aged 16–74, 18.4% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide. Transport Transport links provided by the A20 London to Dover road, and direct train services to Ashford International and London Victoria via Maidstone East. There are two bus stops in Charing, with the only bus services running through being the 10X and 124, which runs exclusively as a school bus. Train services are operated by Southeastern, with one train in each direction throughout the middle hours of the day, and an much enhanced service during the morning and evening peak periods. Charing railway station was opened on 1 July 1884, as part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) extension to of the 1874 line to Maidstone, which itself was a branch off the LCDR's Sevenoaks branch of 1862, which joined the LCDR mainline of 1840 at Swanley. In the wake of 1955 British Rail Modernisation plan, the "Kent Coast Electrification" scheme saw the suburban electrification of the previous Southern Railway extended from Maidstone East through to Ashford. The only line to stop in Charing is the London Victoria line. References External links Charing village web site (2010 archive copy) current (2022) (parish council maintained) village site The Oak, Charing, web site (dead link 2022 - probably has not been active for some years) The Beauties of England and Wales, John Britton, Joseph Nightingale, James Norris, 1808 Villages in Kent Villages in the Borough of Ashford Civil parishes in Ashford, Kent