After the No 357 in NE London had been rather truncated I thought I might do the No 357 which I knew was close by, from Selsdon to Reigate. This bus was operated by Southdown PSV but all their services have been taken over by Metrobus Ltd. So I caught a No 412 from Purley to Selsdon library and waited for the No 357 at 1518 as indicated by the timetable. However, when I arrived there was No 357 indicated on the bus stops and no messages as there had been at Whipps Cross. When the No 409 came just before 1600 I asked the driver about the No 357 I was waiting for and he said it was discontinued in 2021.
So for the No 358 I caught a No 157 from the Waddon pub to Crystal Palace at 1356 and arrived at the top of Anerley Hill at 1428.
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| London General (Metrobus) 754 with its potential replacement with cones around it. These buses are expected to take over in three weeks. |
I walked across to the parade bus station and found there was one of the new Irizar electric buses parked, but it was an older Metrobus No 754 that quickly appeared to take me at 1437 round the corner and back down Anerley Hill. At 1445 I had reached Anerley station and by 1455 was turning left at the top of Elmers End Road.
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| Anerley Town Hall with No 432 heading for Brixton |
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| Looking East down Elmers End road with a No 354 approaching |
This road led us to Penge where we turned right and headed for Beckenham.
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| Birkbeck Road near Kent House |
At the war memorial roundabout the bus turned right to run past Beckenham Hospital and on towards Elmers End where we arrived at 1505.
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| Azelia Hall Croydon Road Beckenham |
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| Had to Photograph this in Upper Elmers End Road |
At the roundabout we took Upper Elmers End Road to Eden Park station and beyond this turned hard left under the railway line and on to the Chinese Garage. This road was served only by the No 358 until recently whilst now the Supaloop SL5 accompanies it.
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| Chinese Garage taken over my shoulder |
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| North of Bromley High Street closed |
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| Looking up Bromley High Street from Bromley south |
Indeed the bus went left then right along Tweedy Road past Bromley North station without stopping and regaining its route at the top of Kentish Way. Thus we returned to Bromley High Street and stopped at Bromley South station at 1528. The bus then headed for the A21 passing The Crown on Bromley Common at 1538, an hour after leaving Crystal Palace. After passing the Princess Royal University Hospital the No 358 forges on alone taking Farnborough High Street just as the R4 joins the Farnborough Bypass.
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| Entering Farnborough village |
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| The triangle outside The George and Dragon Farnborough |
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| The building which has replaced The George and Dragon |
At 1547 we reached the location where the No 47 and No 51 buses used to terminate when I was young before the creation of the No 358 in the 1980s-this was The George and Dragon.
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| The bottom of Warren Road the start of a long walk in the snow to reach Charmaine's house in the early 1980s |
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| War memorial with a No 358 heading for Crystal Palace |
The bus continued on its own until it reached Shire Lane at the bottom of Farnborough Hill. The No R8 joined the bus from here to run past the Metrobus garage where I espied another two of the new electric 'Trambuses'. As we turned left we joined four other buses all of the R (Roundabout) type for the run to Orpington High Street. Instead of turning left at the war memorial and heading up to the station straight away, the bus went forward into the first part of the High Street. The bus turned right into Holmesdale Road and right again to Spur Road which enabled the bus to again reach the war memorial and this time we did climb Station Road up to Orpington Station where the bus terminated at 1403.
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| Arrival at Orpington station with an R4 behind |
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| Bus stop showing the No R6 which is a bus that will disappear for the second time shortly |
I caught a No R4 to the alleyway on Tubbenden Lane to visit our daughter and an hour or so later I walked back to the station to catch a No 353 to Addington Interchange. I arrived at the Interchange at 1800 and checking on the bus stop it seemed I had 15 minutes to wait for the next No 359.
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| Starting point for the No 359 |
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| Unusual pattern approx every 45 minutes |
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| Bus arrives from Purley |
The bus which arrived from Purley was number SEe167 of London General, one of the two dedicated to this service on delivery. The service runs every 45 minutes and as it takes less than 25 minutes two buses is adequate to fulfil it.
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| Ready to depart from layover |
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| Reaching the Gravel Hill roundabout |
The bus arrived exactly as expected and I was the only person to board at this point. The bus circulated around the bus station and headed west along Kent Gateway to the Gravel Hill roundabout. The bus continued past the roundabout and picked up someone opposite a small parade of shops and then continued up the A2022 along with the No 64. A little distance beyond the parade the bus went right into the Monks Hill estate along Farnborough Avenue. The bus then followed a loop along Heathfield Vale, Broadcombe and Tedder Road before returning back along Heathfield Vale to the A2022 via Farnborough Avenue at 1825.
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| Looking across Heathfield Farm |
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| Baptist church in Selsdon High Street |
The bus then headed up the A2022 to Selsdon and on to Sanderstead.
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| The other bus running the service at Selsdon library |
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| Starting to descend Sanderstead Hill |
Beyond All Saints Sanderstead the bus went right at the roundabout initially down Sanderstead Hill but soon bared left on Purley Downs Road. At the end of Purley Downs Road the bus turned left along Brighton Road and terminated just past Purley Hospital opposite Purley URC at 1841. The journey actually took 26 minutes.
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| Purley URC |
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| Journey's End |
To get home I caught a No 439 to Waddon station and walked and then took a No 410 one stop to arrive home at 1905.
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