East Grinstead Running Day

Sunday April 22nd 2007

Prepared by Ian Smith, 13th May 2007.

Edenbridge and back

434: East Grinstead to Edenbridge Town Stn (GS62)

I had been waiting for a RF to arrive for the 434 out to Edenbridge (After all, the 434 was a RF route). I hadn't realised that GS62, sitting on the stop wearing 435 blinds, was the chosen vehicle - until I asked Colin Rivers which RF it would be. He was the driver, it turned out, so presumably it should have been RF679. Anyway, my wife and I secured two of the remaining seats, right at the back, and we were off, eastwards along East Grinstead's half-timbered main street.

We turned off north towards Blackwell, crossing the old railway cutting (now the bypass) and descending through the rock cutting to a roundabout. We wound eastwards uphill past the Hospital and the Stone Quarry Estate, then turned off the Tunbridge Wells Road onto the minor road to Dormansland. Before we reached the Plough Inn we met XF3 comung the other way. I grabbed a shot through the side window of the GS, and another through the rear window.

Colin paused at the bus stop to allow the traffic tail to pass us, before pressing on, out along the B2028 through the Wealden countryside to Marsh Green. We turned north into Edenbridge, and made our way up the straight Roman Road through the Kent border town. We crossed the River Eden, and passed under the Crown Inn's sign straddling the narrow street. Although I had expected us to go up through Troy Town and back Colin turned in to the Edenbridge Town station approach and took us to the stop outside the station building.

We alighted, took photos, and awaited the arrival of The M&D Titan, DH379, which had arrived by the long route via Holtye.

434: Edenbridge Town Stn to East Grinstead (DH379)

Passengers exchanged between the two buses. We managed upstairs seats near the front before GS62 pulled away.

We followed almost immediately, following the GS back to the Edenbridge Main Street, then south down to the Eden. The GS turned off for the route through Marsh Green and Dormansland, but the M&D bus rumbled on southwards, taking the Hartfield road that I used to cycle in my teens, on occasional forays to Lewes and the Coast. The bus climbed up to Stick Hill, giving excellent views across the Weald.

We did not turn off into Cowden, as the 135 route should, because of low trees. Instead we continued to reach the Tunbridge Wells road, where we turned right for East Grinstead. We rumbled along the High Weald ridge road to Holtye Common, where we just missed meeting a single-decker. It turned off onto the Cowden road as we approached, and was disappearing into the trees as we passed the road end.

We continued into East Grinstead along the ridge road - glorious on a double-decker. We made a fairly tortuous approach to the town centre, where we found GS62 already ensconced on the stop opposite the War Memorial.

After we alighted the scene changed quite rapidly. GS60 - newly purchased by Roger Wright - emerged to work a 494 to Oxted (I think - it was wearing Hertford blinds). Metrobus' RML2317 paused on a northbound 409, while RT1700 (now Blue Triangle) was heading for Forest Row. I didn't look to see where SNB340 was headed, but it may have been Edenbridge.

But for us it was time for a coffee, so we took a break from buses for a while, and sought the shade of a coffeeshop.

Part Three: Forest Row and back

Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.

Back to Ian's Bus-stop Part One: Oxted to East Grinstead Part Three: Forest Row and back