please empty your brain below

Thanks DG, this has taken me back to my younger days. Woodmansterne station where I did my first commute into London from. The church I was christened at, the hill we used to freewheel down, that was scary. The Midday Sun used to be a nice pub, named after one of Lord Derby's racehorses, he lived at Oaks Park next to the lavender farm you mention. Didn't realise the 166 had extended it's route to Epsom, might have to go and have a ride myself some time, although I think I'll wait for summer and stop off at the lavender fields.
From the sound of it, you escaped from your back row confinement before too long. Perhaps you could have sat next to someone instead? Or is this a bit like choosing the next vacant urinal (ie avoiding at all costs being next to someone)?

dg writes: I escaped the back row to grab an empty seat at Coulsdon. I try not to sit next to anyone on these trips because I might be writing notes about them.
So, you going to Epsom is like me going to Watford/Croxley. Welcome to my old manor, and by getting the 418 next you'll be going right past where I used to live.

I do hope you'r not going to cheat and bail at Chessington WOA on the 71. I expect a 465 down to Leatherhead and back please, or there'll be trouble...
It also took me back to my younger days when the 166 ran to Beckenham Junction with a mix of single and double deckers. The service could be unreliable: buses didn't turn up or would drive past stops despite being empty (drivers I suspect not enjoying the after-school run). As a schoolboy the destination of Chipstead Valley fired up my imagination no end. I never got there mind.

The service was curtailed around 1990 with the introduction of the 366 and 367 hoppa buses from Croydon to Beckenham Junction via two different hail and ride routes. Vehicles were so small drivers pulled a down board on the windscreen that stated "First set down Shirley Way" to discourage short trips. The 366 was axed soon after, a victim of the temporary re-routing through Beckenham of the 194 due to a weak bridge that was made permanent. The 367 ccntinues to this day, extended to Bromley North.
I am sure that the 166 is subsidised by Surrey CC and that is the reason for extending beyond the former terminus at the Midday Sun at Chipstead Valley to Banstead and once an hour to Epsom. It would be very difficult to understand this anomaly otherwise. This would be the same as the 405 to Redhill which is part subsidised by Surrey.

Another anomaly is Chipstead Valley Primary School which has London Borough of Croydon emblazoned on it's hoarding but is actually located in Surrey (just) - proper Surrey not the mysterious Surrey some Croydon residents believe they live in.
So, what will it be: a 418 to stay close to the boundary, or have you the patience to wait for the lesser-spotted 467 to cut straight across to Chessington?

Come on - it's about time we had an odd-numbered route! (or just one with an odd number in it other than "1")
@PoP
would that be the same mysterious Surrey that Kingstonians claim for themselves? (with a bit more justification, given where the County Council offices are: they may have taken Kingston out of Surrey, but after nearly half a century they haven't yet succeeded in taking Surrey out of Kingston............

Of course, this is nothing new - look at the 1930s London County Council estates in Becontree and St Helier
"the bus's engine took great exception to the contours"

All modern buses seem to be like that, unable to climb even a gentle hill without slowing to little more than walking pace. I don't know why they are so bad, probably designed to be "eco" and so the engine is not powerful enough.
...prob best, if poss, that steep hills are taken at a constant if slow'ish speed without needing to change gear halfway along? i'm sure that given enough journeys the driver has usually worked out a routine for the difficult bits along their route...
All those trips to Provence, which are somehow just at the wrong time of year, and so we've never managed to see real lavender fields. And now you say we can get there on the 166 bus from Croydon. With our Freedom passes, no doubt (are they valid for bus routes that cross the Greater London boundary, do you know?)
Yes: they are valid on all ordinary service bus routes throughout England, though there are usually 'not before 0930 Mon - Fri' restrictions outside London, so try not to be a 'twirly'. (Say it!)
Grandad and Lizzie - what a painfully sad little scenario.
The double run on the 166 at Drift Bridge on Croydon-bound journeys baffles me - they go straight on at the crossroads, under the bridge, right round the roundabout, back under the bridge and then left at the crossroads, rather than just turning right at the crossroads in the first place and being done with it.

Does anyone know why they do this? I know it serves a bus stop at the crossroads but they could move it. It seems bonkers to end up having to go through the junction twice!

The other interesting thing I've noticed about the 166 is the stop in Rose Bushes where there's only a pole and flag on the Croydon-bound side, the flag stating "Wait on other side of road for buses to Epsom". You don't see many 'buses also stop opposite' jobs in London (although technically, this is Surrey).

And yes, Surrey CC do contribute to the 166.
As a former resident of Epsom I know it's not the most exciting town but I'm still surprised you've never been before; the Downs are definitely worth a wander while the two branch lines, the very old trees of Epsom and Ashtead Commons and Horton Country Park, with it's interesting history, are !the sort of places I'm guessing you might be interested in.

Timbeau and others - I've given up trying to second guess DG's route as he keeps surprising me but I do note that the route so far seems to have been carefully designed to spend as little time as possible in the Borough of Sutton, possibly DG's least favourite borough.
Ps those following DG's route might find this website useful
http://londonboroughsmap.co.uk
So you're not ACTUAL going around London's boundary by bus, just.. routes that go neat it instead. *sigh* Disappointed DG, i expected you to be more thorough...
To repeat from day 1:

I plan to ride all the way around London by bus, about 150 miles all told, sticking fairly close to the boundary as I go. I won't be taking the outermost bus every time, nor will I be sticking solely to TfL services if they're not the best way to go. In particular I'm avoiding dead ends and loops, because I'm trying to keep the number of buses to a minimum. With judicious selection of routes I reckon I can get around the edge of town in about 25 buses.
I used the 166 to get from Croydon to Epsom hospital.
It has a specialist joint replacement unit and Epsom station is outside the free pass zone.
Viva travel passes!

(NHS took me back home by minicab)
"up a brief detour to Drift Bridge (which sounded exciting)": this is odd, because the Epsom bound bus doesn't do the detour at the Drift Bridge, only the Banstead bound one. There must be something about this section of the route: the ladies who bus appear to have fallen asleep after Woodmansterne and missed Banstead, Nork and the downs altogether.

The detour is a relic of the previous 498 service, which used to operate direct via College Road, and demanded a stop opposite the former Drift Bridge pub. When the service was diverted via Rose Bushes, there was no convenient place for a stop on the other side of the traffic lights. Tfl did try a substitute stop there for a few weeks, but there was no room for a shelter, too cramped, and unpopular.
I live on the once an hour section of the 166 and I soooo bloody ridiculous. What I hate is that I and many others have complained about this and a lack of a Sunday service. But no they have done nothing.










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