Riding the Routes: Day 275 To East Grinstead to ride the No 409 to Selsdon library.

Charmaine had to be at the Orpheus Centre in Godstone for 0900 so I drive her to the end of the road it is located in and then walked to Godstone Green to catch a No 409 to East Grinstead. On arrival a lady informed me I had just missed the bus and so had to wait forty minutes for the 0940 departure which was surprisingly on time given the diversions because of the subsidence in Godstone High Street. Metrobus 6015 picked me up and took me down to the A22 and south to Blindley Heath and then through Lingfield to East Grinstead where I alighted at King Street at 1015. I asked the driver whether I could get the bus back from there but he directed me to the war memorial. I went here to find when the departure time was and found a set of gardens commemorating the rail 200 anniversary.

Godstone Green looking very parched

Across road from Godstone Green
where I waited for forty minutes

Railway 200 garden

409 and 236 are barely visible
in bottom right square

Bus shelter at the war memorial

Mostly Hourly service Mon-Fri apart from school
runs

Our bus emerging

Metrobus 6015 arriving

Building above blue van is old High Level station

Leaving East Grinstead

The bus came at 1040 and journey was expected to take two minutes short of an hour and a half. It was the same bus with same driver who had brought me to East Grinstead. The bus passed down the south side of Beeching way with the old high level station now privately owned to stop at the remaining station. Leaving here we followed the No 400 route and others left at the fire station and over the remaining tracks and then the loop line bridge the bus ploughed its own furrow right at the mini roundabout down Lingfield Road.

Only one bus on the totem the No 409

Out in Sussex soon becoming Surrey countryside

This took the bus downhill and out of East Grinstead and across various tributaries going east and west through Felcourt in country areas before reaching Lingfield at 1054.

Red Rum Caffe Lingfield

The Star at Lingfield

At Lingfield the bus met with other bus routes and turned right to pass Red Rum Caffe and then left down Church Road. Here it became very difficult for the bus driver to get past parked cars particularly where there was some minor roadworks. We turned left into Station Road and again left at Lingfield Common Road which led to us joining the B2028 to Blindley Heath. As we did this process we met a double deck No 409 going the other way and the driver flagged him down to warn of the difficulty he had encountered.

Leaving Blindley Heath

The Lagham by Godstone railway station

At Blindley Heath we took the A22 north through South Godstone, reaching the railway station at 1112 and then went left at the diversion into Godstone village. I arrived back where I had boarded the bus to East Grinstead at 1119.

The road that has to be used twice going north and south because of the High Street closure

I sat under the tree to the right of the phone box

The previous site of Godstone garage

The High Street closed

In the interim roadworks had been set up on the access road so had to go through them twice before rejoining the A22 to the A25 roundabout. Here we went left to reach the normal route again by the site of Godstone garage. This took 9 minutes instead of the usual two and we soon heading north to the roundabout under the M25 and subsequently north along the A22 until the junction for Caterham.

A No 407 waiting to leave Caterham for Sutton

We reached the roundabout by Waitrose and Caterham station at 1135 and then went up Church Hill to Caterham on the Hill. The bus then too me to Westway Common where I had been recently for the No 400 and No 404.

Passing Westway Common

The bus went right at Coulsdon Road past Tesco's and the access for the ARC where Charmaine is in a play this coming Sunday. At the next set of traffic lights we went right down Banstead Road and then left into Buxton Lane.

Climbing up to Warlingham with Bourne valley
between here and Kenley airfield

At Ninehams Lane junction at 1148 the bus went right, passing the entrance to RAF Kenley and then left down Whyteleafe Road to cross the level crossing at Whyteleafe station at 1153. we went straight over at the A22 roundabout and after going under the railway bridge, of the line to East Grinstead we took Westhall Road and climbing steadily passed Upper Warlingham station.

War memorial on Warlingham Green

This road slowly wound around to reach Warlingham Green at 1158. We then headed south along the B269 as I had recently on the No 403, but this time went past the Sainsburys and turned left into Chelsham Road but soon left again into Sunnybank which took us to Farleigh Road. We didn't just run along this to Selsdon though, but turned right at the Harrow PH to go along Harrow Road to Chelsham Road.

Turning at the Harrow PH

Bus turnaround at what was Warlingham
Park Hospital

Still loads of countryside

Selsdon Woods in background

Here we went left and entered into the former Warlingham Park Hospital site which is now a housing estate. We then retraced our steps back to the Harrow and turned right and headed along Farleigh Road past the golf course and many fields and then Selsdon woods to run up the hill to terminate at Selsdon library and Sainsburys at 1217.