Contributions wanted!! I'm laying out these pages, and playing with the HTML and digital images, but many of my readers will have information about the river that I would love to include. Please mail me with any and all relavant data and piccies - I'll always include a credit!

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This is the point where the Medway becomes tidal, as a result the lock is only open at certain times *2 hours* either side of the tide. If you've got the plugin, click on the picture to be treated to a panoramic view from the walkway across the the sluice.
You should be able to see the tidal section below the sluice (the shot was taken fairly near low tide), the lock and the lock keeper's house, and behind the willows on the left as you look upstream is the Malta, a Beefeater pub popular with families and boaters turning around at the bottom of the river. Up river, just around the bend from here is a lovely collection of house boats.

Thumbnail sheet of more pictures around and about Allington Sluice and the Malta Inn.

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Maidstone Town centre

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This view is taken between the two town bridges. These bridges form two sides of a four sided traffic roundabout, and until recently typified the planners' attitude to the river (hide it, bury it in concrete). In recent years the towpath has been improved and Maidstone is now showing signs of recognising the worth of the Medway running through its heart.

Thumbnail sheet of a few more pictures (3 so far) around and about the Maidstone town centre bridges.

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Tovil footbridge and boatyard This bridge crosses at a point between what was a paper mill wharf, and what still is a friendly boatyard. The bridge has some intricate ironwork on the bracing cross member halfway across. Three pictures make up this composite picture, click on any of them to see the larger version (none is bigger than 45 KBytes).

Farleigh lock and bridge

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The medieval bridge is always congested with traffic as is only single track (those Normans didn't know how wide Volvos were going to be!). The railway station is only 50 yds away, and the large brick building at the North end of the bridge was originally part of Maidstone waterworks.

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Barming Bridge
This beautiful rural wooden bridge was recently closed to traffic as it has become unsafe. Apparently the council is considering replacing it with a concrete affair -boo! Click the (cropped) thumbnail for a high resolution (880*600 pixels, 145 KBytes) photo.

28th June 1997. The wooden bridge has gone. There is now a replacement, allegedly temporary, steel footbridge in place, click here or here to see couple of lo-res pictures of the new structure (neither larger than 19 Kbytes).

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Teston Bridge and lock
This is a misty, late Autumn, shot taken from the Maidstone to Wateringbury road, downstream of the bridge Click the (cropped) thumbnail for a high resolution (880*600 pixels, 137 KBytes) photo.

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