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,
History of Maidstone made locally, notably at Kit's Coty and the Countless Stones. The Romans brought Maidstone greater importance; their road from Watling Street at Rochester to Hastings passed through the site, connecting with the iron industry of the Weald: two villas and a number of other sites, have been discovered nearby. They were also among the first to extract stone (the sandstone known as Kentish ragstone) from the area. A great many other finds relate to this period. Before the arrival of the Normans, Maidstone had been the meeting place of the hundred of Maidstone in the Lathe of Aylesford.The Normans, in