A small green shape came down the road. It wasn't RP21, but a GS. GS12, from the Pump Room, that I hadn't seen before, sedately passed us on its way to Westerham. A few minutes later another green shape WAS RP21. Paul Brophy pulled round to the stop in the deep shadow of the office block, with the RP set up as a Greenline 705 for Sevenoaks, via Westerham.
I didn't see much of the journey up through Keston and Biggin Hill, and down Westerham Hill, as I was trying to sort out a battery problem with my camera. But now we were coming into Westerham. Already on this lovely Sunday morning it was busy. We turned left, and ran down the hill to the car-park on the fringe of the village, where the event was centred. RP21 pulled in to the carpark to unload, before setting off again for Sevenoaks.
Already there was a line-up of GSs to work the Crockham Hill routes: GS1, GS2 and GS62. RF633 and SNC168 were also awaiting their duties, in some cases filling in for non-arrivals. GS12 had arrived, and was parked in the visitors' park.
GS1 and GS2 departed on their duties, and RF679 arrived from Sevenoaks as a 403. GS76 also arrived, and the two buses manoeuvred into the space left by the two GSs.
More visitors arrived in the guise of Greenline RF and GS15, and sneaked round the barrier to reach the visitors' park.
Alan Charman was going out to run an extra in GS62, so I went with him, with a few other people. We went up through Westerham, and out along the main road to Limpsfield.
We turned off onto the lane across the Limpsfield Chart golf-course, a route used by the 464 on certain school-runs to avoid the kids having to cross the road. We continued round to Chart, where we met RF633 coming the other way, wearing one of the later 464 blinds (from when the 464 incorporated the 465). Both buses stopped at the Carpenters' Arms, and there was some exchange of passengers.
But Alan was really wanting to meet up with GS2, and after a few minutes it arrived from Oxted to terminate. After further exchanges -of people and information- the two buses went their own ways: GS2 towards Holland, via Oxted, and GS62 back to Westerham along the 465 route via Crockham Hill and Hosey Common.
All photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
Back to Ian's Bus-stop Part 2: Mid-day, a 464-465-485 duty (GS32).