Log in
Dorset, England

Pamphill put-in

LaunchAn unimproved stretch of grass and earth riverbank on the Kingston Lacy estate; there is no engineered slipway, pontoon or steps.
ParkingEye Bridge car park, run by the National Trust, is free and a short walk from the water.
AccessReached via Cowgrove Road, off the B3082 from Wimborne, about a third of a mile to the car park. The Stour Valley Way footpath runs along the bank; dogs must be kept on a lead near livestock or traffic.
SeasonThe Stour floods this reach at times through the year, and the National Trust notes the ground can become very wet in winter.
RegulationsThe Stour's public right of navigation ends many miles downstream at Tuckton, near Christchurch; above that the river is controlled by its riparian landowners. The National Trust, which owns this reach as part of the Kingston Lacy estate, allows unpowered paddling here, and Dorset Council has run paddleboarding courses from this bank. No launch fee, permit or registration for unpowered craft is published for this site.

An informal bank launch on the River Stour at Pamphill, on the National Trust's Kingston Lacy estate near Wimborne Minster. The river winds through wide, grazed water meadows here, several miles upstream of the town itself.

The Stour winds through broad, grazed water meadows on this stretch of the Kingston Lacy estate, its banks grass and earth rather than engineered walls. Egrets, herons and kingfishers frequent this reach, and otters are re-establishing themselves on the Stour after a two-decade absence.

A few miles upstream, at Sturminster Marshall, White Mill is the last working corn mill on this stretch of the river: an eighteenth-century building, rebuilt in 1776, that still holds its original wooden gearing.

Nearby

Show on map
Pamphill Dairy

A privately run farm shop and café on Pamphill Green, not National Trust.

Website
Stables Café

National Trust café at the main Kingston Lacy house, about two miles from the launch.

Website
Kingston Lacy Motorhome Site

National Trust site for self-contained motorhomes and caravans able to fit an 8m by 8m hardstanding pitch; no National Trust membership is required, and there are no toilets or showers on site.

Website

Conditions to check

Limited exit

The banks are grass and earth, undulating and slippery underfoot in wet weather.

Source
Log in to add a photo. Paddled here? Add the first photo — we review each one before it goes on the page.

Questions

No questions yet

Ask about parking, access or conditions. Anyone who knows this water can answer.

Log in to ask or answer. Share what you know about this spot.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to comment. Add conditions or a photo to this spot.

Save your own spots

Keep the places you launch, check the wind and shelter before you go, and log every paddle. Add a spot to the directory too, and other paddlers will find it. Free to start.

Location data
OpenStreetMap
© OpenStreetMap contributors · Open Database Licence (ODbL)
View this point on OpenStreetMap