Downswood is a civil parish on the outskirts of Maidstone in Kent, set where town gives way to the Kentish countryside. The area retains a rural feel with pockets of woodland, hedgerow-lined lanes and farmland that reflect its agricultural past - orchards and hop-growing were once prominent - and a number of older farm buildings and cottages survive alongside later housing.
Today Downswood is largely residential, home to a mix of long-standing local families and commuters who work in Maidstone or further afield in London. Community life centres on small shops, local pubs and recreational green spaces with footpaths linking to the Medway valley; there are also small business and light industrial units serving the local economy, giving the parish a quiet, semi-rural character.
Postcode districts covering Downswood
Most populated places nearby
- Southend-on-Sea 21.2 miles
- Bexley 22.8 miles
- Basildon 21.7 miles
- Maidstone 2.1 miles
- Gillingham 7.8 miles
- Grays 18.4 miles
- Chatham 7.1 miles
- Royal Tunbridge Wells 15.3 miles
- Ashford 15.8 miles
- Dartford 19.7 miles
- Canterbury 22.8 miles
- Gravesend 13.9 miles
Neighbouring places
- Bearsted & Downswood Ward 0.6 miles
- Otham Built-up area 0.7 miles
- Bearsted Built-up area 0.8 miles
- Shepway Ward 0.8 miles
- Senacre Ward 0.9 miles
- Park Wood & Mangravet Ward 1.2 miles
- Grove Green & Vinters Park Ward 1.4 miles
- Langley Built-up area 1.5 miles
- High Street Ward 1.8 miles
- Boughton Monchelsea Built-up area 2 miles
- Leeds & Langley Ward 2 miles
- Maidstone Built-up area 2.1 miles
Example postcodes in Downswood
ME15 8XR, ME15 8XW, ME15 8XQ, ME15 8SP, ME15 8UP, ME15 8UT, ME15 8SQ, ME15 8UU, ME15 8TW … See all
Transport links
- London Southend Airport 22.3 miles
- London City Airport 27.7 miles
- Bearsted Railway Station 1.3 miles
- Maidstone West Railway Station 2.2 miles
Hotels near Downswood Ad
- The Potting Shed Maidstone 2 miles
- The Black Horse Inn 4 2.4 miles
- Delta Hotels by Marriott Tudor Park Country Club 4 1.2 miles
- Orida Maidstone Hotel 4 1.8 miles
- Miller & Carter Maidstone by Innkeeper's Collection 4 2.3 miles
- Chilston Park Hotel 4 7 miles
- Weald of Kent 3 5.3 miles
- Days Inn Maidstone 3 2.3 miles
- Village Hotel Maidstone 4 3.3 miles
- The Dog & Bear Hotel 6.9 miles
Local points of interest
- University for the Creative Arts - Maidstone University 2.9 miles
- Boxley Abbey Historic site 3.2 miles
- Boughton Place Estate 3.3 miles
- Boxley Hills Hill 3.9 miles
- Yalding Gardens Gardens 6.5 miles
- Spotlites at Kings Theatre Theatre 8.4 miles
- University for the Creative Arts - Rochester University 8.5 miles
- Priestfield Stadium Stadium 8.6 miles
- MidKent College - Medway College 9.3 miles
- University of Greenwich - Medway University 9.6 miles
- Hale Wood Forest 11.8 miles
- Pulans Wood Forest 11.9 miles