Redhill to Brentford

 2nd July 2026

After yet another lengthy gap, I arrived at Redhill on the train from Lancaster determined to finish the project. Although the journey had gone smoothly, I hadn't managed to pick up any lunch or even have a coffee on the way, so the first task was to rectify that from the shops near Redhil station.

There wasn't a lot of choice and I wasted time looking for something better than what was on offer, so by the time I was ready to set off only the last and least favourable of my pre-planned options was available.

Accordingly, I joined Metrobus service 460 to Crawley, a mundane run down the A23, enlivened only by a brief visit to Gatwick Airport's south terminal.  I had planned on seeing some of the guided busway that operates in this area, but perversly, the "Fastway" service from Redhill that uses it also meanders around the suburbs of Crawley and takes much longer - and runs less frequently - than the 460. Shortly after passing the airport we re-entered the county of Sussex.

One disadvantage of the 460 was a seven-minute connection at Crawley into my next bus - the 291 to Tunbridge Wells. This was made more difficult by us arriving four minutes late and by the "bus station" being merely a long row of stops along either side of a dual-carriageway, with no overall guide that I could see as to which bus went from which stop. Fortunately the 291 was at the next but one stop and was a;ready on the stand and loading. This started as another dreary run through suburbia, but after East Grinstead (which looked like a lace worth a stopover if the 291 had been more frequent, the countryside opened out with some nice views.

For a lengthy interurban route the 291 wasn't especially busy, until we picked up the obligatory load of schoolchildren just outside East Grinstead, who alighted in twos and threes over the next five miles or so.

Although they must travel every day and many of them will have had some sort of pass or season ticket, these all had to be inspected individually be the driver, which meant spending a good five minutes at the stop.

Just beyond Groombridge we left Sussex and entered Kent.

KENT  County town Maidstone

The county is known as the “Garden of England” for the richness and variety of its arable farming. Hop growing has been the traditional major agriculture of Kent, as the oast houses found throughout the county testify. In contrast, there was once coal mining in the east of the county.

My visit to Kent would be brief and confined to the north of the county. In "Royal" Tunbridge Wells I alighted at the station and with time to spare, walked through the town to the stops at the War Memorial. The "spa town" architecture reminded me of places such as Buxton or Harrogate, which I what I had expected, although it was noticeable that the higher up the hill thye town is built on you went, the more ordinary it became.

I thought that my next bus, Arriva's number 7 to Miadstone must have failed when it didn't appear on time and wasn't tracking on Bus Times. I'd just about given up and was about to set ouit on a further exploration of the town before the next bus was due when a last check showewd that it had come to life and was approaching.

The 7 was another fast, interurban service through pleasant open countryside, with only the sizable town of Tonbridge to break it up.  We entered Maidstone via the suburb of Barming, once served by the town's small trolleybus system, and I was pleased to see that the bus stop at the Bull Inn terminus is still in use requring the 7 and other buses, to use the former trolleybus turning circle to access it.

3rd July 2026

I always feel Travelodge breakfast isn't worth the money, so first thing task this morning was to navigate my way across - or rather, underneath - the town's ring-road that separates the centre from the rest of the town to find an alternative.  That achieved, I made my way to the equally inaccessible bus station, located under a shopping centre car aprk on the edge of town. I was retracing my steps on the 7 as far as Tonbridge. Not something I like to do, but the alternative was to head for the coast and that would hav emeant duplicting much of my route "Around the Edge" that I did a few years earlier.

I'd done extensive planning for today and was expecting a 15 minute connection into Arriva's 402 to get to Sevenoaks. What IU wasn't prepared for was the appearance of GoBus service 4, also heading to Sevenoaks that had somehow managed to avoid all the journey planners and websites I'd used to reareach,

Obeying the First Rule of Public Transport (Never wait for the other bus) I boarded what turned out to be a rather elderly double-decker with a cracked front upstairs screen, dirty seats and a bin bag tied to a handrail presumably to act as a litter bin.  At least the following 402 turned out to be an Optare Solo, which made be think I'd made the right choice.

The quality of ride was more than made up for by Sevenoak's delightfully retro bus station, that comes complete with toilets and cafe, even if the cafe is "cash-only", which meant I had to use my "emergency" £20 note to buy a cup of tea and carry round a pocketfull of change for the rest of the day.

