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A229 road
The A229 is a major road running north–south through Kent from Rochester to Hawkhurst via Maidstone. It is a former Roman road that ran from Rochester to Hastings.
The road is well known for Blue Bell Hill, which connects Rochester to Maidstone through the North Downs, and links the M2 and M20 motorways. A popular ghost story documents a driver picking up a phantom female hitch-hiker on the A229 outside the Lower Bell pub, who subsequently disappears inside the driver's car.
The A229 is about 30 miles (48 km) long. The road passes through little in the way of built-up areas aside from the Medway Towns and Maidstone. It is principally a link between these two areas and the south coast around Hastings.
The road begins in the Medway town of Rochester at the top of Star Hill forming a junction with the A2. It then climbs up through the built-up area of Rochester and Chatham, passing Troy Town and Rochester Airport and the M2 motorway before descending the scarp slope of the North Downs at Blue Bell Hill. Below the road as it descends is the tunnel carrying High Speed 1. Once into the Medway Valley, there is a junction with the M20 motorway, and it follows the River Medway into Maidstone town centre. There are junctions with several main roads here, including the A26, A20 and A249.
Beyond Maidstone, the road climbs up Greensand Ridge to Loose, built on the ridge's southern slope, before running through the valley of the River Beult to Staplehurst. Beyond this, it follows the Weald through Cranbrook and climbs another hill to Hawkhurst. The road ends on the A21 London – Hastings Road near Hurst Green.
The A229 through Maidstone is a major bottleneck on the route, with long daily morning and evening queues entering both sides of the town. The two bridges gyratory was upgraded in 2016 to allow two-way traffic alongside Fremlin Walk.
In 2006, the road was set up with the then largest vehicle checkpoint campaign in Kent, in order to catch drug dealers and benefit fraudsters. Twenty-seven vehicles were apprehended, but there were no arrests.
The road largely follows the route of Roman Road No. 13, as described by Ivan Margary, which ran from Rochester to Hastings. It was turnpiked between Rochester and Maidstone in 1728, then to Cranbrook in 1760.
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A229 road
The A229 is a major road running north–south through Kent from Rochester to Hawkhurst via Maidstone. It is a former Roman road that ran from Rochester to Hastings.
The road is well known for Blue Bell Hill, which connects Rochester to Maidstone through the North Downs, and links the M2 and M20 motorways. A popular ghost story documents a driver picking up a phantom female hitch-hiker on the A229 outside the Lower Bell pub, who subsequently disappears inside the driver's car.
The A229 is about 30 miles (48 km) long. The road passes through little in the way of built-up areas aside from the Medway Towns and Maidstone. It is principally a link between these two areas and the south coast around Hastings.
The road begins in the Medway town of Rochester at the top of Star Hill forming a junction with the A2. It then climbs up through the built-up area of Rochester and Chatham, passing Troy Town and Rochester Airport and the M2 motorway before descending the scarp slope of the North Downs at Blue Bell Hill. Below the road as it descends is the tunnel carrying High Speed 1. Once into the Medway Valley, there is a junction with the M20 motorway, and it follows the River Medway into Maidstone town centre. There are junctions with several main roads here, including the A26, A20 and A249.
Beyond Maidstone, the road climbs up Greensand Ridge to Loose, built on the ridge's southern slope, before running through the valley of the River Beult to Staplehurst. Beyond this, it follows the Weald through Cranbrook and climbs another hill to Hawkhurst. The road ends on the A21 London – Hastings Road near Hurst Green.
The A229 through Maidstone is a major bottleneck on the route, with long daily morning and evening queues entering both sides of the town. The two bridges gyratory was upgraded in 2016 to allow two-way traffic alongside Fremlin Walk.
In 2006, the road was set up with the then largest vehicle checkpoint campaign in Kent, in order to catch drug dealers and benefit fraudsters. Twenty-seven vehicles were apprehended, but there were no arrests.
The road largely follows the route of Roman Road No. 13, as described by Ivan Margary, which ran from Rochester to Hastings. It was turnpiked between Rochester and Maidstone in 1728, then to Cranbrook in 1760.