River Cray
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The River Cray is a tributary of the River Darent in southern England. It rises in Priory Gardens in Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley (rainwater permeates the chalk bedrock and the pond is formed where the chalk meets impermeable clay). It then flows northwards past an industrial and residential area of St Mary Cray, through St Paul's Cray where there was once a paper mill, through Foots Cray, and enters the parkland of Foots Cray Meadows. Here it flows under the Five Arches bridge (which was built in 1781 as part of the designs for Foots Cray Meadows drawn up by Capability Brown) and past Loring Hall (c.1760), once the home of Lord Castlereagh, who committed suicide there in 1822. It continues northwards through North Cray and Bexley, where there is a restored Gothic cold plunge bath house (built around 1766 as part of Vale Mascal Estate). It is then joined by the River Shuttle and then continues through the parkland of Hall Place (built by John Champneys, 1540). It then turns east through Crayford and Barnes Cray before joining the Darent, which flows northwards into the River Thames between Crayford Marshes and Dartford Marshes. The villages through which it flows are collectively known as The Crays.
Clean-ups on the river and campaigns for responsible angling are organised by the Cray Anglers Conservation Group.
There is a signposted public footpath called the Cray Riverway alongside the river, beginning at Foots Cray Meadows and continuing for 10 miles (about 16 km) northwards to the Thames. It is marketed as part of the London LOOP.
Meaning: the term "cray" is an old British one, meaning "clear, pure".
