Day 276 A very local bus and another not that far away the No 410 and 411.

 At midday I caught a No 410 from my nearest bus stop to Wallington Shotfield. Here I waited for the bus to start its return journey and spoke to the driver about the tram rail replacement happening in Croydon and how delayed his journeys were. He warned me it had taken over half an hour to get from West Croydon bus station to East Croydon and he suggested people walk from Reeves Corner if they didn't want to miss their train. I had taken our son to the station this morning by car as the previous day he had been late for work.

Arriva's SLS24 at Shotfield

Journey should take 46 minutes

At 1217 I was back aboard Arriva's SLS24 and we left to turn left and left again so as to descend Woodcote Road through the Wallington shopping area. Once under the railway bridge we swept around the entrance to the station at 1220 but no one boarded. 

Class 377 in platform at Wallington

Wallington bus station turn around

Where the bus turns right into Croydon Road

At the crossroads we turned right and joined running along Croydon Road with the No 407 and SL7 and reached Church Road Beddington at 1230 and passed where I had boarded at 1234.

Lavington Road bus stop I left half an hour previously

The bus then continued to Purley Way, turning left here and then right into Waddon road and stopped at 1239 for the Wandle Park tramstop. The trams were terminating at the next stop Reeves Corner, and hoards of people boarded at we reached the nearby bus stop. We ran up Tamworth Road as usual and into West Croydon bus station at 1245.

Opposite Reeves Corner bus stop

The normal exit route from West Croydon bus station

Normally the bus would have been able to follow the tram tracks to wards East Croydon at this point but the way was barricaded. Thus we had to return the way we had come to North End and then go left and left again up Poplar Walk. There is normally the facility to go straight over at the end of this road, but this was barricaded as well. So we had to go left as Wellesley Road runs towards Whitehorse Road. Doing a turn around the roundabout we returned back  down Wellesley Road, now the other side of the tramway barricade.

The queue back into Wellesley road having gone 
around the roundabout

Wellesley Road tram works

At 1257 we were back on the usual route and reached East Croydon station at 1259. Going down Cherry Orchard Road we needed to reach Davidson Road at the bottom but could only get to it by going all the way around the roundabout to the right. 

The top of Cherry Orchard Road

Looking up Davidson Road

At Davidson Road the No 410 is finally the sole bus in the road and it does a couple of forays off the road doing short circuits and then returning. The first was at 1308 to visit roads which are reminiscent of the Croydon Canal; replaced by the London Bridge railway, being Canal Walk and Towpath Way. At the end of Davidson Road we went left at Tennison Road crossing over a very long bridge to reach Selhurst Road where we turned right and headed into South Norwood, reached at 1316.

Clock tower at South Norwood High Street

Taking Norwood Hill we past Stanley Halls
and then the school

The No 157 goes straight on at the crossroads to Crystal Palace, but this bus turns left up Norwood Hill past the Stanley Arts Centre and adjoining school. We forged off on our own again at Southern Avenue and took Lancaster Avenue running beside South Norwood Grounds park.

St John the Evangelist

Looking down Anerley Hill

Climbing Anerley Hill with the Transmitter mast in the background

At St John the Evangelist we entered the Sylvan Estate at Sylvan Road and this led to Mabberley Road and finally Hamlet Road. Exiting Hamlet Road we reached Anerley Hill . The bus climbed Anerley hill and terminated, having turned left onto Crystal Palace Parade at 1333.

Arriva's SLS24 heading for lay over

London Overground 378145 in platform 3

Looking across to platforms 5 and 6
with 7 and 8 not in use

Two class 701s passing at Clapham Junction

Next I walked down to Crystal Palace station and caught the 1354 train to Victoria from Platform 4. At some point they altered the numbering of the platforms because I remember the current platforms 1 and 2 being numbered 7 and 8 in about 1970. On arrival at Clapham Junction I crossed to Platform 11 and didn't have long to wait for the 1421 to Kingston. As I approached the bus stand at the Cromwell Road bus station I could see a few people boarding so I was unable to photograph the No 411 bus or timetable before climbing aboard.

Reversing out of Cromwell Road bus station

This bus was London United DE20127 and it was turning out of the bus station at 1444. I haven't done this manoevre before, which was to turn right, rather than left around the one way system. This was because the other buses that do this I have done from the opposite end of the route.

Approaching Bentalls Kingston

The bus didn't stop in Wood Street like the other buses I have used but stops just around the corner at Clarence Street/All Saints Church. Once across the river the bus turned left and headed for Hampton Court along Hampton Court Road. At the roundabout outside Hampton Court itself we went straight on which took us back over the river at 1458.

The parched grass opposite Hampton Court

Mitre Hotel next to bridge over Thames
at Hampton Court

As we turned right along Bridge Road the bus became the sole TFL user of the road and we were now out-with the GLA area and in Elmbridge Borough of Surrey. At the mini roundabout we turned right into Walton Road and remained on this road as we ran through East Molesey. Beyond East Molesey the road took us to West Molesey war memorial at 1507 and then turning left into Central Avenue we terminated at Central square .at 1510.

West Molesey war memorial

Only one TFL route other two are Surrey CC

Journey should take 23 minutes

DE20127 ready to return to Kingston

I walked back to Walton Road expecting to be able to get a bus to Hampton Court and indeed a No 661 school bus was indicated at 1530. However, when it arrived it swept past despite the bus totem stating school buses stop here. I thus had to wait for the next No 411 which was not until 1546. This bus returned me to Cromwell Road bus station at Kingston where I caught a train to Wimbledon and finally a tram to Beddington Lane. I then walked home which took 45 minutes.