River Medway points along the North Downs, the Weald and Ashdown Forest. The major tributaries are: Minor tributaries include: Former minor tributaries include the Old Bourne River, which flowed through the Brook, Chatham (not to be confused with the main tributary River Bourne). The river and its tributaries flow through largely rural areas, Tonbridge, Maidstone and Medway being the exceptions. The Medway itself initially flows in a west-east direction south of the North Downs; at the confluence of the River Beult, however, it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at the Medway Gap, a steep and narrow valley near Rochester,
Maidstone Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Tenterden. Most services are operated by Arriva and some operated by Nu-Venture. Stagecoach also operates route 10X in the town to Ashford via Lenham, with most buses continuing onto Hythe and Folkestone. There are weekday commuter coach services between Maidstone and London. Former bus operators in Maidstone include Maidstone & District Motor Services (M&D); Maidstone Borough Council Transport, later Boro'line Maidstone; and Bygone Buses. In 2004 the centenary of Maidstone Corporation Transport was marked with several events, featuring a preserved Maidstone trolleybus. When the railways were built in the 1840s, Maidstone was not well served. It