When we pulled up in the Carfax GS62 was waiting, almost ready to depart for Crawley on the 852. Peter Aves was driving, and after loading up the bus we departed, wiggling out from the old town centre.
We headed north-east through Roffey: there were speed-bumps along this road, which we tackled very cautiously. But soon we reached the roundabout on the outskirts of Horsham and headed up the dual carriageway to Faygate. There we turned off on the road to Faygate Station and Rusper. At the former we stopped, at the bus-stop just on the rise of the station bridge. But Rusper we didn't reach. The 852 turns off just south of the village to head for Lambs Green.
Peter had written the timetable for the day, and he had no sooner said "We should be meeting GS76 soon" than the little green Guy came round the corner ahead and passed by on its way to Horsham.
We paused again at Lambs Green. There was not an LT flag on the telegraph pole by the phone box, unfortunately. Otherwise the scene was not too different from forty years ago, when the 852 ran this way and stopped by the Post Office. The road wound on in a typical English countryside way. We met other road-users occasionally, including riders taking advantage of the light traffic on these lanes.
We skirted Crawley through Ifield Wood, then turned towards the centre through Ifield Green. We crossed the bypass, then shuffled around the old town centre to find the bus station, the old terminus at The George no longer being accessible.
The bus waiting in the centre of the bus station for the 291 now was one of the 11.0m long Darts with Caetano Nimbus bodywork - a long way from the original Dart midibus concept. It provided an interesting comparison with the Guy Special, with fifty years difference in their build dates. But it was the GS that attracted the attention of passers-by.
We were at Crawley Bus Station for longer than the Union-stipulated five minute turn-round, in order to connect with RF679 on the 434. This arrived from Three Bridges with a Horsham & Roffey Corner short-working blind on the front, quickly changed to a correct Horsham (Carfax) one.
After our quarter-hour rest we were away gain, threading our way out through Ifield to the countryside, then turning left along the lane through Ifield Wood. This time we paused at The Gate public house before pressing on through Lambs Green. Once again Peter accurately warned me about the imminent approach of GS76 on its second trip of the day to Crawley.
We passed through Lambs Green and Faygate Station, and turned out onto the main road to Horsham. This time we turned off onto the old road for a short way on the approach to the town, before wiggling our way down to the Station. We paused there, then wiggled round the town and up past the bus station to the Carfax.
We now had an eighteen minute break before our journey continued to Ewhurst...
All photos by Ian Smith. Click on most of them for a larger picture.
Back to Ian's Bus-stop
Part 1
Part 3: 852, Horsham - Ewhurst (GS62)