May Day bank holiday, and it’s time for the Historic Commercial Vehicle Society’s London to Brighton run. So several people gathered at The Isle of Wight Bus Museum, Park Road, Ryde on the Saturday morning. This was the fourth time I had driven in this run and the bus we had entered was DDL 50, a 1939/1940 Bristol K open top bus. 1939/1940? Well, the bus was registered new with Southern Vectis on January 1st 1940 so obviously built towards the end of 1939. Someone had kindly offered to sponsor any pre 1940 buses in the run, so we qualified by the skin of our teeth!
About to depart Ryde bus depot
15 people were at the start in Ryde, the museum’s new home so once the group photo had been taken, I climbed into the cab and headed off to the ferry terminal at Fishbourne. There we encountered a minor hiccup! Wightlink have different rates for buses. Up to 8m and over 8m. Our bus was built to the then maximum length of 27’ i.e. under 8m but to Wightlink, anything under 8m is a minibus. Certainly not a double decker! Out came their measuring wheel. Much scratching of their heads when they realised it was indeed under 8m. On we went!
Awaiting the ferry at Fishbourne, once Wightlink had confirmed the bus was under 8m in length!
45 minutes later, we disembarked at Portsmouth, picked up three more passengers and headed north. My plan was to avoid motorways. The bus only does 30mph and you feel very vulnerable on fast roads. No problem at first but at Waterlooville, I ignored the sign for the A3(M) and aimed for the old A3. Except, I must have missed the turn! Later, my passengers congratulated me on the wonderful views as I went through picturesque villages and vivid yellow fields of rape. Wonderful, as long as you don’t suffer from hay fever! But in the cab, I was starting to feel a little bit uneasy. The A3 was proving somewhat elusive! Eventually, I saw a sign for Petersfield. I would have to cross the A3 to get to it. I was very relieved to find it. 90 minutes after leaving Portsmouth, I arrived at our lunch stop at The Devil’s Punchbowl. A place that claims to welcome coaches, without actually providing them with anywhere to park! Two loops of the car park before I managed to find a place to stop.
Lunch time at The Devil’s Punchbowl, Hindhead.
A previous blog of mine was on how to drive a bus with a crash box. Was I heeding my own words? Mostly! Only one spot when I missed a 4th to 3rd change and had to stop and restart. I’m sure I heard jeers from behind me! But apart from that, the bus was a delight to drive.
After lunch, back in the cab and make for Crystal Palace. After three previous trips, I’m slowly getting to know the route through south London and I don’t need any advice from my navigator. On the flat, the bus will hit 30 but the Crystal Palace area isn’t exactly flat! The speed drops as I negotiate the hills. On one, I trigger a speed device. It shows 9mph, alternating with a smiling face. I doubt if the drivers behind me were smiling.
Then we arrive at our hotel. The Lodge at Crystal Palace. We’ve never used this before, so very much an unknown quantity. The service at the hotel we used last year was so bad, we decided we had to find another venue. Finding the lodge wasn’t quite that easy! The postal address is Ledrington Road, but have a look along the road with Google street view, and there’s nothing there! Turns out, the lodge is bang in the middle of Crystal Palace Park, and Ledrington Road is the nearest road. The drive up to the lodge has a 10mph speed limit, and a number of speed bumps. I missed the second! The warning white triangle had completely eroded and I didn’t see it until I was on top of it. 10 mph might not seem fast, but it’s enough to toss your passengers out of their seats! Cue, much jeering from behind me.
The lodge was designed as a hostel for the athletes using Crystal Palace, so it’s not a 5 star hotel. It’s basic, but good basic! We check in, and make for our rooms. Each room number is a pair! Go through the door marked 43, and your find two more doors. A & B. 43 A is a twin room, 43B is a single. Both share a shower and toilet. What you have to remember is to take your room key if you need the loo. Otherwise, you find yourself locked out!
Once we’d all sorted out our rooms and unpacked, we made our usual stroll to The Postal Order, a Weatherspoon’s pub, for a spot of dinner.
The view from my room window, overlooking the start point for the run. DDL 50 is parked up to the right.
Back at the lodge, I had a quiet night. Despite being in London, there are no roads nearby and thus, no traffic noise. Only noise in the morning was the dawn chorus. Ring tailed parakeets. Several had nested at the lodge. Where these birds come from is a bit of a mystery. A colony appeared in south west London some years back and have thrived. One rumour is that they escaped from a film being shot at Shepperton Studios but no one knows for sure.
So down to breakfast. Only continental, but as much as you could eat and it was very reasonable, even if the toaster seemed a bit on the cool side! We had asked if breakfast could be brought forward half an hour to 7am, and this didn’t seem to be a problem for them.
