Rochester, Kent the Blackheath Beds of sand and gravel. As a human settlement, Rochester became established as the lowest river crossing of the River Medway, well before the arrival of the Romans. It is a focal point between two routes, being part of the main route connecting London with the Continent and the north-south routes following the course of the Medway connecting Maidstone and the Weald of Kent with the Thames and the North Sea. The Thames Marshes were an important source of salt. Rochester's roads follow north Kent's valleys and ridges of steep-sided chalk bournes. There are four ways out of
Headcorn and Maidstone Junction Light Railway worked by class 08 and 09 shunters, the bridge being deemed unsafe for anything heavier. The line was long and it closed to traffic on 3 October 1977. After closure the bridge over the river was removed and the site of the goods station is now covered by housing. Headcorn and Maidstone Junction Light Railway The Headcorn & Maidstone Junction Light Railway was a proposed railway in Kent. An Act of Parliament authorised its construction, but only a short branch at Tovil, opened to goods only, was built. Maidstone, the county town of Kent, had been reached by the railway