River Darent
The River Darent is a chalk stream in the county of Kent. The name Darent may have a couple of different origins... Lambarde’s definition of 1576, suggests the meaning of the name is ‘clear water’ and as the river's name suggests, it is fed by springs from the greensand and chalk hills south of Westerham in Kent and below Limpsfield Chart in Surrey. Another meaning is given in a local history, Shoreham: A Village in Kent. It says that by the first century BC the Shoreham valley was sparsely occupied by Celtic, Welsh-speaking, farmers. The group name of the people was ‘Cantiaci’ which became ‘Kent’ four hundred years later. It goes on: ‘It was to be expected that river names of Kent would keep near their Celtic origins. The name Darent was no exception; the Romans latinized it to Derventio, from the Welsh name Derw – meaning "the river where oaks are common", an identical river name to that of Derwent or Dart’ name.’
The Darent flows 21 miles (34 km) east then north to Dartford where it proceeds a final two miles as a tidal estuary until it discharges into the Thames estuary. The Darent catchment covers 254 km2.