The line of the former Kent & East Sussex Railway

Image: © Marathon Taken: 21 Jan 2023

The Kent & East Sussex Railway, which closed here in 1954, once followed the track ahead from High Halden Road which is where this photograph was taken from. The opposite side of the road can be seen at https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7387328 The original line was opened by the Rother Valley Railway between Rolvenden and Robertsbridge in 1900. At that time Rolvenden station was named Tenterden until the station up the hill was opened. The railway extended to Tenterden Town in 1903 and on to Headcorn in 1905, naming itself the Kent & East Sussex Railway in the process. The section from Tenterden Town to Headcorn closed in 1954 and the rest of the line in 1961. The line west of Tenterdown Town was reopened by the Kent & East Sussex Railway in stages. Tenterdown Town station was reopened on 3rd February 1974 but the line only went as far as Rolvenden. The extension to Wittersham Road came in 1977, to Northiam in 1990 and to Bodiam in 2000. The section from Tenterdown Town to Headcorn was never reopened and some parts have completely disappeared whereas other sections like here to the south of High Halden Road are clearly visible in the landscape. The nearest station to here was Biddenden, which was located on the A274 to the north of Biddenden at Curteis' Corner. Information about the line and photographs of Biddenden station can be seen at http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/biddenden/

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