We climbed up from Swanley to cross over the A20 and then pass under the M25, before taking the old road down the hill towards Farningham. To my surprse we missed out Farningham altogether, but turned right at the far end of the by-pass to drop down onto the Eynsford Road. The village was only a mile further on, and looked very attractive in the sunshine. Paul Brophy, driving, eventually pulled in at the Eynsford Station stop to let a tail of cars go past.
We set off again, under the railway bridge and south beside the railway past the Preston Farm lavender fields. We passed back under the railway and stayed on its east side as far as Shoreham Station (turning point for Dunton Green garaged short-workings from Sevenoaks). We went on, soon entering the outskirts of Otford. We turned right over the station bridge and descended to Otford Pond, where we pulled up at the stop by the church and Bishops Palace (This was an overnight stopping point on the Pilgrim's Way). A cue for lots of photos.
Just a minute or two behind schedule we set off again, turning round the pond, past The Woodman and up the bank to cross the Railway, heading back past Shoreham Station. RF679 hurried past southwards on its way to Sevenoaks.
We had a request stop for the lavender farm, so just beyond the railway bridge we pulled in and the photographers tried the tricky task of getting bus and the lavender fields into one shot.
We had a further request for a pause in Eynsford. I convinced Paul Brophy that it was alright to go through Farningham (there are width restriction signs), so we made the turn and picked a way past the parked cars into the village, to stop at the bus stop on the bridge.
My film ran out. Hardly momentous in itself, but I reboarded to put a new one in the camera, and missed my opportunity to remind Paul to turn right half way up the street. So we continued straight on up. Did it join the hill further up? Yes it did, after a close brush with some of the trees. We climbed up onto the A20, as RF48 rushed down on a Greenline service to Wrotham.
We passed over the hill and down under the motorway and round the curves back to Swanley Garage, where we pulled up behind RF429.
I crossed over to the Country Bus Rallies stall to acquire a programme and greet one or two people, and enquired what was going out shortly. Not much, was the brief answer, but there would be a double-decker on the 241 shortly, as RT1702 had a set of original blinds...
Part Three: Sidcup Station and back
Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
Back to Ian's Bus-stop
Part One
Part Three: Sidcup Station and back