Bekesbourne TR194555 (3*) Suitable for All Image sent in of the ford at Church Lane by Ian Bowman (14/05/2002)
Bishopsbourne TR191524 (1*) Irish Bridge Sent in by Dave Taylor (14/05/2002)
'An Irish Bridge near an inviting looking pub!'
Bridge TR180541 (2*) Suitable for All Sent in by Stephen Burman (01/09/2003)
Description by Paul Manners
'Very small ford on the south of the village, 5 cm deep, 2 m wide'
Ditton TQ708579 (3*) Restricted Access Sent in by Nicholas Woollett (21/03/2003)
'This a delightful ford in Ditton which is a suburb of Maidstone in Kent. It is a bit unusual because it is fairly narrow and forms an S bend and features railings on one side, the water being clear and fast running about 1 foot deep at the time of my visit.'
'The ford is on an unclassified road with council number U1504 - Bradbourne Lane / The Stream. There was a small TRO sign (now removed) placed to stop motorcyclists using the footway instead of the ford. Since Image 1 was taken the ramps in/out have started to break up. At one point there was an 18"
step at the eastern ramp and several cars/vans (including an ambulance and a police car) were damaged by grounding out (the depth gauge also reads about 4-6" under). Finally last year a brand new Audi A6 3.0 Tdi dealer demonstrator car driven by a sat nav guided salesmen was drowned as it couldn't get up the ramp. The damage to the interior and engine meant the car was written off so the dealers insurers tried to claim damages from the Highway Authority (Kent CC). The council then put up motor vehicles prohibited signs either side of the ford. I wrote to them pointing out that these were illegal as no legal 'prohibition of driving order' had been made in the courts so they took the signs back down the very next week! The Ford warning signage was updated though and several tonnes of small stone ballast were tipped into the holes by the exit ramps. This is slowly being washed away though. In October this year the Parish Council said they wanted the ford legally closed as too many people were getting stuck . I have expressed my objections to this but have heard no more.' Richard Dickenson
Elmstead TR202507 (1*) Irish Bridge Sent in by Paul Devall (04/09/2005)
'The water, when it flows, follows the road and is really a glorified ditch nowadays and flows across the road and through a bridge opening on the opposite side. Kent County Council have cleverly placed a drain right in the way of any potential water flow though!'
Eynsford TQ540655 (5*) Suitable for All Sent in by Ian Bowman (Images 1 & 2: 14/05/2002), Xavier Gosselin (Image 3: 28/02/2004) and Simon Holland (Image 4: 15/02/2006)
'Take care with this one, the depth gauge reads significantly lower then it actually is!' Image 1 mouseover and video sent in by Colin Leonard (07/11/2004)
Image 5 sent in by Adrian Bailey showing Eynsford circa. 1960
Image 6 sent in by Jim Deadman showing Eynsford circa. 1960
Grain Tower TQ898760 (1*) Tidal Sent in by John Brown and Colin Hargreaves (31/01/2004)
'A causeway links this abandoned Napoleonic War defensive structure, built on the tidal flats at the mouth of the Medway, to the Isle of Grain. For description and photo (including part of causeway) see here. The causeway is shown on the OS 1:25K and older i:50K, but not on the current 1:50K. It is built of stone setts, which look as if they are suffering.'
Image 1 is at the end of an unsurfaced road to the left of Smithfield
Road & Image 2 is a sign hanging on a large gate at the end
of Smithfield Road
Patrixbourne (x2!) TR191551 (2*) Suitable for All TR191543 (2*) Suitable for All Sent in by Stephen Burman (03/08/2003, 01/09/2003)
Thanington TR127568 (2*) Off-Roaders Only! Sent in by Nicholas Woollett (29/04/2003)
'I saw Tonford Lane on the right leading to Tonford Manor and drove down it past houses directly to the grassy bank of the river with distinct signs of an old ford but no restrictions, marker poles or other paraphenalia that accompany a "normal ford". There were however some old railings on both sides of the river. The river is quite fast flowing with a clear gravelly bottom and would still be OK for 4 x 4 vehicles. It obviously hasn't been used properly for some time but the roads face each other on both sides and there is no good reason for it's state of disuse.'
Wateringbury TQ680531 (2*) Restricted Access Sent in by Nicholas Woollett (14/06/2004)
'Pretty country ford with footbridge, depth gauge and warning signs. Hard cobbled bottom about 6" deep and 8' wide.'
West Peckham TQ653524 (2*) Off-Roaders Only! Sent in by Nicholas Woollett (08/02/2004)
'I found this ford while out testing the Dellow last March and investigating RPPs - won't be allowed soon ! You will find it at 188/ 653 524. The track going to the ford is OK from Forge Farm but is very rutted for a while as it ascends the hill and then flattens out to a deep quagmire after which the track narrows and is very cambered making any further vehicular progress a No No. OK for walkers and mountain bikers. It's pity because the ford is OK.'
'This ford is part way along a public vehicular right of way (Byway Open to All Traffic) with Kent County Council number MR362. Unfortunately the byway is badly overgrown, rutted, waterlogged and blocked by large fallen trees to the west of the ford. I will be contacting KCC's RoW department soon to try and get the obstructions cleared. I couldn't even get along on a mountain bike for most of the route!' Richard Dickenson