Then the run itself. What was the weather like? Look, we’d entered an open top bus! It was raining! Not too much at the start but it didn’t make for good photographs.
Alongside CAP 234 at Crystal Palace.
When I’d parked the bus up the previous night, I’d set the cold start button on the engine, ready for the morning, as well as topping up the radiator. Some passengers came with me to retrieve the bus and proved very helpful. I pressed the starting button and thought the engine had fired up before it had. On my own, I would have had to lift of the engine cover to find the cold start button, but a couple of my passengers saved me from this and we got the bus up and running. Back to the lodge to pick up the remainder of the passengers and then around to the start point where we collected our start card, to be handed in at the end of the run to prove we had actually taken part!
So off we went. Following the route that was getting rather familiar to me. Just along Purley Way was a Sainsbury’s filling station and we called in to top up the fuel tank.
At a well known supermarket filling station!
Back on the run and no problems! The halfway point in the run is usually The Crawley Town Football Club car park but this year, rather inconveniently(!), they had a match and we couldn’t use their facilities, However, the town council stepped in and offered the organisers use of the High Street. I personally think this was a better arrangement. Instead of a bacon roll and cup of warm brown fluid, I was able to find a cafe and have a sit down meal.
Good Bus Driver’s Breakfast!
Not quite sure why my cup of coffee seems to be about to fall over, quirk of the camera! Then on to the last leg down to Brighton, through the Sussex countryside. Would have been better if the sun had been shining but at least the rain had stopped. The route goes past the Clayton railway tunnel with its marvelously over the top, portal and then up Clayton Hill, which can cause problems for some entrants. DDL 50 was not one of those and I was able to take the first part of the hill in 3rd gear. I think I could have continued to the top in 3rd except that ahead of me was the London Transport Museum’s AEC B type bus, painted in all over kharki to commemorate this type’s service in the first world war.
My view of The London Transport Museum’s AEC B type bus. Ole Bill.
Ole Bill, was struggling up the hill, with plenty of steam appearing from the front! Down to 2nd gear for me! At the top, they pulled over to let me pass and then it was a straight run into Brighton, arriving at the sea front just after half past one.
I told my passengers to be back at the bus by half past four, to give us plenty of time to catch our ferry back to The Island, and they all dispersed.
A Dennis Ace
100 Years of Southdown Motors
A Hants & Dorset Bristol K
DDL 50 Keeping company with the prototype RF and RLH 48
About twenty past four, I was thinking it was about time I made my way back to the bus. I stopped for a few minutes to watch part of the awards presentation ceremony, then continued on my way. Half way there, I heard over the public address system, “The award for the best double deck bus in the run goes to K6.” Which entry was K6, I wondered. Hang on! That’s our bus. DDL50! I dashed back to the stage but couldn’t get there in time and so had to wait for the ceremony to finish before I could collect our trophy. A rather large bowl. Thus it was about a quarter to five before I made it back to the bus. All my passengers, of course, had been there for at least twenty minutes and several were on the top deck pointing at their watches. “What time do you call this, then?” Before someone asked, “What’s that large box, Dave’s carrying?” Out came the trophy, and just to prove there is a God, out came the sun for some photos!
Carol Wigmore, Myself and Adrian Hill, and our trophy! © Chris Tagart
So 5pm and time to head back to Portsmouth and catch our booked ferry. Only half an hour late. Not bad by my standards! It would have been nice to put my foot down and try to make up lost time but that’s not an option with a bus that has a top speed of 30mph! And as if to add to my problems, I got held up at every traffic light along Brighton and Hove sea fronts. Someone above was telling me not to rush! And indeed, by the time I reached the halfway point, I realised that we were going to make our ferry with a bit of time to spare. Enough in fact, to drop off three of my passengers at Portsmouth Harbour railway station and save their legs. At Gunwharf Quay, I had to walk over to the ticket office and after driving this bus for almost 200 miles, my knees started to show signs of wear! If anyone had had a walking stick, I would have gladly borrowed it although I’m not sure what sort of image this would have given out to onlookers. Once the ticket had been sorted, it was onto our ferry at 8pm and by 9pm, the bus was safely parked up inside Ryde depot and my passengers were dispersing.
Our Prize!
Best Double Deck Bus in Run.
In all, a wonderful weekend, with a great crowd of passengers, and I’m looking forward to next year’s run, if we get accepted.
200 miles at 12.7 mpg. Not bad for a 75 year old lady!
Next weekend, May 17th/18th see The Isle of Wight Bus Museum’s Spring Running Day. Perhaps that should be days! Look forward to this event. Anyone who can get over to The Island that weekend should be in for a treat!
Dave Moore 