The Medway

Facts

Location

Map reproduced from the Oxford Practical Atlas with permission from Oxford University Press.

The Medway has its sources in the counties of East Sussex and Surrey. It starts as small streams which flow quite quickly. It flows northeast past Tonbridge and then turns north at Maidstone going through the North Downs. The Medway passes Rochester to join the Thames estuary opposite the Southend-on-Sea. Chatham, Gillingham and Sheerness are also found on the Medway estuary. The Medway has a number of small tributaries such as the River Len, River Teise and the River Beult.

Other facts

The Medway supplies water to Kent. It is classed as an industrial river because it has become polluted by industrial waste from factories which are found along its banks. It also has a lock at Aylesford in Maidstone where people often use the river for boating. There are a few restaurants such as the Malta Inn by the River Medway.

Bewl Water is a reservoir in Kent which is also linked to the River Medway to ensure that people have enough water to use in homes, factories, agriculture and for drinking. The River Medway is also linked to the Medway Scheme which was set up in the 1960's to make sure that there was enough water in Kent. This scheme involved building Bewl Water (a reservoir) to store water so that in times of low rainfall, water could be pumped into the River Teise as a top up to the River Medway.