GoBus also took me on the next stage of the journey - to Orpington, although this was on a more modern Enviro 200. Here I was, at last, in Transport for London territory, which meant that from now on it would be a case of showing the bus pass to the drivers rather than taping it on the reader, due to London's system not being compatible with everyone else's.

My first TfL bus, the 355 to Addington, was Chinese: an electric BYD double-decker on which I rode as far as Addington Interchange. I came this way deliberately to incorprate another tram - only the second of the trip - into the itinerary as far as East Croydon station.

Shortly before reaching Addington, on the appropriately-named "Kent Gateway" we left that county and re-entered Surrey.

Trams in Croydon

I must admit that I wandered round Croydon rathyer aimlessly for an hour or so, alternating between looking for somewhere to eat and finding out where my next bus would leave from. I was unsuccesful if the former (I'm too fussy sometimes) and the latter happened to be back at the station where I'd arrived.

The SL7 to Kingston-upon-Thames was my first ever ride on one of TfL's "Superloop" limited stop services. Things went well at first, but gradually Friday afternoon traffic took its toll and we began to lose time. The idea of a limited-stop service doesn't work very well when the bus becomes stuck behind two "stopping" buses, which it is unable to ovetake at stops due to oncoming traffic.  A lengthy diversion due to a road closure on the approach to Kingston added to the problems and we were alomist half-an-hour behind schedule when we arrived.

My own schedule now was completely flexibile, given the multiple route and timing options available to reach my destination.  After spending a much pleasanter hour sauntering around Kingston, which to my Northern eyes appeared a very prosperous and well-to-do town, I opted for a 281 to Twickenham followed by an instantaneous change onto a 267, both of which were "New Routemasters"

Immediately on leaving Kingston we crossed the Thames to enter Middlesex

MIDDLESEX  County Town Brentford?

Middlesex is the smallest English county after Rutland but the third most populous in Britain. Middlesex is certainly the most urban county, being almost wholly covered by London and its outgrowths. Middlesex has been called “the Capital County” as the home of the capital city (whether you think that is London or Westminster).

Middlesex has struggled to maintain its identity more than most English counties. TheCity of London, geographically in Middlesex, became self-governing as long ago as the 12th Century and when county councils were introduced in 1889 about one-third of the county was administered by the new London County Council. The 1965 creation of the Greater London Council saw it incorporate most of Middlesex, with the ramainder being administered by neighbouring authorities.  Middlesex, however, retained its identity not least through sport - Middlesex Cricket |Club and the "Middlesex Station" a familiar vfeature of the Universities Boat Race.

The question of the county town is complicated. The Association of British Counties, whose guidance I have followed for this trip states unequivocably that it is "London" but I can do no better that present the following, lifted from Wikipedia:

Middlesex arguably never, and certainly not since 1789, had a single, established county town. The City of London could be regarded as its county town for most purposes^[35] and provided different locations for the various, mostly judicial, county purposes. The county assizes for Middlesex were held at the Old Bailey in the City of London.^[16] Until 1889, the High Sheriff of Middlesex was chosen by the City of London Corporation. The sessions house for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions was Hicks Hall in Clerkenwell (just outside the City boundary) from 1612 to 1782, and Middlesex Sessions House on Clerkenwell Green from 1782 to 1921. The quarter sessions performed most of the limited administration on a county level prior to the creation of the Middlesex County Council in 1889.

New Brentford was first promulgated as the county town in 1789, on the basis that it was where elections of knights of the shire (or Members of Parliament) were held from 1701.^[24][36] Thus a traveller's and historian's London regional summary of 1795 states that (New) Brentford was "considered as the county-town; but there is no town-hall or other public building".^[37] Middlesex County Council took over at the Guildhall in Westminster, which became the Middlesex Guildhall. In the same year, this location was placed into the new County of London, and was thus outside the council's area of jurisdiction.

In any case, I rather liked the idea of ending the journey somewhere as obscure and anonymous as Brentford, so that seemed good enough for me, so when the 267 dropped me near my hotel on Brentford High Street at 17.17 on 3rd July, this project finally came to an end.

The 176th and final bus after dropping me off in Brentford


T H E   E N D

Amesbury to Redhill