Great Stour, river in the county of Kent, England. It flows through The Weald, past Ashford, to Canterbury and Sandwich. Its floodplain is a silted marine inlet that, as the Wantsum Channel, separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland until the 14th century. The East Stour and the Little Stour are tributaries of the main stream. The Great Stour is 40 miles (64 km) long and is navigable below Canterbury.