year, an oasis in the nature-depleted, intensive agriculture that surrounds it. It deserves to be nurtured.

A small section of the stream at Great Pedding today