East Grinstead Running Day

Sunday April 22nd 2018

Prepared by Ian Smith, 26th April 2016.

Part 3: 434: East Grinstead to Turners Hill and back

We returned to RF679 and set it up as a 434 to Turners Hill. Behind us the preserved Metrobus Lynx 2 101 was readying for a 424 run to Copthorne.

Preparing to go: RF679 on 434, Metrobus Lynx2 101 on 424.

Up on the High Street Southdown Leyland National PCD80R was ready to head south-eastwards on a service 92, that would loop round via Wych Cross and Colemans Hatch to reach Forest Row. I failed to get a half-way decent picture: try again later!

Loading up with passengers kept my attention away from the other side of the road, where RT3183 was receiving attention to its batteries.

With a decent load of passengers we set off down London Road towards the station. That was very busy with Railway Replacement buses, so we did not call, but curved round to the south-west and down Brooklands Way. We followed the B2110 (Turners Hill Road), quickly out of town into countryside, with the Bluebell Railway off up on our right, and bluebell woods on the left. We passed RF406, hurrying back into town with a 473. We passed the turn-off for Kingscote Station, and passed under the Bluebell Railway.

We purred along to Turners Hill, where there were two tight turns to make to go round the triangle to the bus stop. The blind roller in the front did not include East Grinstead King Street for some reason, so we selected East Grinstead Garage as the best alternative.

RF679 at the Turners Hill triangle.

Then it was back the way we had come. This short journey was a far cry from the route's early days, when East Surrey's ADCs ran it from Horsham to Oxted via Crawley, Copthorne, Turners Hill, East Grinstead, Edenbridge and Westerham.

This time it was RF633 that we met in the green "tunnel", heading west with the next 434 to Turners Hill.

Down in the hollow below East Grinstead we went straight on at the little roundabout, to climb up the edge of the town to the top, where we wiggled a way down left onto the High Street, pulling in behind RM1397 and past Metrobus AEC Reliance 109.

RF633 passes on the 434 to Turners Hill. RT3183, RM1397 and Metrobus 109 at East Grinstead.

We were bang on time at 1209. That just left six minutes to reset the bus for the 494 to Oxted and take the bus to turn round, to get back to the War Memorial at 1215....

Part Four: East Grinstead to Oxted Station and return

Five