GS67

GS: The Guy Special

Prepared by Ian Smith

This page created 23rd October 2003

386 HG Hitchin - Great Wymondley - Titmore Green - Stevenage - Walkern - Ardeley - Cottered - Buntingford - Hare Street - Braughing - Puckeridge - Standon - Little Hadham - Bishops Stortford (S,Su)
386 HG Hitchin - Great Wymondley - Titmore Green - Stevenage - Walkern - Ardeley - Cottered - Buntingford (Tu)
386 HG Hitchin - Great Wymondley (Tu)
386 HG Buntingford - Hare Street - Braughing - Puckeridge - Standon - Little Hadham - Bishops Stortford (Th)
386A HG Buntingford - West Mill - Puckeridge - Standon - Much Hadham - Hadham - Wareside - Ware - Hertford (Th,S,Su)
331 HG Buntingford - West Mill - Puckeridge - Standon - Wadesmill - Ware - Hertford (Tu)

386 route map

The 386 was a great sprawling route along the northern boundary of the London Transport area, started by People's of Ware in the late 1920s. London Transport took over in 1933 and left a good thing the way it was. They took over People's Gilfords and Thorneycrofts too. Later LT standardised on Leyland Cubs and AEC Regals.

A market days route essentially, the 386 linked a string of Hertfordshire villages with Hitchin and Bishops Stortford. So on Saturdays and Sundays the whole route was worked, while on Tuesdays it was the Hitchin to Buntingford section only. On Thursdays Buntingford was connected in the other direction, to Bishops Stortford. There were also short-workings from Hitchin to Great Wymondeley on Tuesdays. Oddly, the route was not worked from Stevenage, nor Hitchin, but Hertford. Even the Great Wymondeley shorts were worked by a Hertford GS that was in Hitchin courtesy of the 329A (which had got into position via a working on the 329!)

Three GS buses had taken over from a pair of RFs and a 10T10 in April 1954 on these 329/386 routes.

GS2 at Great Wymondeley GS2 at Great Wymondeley

Great Wymondeley short-workings once used the pub forecourt to stand on. No chance of that these days! GS2 pauses in June 2003 after turning at the T-junction.
From St Mary's Square in Hitchin the 386 headed due east, up over the hill and down to duck under the East Coast main line railway. Having left Hitchin behind, country lanes took the buses to Great Wymondeley, where the short-workings turned at the T-junction in the village centre. Through workings turned south, crossing the direct route between Hitchin and Stevenage (the 303), and pausing at Titmore Green before heading into Stevenage past the bus garage and station.

From Stevenage the route headed off north-eastwards to Walkern, where it parted company with the 384 to Hertford. The 386 turned north along the ridge, then dropped off onto tiny lanes into Ardeley - and even narrower single-track roads across the fields to Cottered. A main road then took it to Buntingford.

GS2 near Ardeley GS2 at Cottered

GS2 negotiates the narrow lanes across the fields north of Ardeley, during the June 2003 running day. A little later it passes through pretty Cottered, on the way to Buntingford.

After crossing the A10 the route then headed into the wilds again, east to Hare Street, where it made an abrupt turn and headed south to Puckeridge. A wiggle through the narrow streets took it through to Standon station, where it turned east for Little Hadham and Bishops Stortford.

From Bishops Stortford a typical estate-serving extra, to the Havers Lane Estate, was later added.

Hertford-garaged buses reached the 386 at Buntingford in various ways at different times. From July 1950 they had reached Buntingford by way of the 386A, serving Ware, Wareside, Widford, Much Hadham, Wellpond Green, Standon and Westmill, on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Tuesdays they worked out to Buntingford via the 331, straight up the A10 from Ware, apart from a diversion through Standon. The GSs had taken over this pattern when they were introduced in April 1954.

In October 1958 the 386 lost its Sunday workings, and the 386A ceased. All garage runs between Buntingford and Hertford now worked as 331, down the main road. RFs began to work the route again, too.

GS2 at Buntingford GS2 at Buntingford

GS2 at Buntingford, June 2003. After the "Tuesday" run across the 386, GS2 changed to a 331 for the run down to Hertford.
From June 1959 the estate at Havers Lane, Bishops Stortford, became the eastern terminus.

June 1965 saw the main 386 service pattern altered drastically to incorporate the garage workings. On Tuesdays and Saturdays the Hitchin-bound service started from Hertford, working out through Standon, Puckeridge, Hare Street, Buntingford and points west. On Thursdays and Saturdays a Bishops Stortford service operated from Hertford via Standon, and Wellpond Green. This then serviced the long Saturday run from Bishops Stortford to Hitchin, via Buntingford.

386 HG Hitchin - Great Wymondley - Titmore Green - Stevenage - Walkern - Ardeley - Cottered - Buntingford - Hare Street - Braughing - Puckeridge - Standon - Wadesmill - Ware - Hertford (Tu,S)
386 HG Hitchin - Great Wymondley - Titmore Green - Stevenage - Walkern - Ardeley - Cottered - Buntingford - Hare Street - Braughing - Puckeridge - Standon - Little Hadham - Bishops Stortford (Tu)
386 HG Hertford - Ware - Wadesmill - Standon - Little Hadham - Bishops Stortford (Th, S)

384A 387

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