Bus Route Of The Day 411: Kingston to West Molesey Location: London southwest Length of journey: 5 miles, 20 minutes
Because it's 4th November I've been out riding the 411, because that's the Bus Route Of The Day.
Rest assured I can't run this feature again for the remainder of the month.
Kingston's Cromwell Road bus station is the starting point for several bus routes, a veritable layover hub. As well as 4th November there's also 7th and 11th January, 28th May, 21st June and four other routes which don't translate into proper dates. A lot of buses starting here run to Surrey, including my chosen bus which spends roughly half its time inside the capital and half without. It's very much a feeder service delivering the good folk of Molesey to Kingston in the morning and later taking them home, and it starts from a dedicated bay with austere green seating. Cheer up, you might not have to wait the full 20 minutes.
When the incoming vehicle arrives the underside scrapes the kerb of the bus station with an audible scrunch. Once parked the driver crouches down to check for damage but can't see any - "nothing to show", as he blithely tells the only other passenger. They have a jovial chat, because everyone's a regular on this kind of route, during which I learn the driver's clocking off after three more journeys and the pensioner's still annoyed he can't use his concessionary pass before 9am. You can learn a lot by shutting up and listening.
The 411 used to be the western end of route 131 but was lopped off in 1994 and demoted to single decker working. The bus vibrates as we set off, then joins the queue waiting for the blessed lights to change. The road junction outside Kingston station is a filtered maelstrom seemingly designed to make traffic wait for ages and then not let everyone through. When I return later there'll be a queue of 10 consecutive buses nose to tail waiting to turn into Cromwell Road, wasting the time of dozens of immobile passengers, but thankfully it's a lot quicker getting out. Someone's left a copy of The Sun folded up on the back seat. I leave it there.
We pass round the back of Fenwick, its windows already fir-edged in readiness for Christmas, then stop again alongside John Lewis. Kingston's retail offering remains particularly strong, even if this morning's downpour has dampened footfall. Given we're travelling against the tide I'm impressed we've already picked up half a dozen more passengers. I also note that most of them were phone tappers, including one woman who took ages trying to get the card graphic to appear on her screen. Five minutes down and we're about to cross the Thames into the London borough of Richmond, the bridge providing scenic views of boats, swans and yellowing trees.
The next mile passes between two great parks, with Hampton Court Park on the left and the busier Bushy Park on the right. Our single decker provides a view only into the former, and only briefly, the remainder isolated behind historic brick walls. Few live along this section and so we zip along, although traffic heading the other way is bumper to bumper so I've chosen my direction of travel well. Eventually we pass the main entrance to Hampton Court, watched over by a lion, a unicorn and a security guard, then drop off a young woman at the last stop before the bridge. She's the only one of today's passengers to make a journey entirely within the boundaries of Greater London, confirming that TfL operate the 411 very much for the benefit of the people of Surrey.
Only four London bus routes cross the Thames twice, of which half can be found here on Hampton Court Bridge. The river looks resplendent from mid-span, as you'd expect beside a royal palace, and is dotted with moored white cruisers. Welcome to Molesey, a suburban tongue hemmed in by water and with a considerable social gradient from one end to the other. Here in East Molesey the shops are for schmoozing and moneyed purchases, but by the time we reach the terminus at West Molesey it'll be more convenience stores, bungalows and light industry. Most of the 411's passengers are holding out for later in the journey.
No buses pass down the cliquier end of Bridge Street but we do get back on track in time for the antique shop, the picture framer and the florist. Heaven knows what led the owners of the gift shop to call themselves Arty Elf At The Old Cobblers Shop, but the window display looks almost as twee as the name. At the upcoming mini-roundabout the choice is Esher Road or Walton Road, so we leave the former to the twice-a-day Surrey bus and head out west. Walton Road Garage is proper old school, even down to the prominent 01 phone number which appears to have been deliberately retained to entice scooter buyers and would-be bonnet tinkerers.
Poised between West and East Molesey is a better-balanced shopping centre, stepping up from a Poundland (that used to be a Woolworths) to wine bars and continental kitchen showrooms. A lot of shops call themselves Molesey something because local branding is strong, but other businesses starting with M include Midnight Pumpkin (a full-sleeve tattooist), Musicland East (guitar nirvana) and Michelle's Waist Management (for your weight loss journey). I note that Molesey has more chip shops than chicken shops, and in my book this is not a bad thing.
The bus is fair nipping along and has finally reaches residential Molesey (which had formerly been hiding up adjacent sidestreets). A smart wooden sign on Abbey Green alerts passers-by to the existence of Molesey Library, its supposed attractions 'Books Films WiFi Events', should Hallowe'en biscuit making or a Thursday coffee morning be your thing. Look, the recreation ground has unlocked public toilets, because some non-essential council services have survived a funding squeeze. Also don't the newbuild flats stand out, a single island of redevelopment amid a sea of interwar Molesey stock.
The remainder of my fellow passengers alight when we reach the quaint bit with the parish church and the old pub. Those trees are proper autumnal. Those tennis courts look a bit splashy. And we finish with a brief turn down Central Avenue, which is both awkwardly narrow and geographically badly named. End to end in 20 minutes... bosh! The shopping parade at the terminus boasts Molesey Cellars, Molesey Barbers, Molesey Convenience Store and the oddly named Nice Buns Molesey, which is a sandwich bar and not a gym. Here drivers park up on a grassy crescent and, if more than one bus is present, enjoy some downtime banter.
I decide to explore a little further, threading along the edge of a sprawling industrial estate with units for printers, auto repairs and an artisan bakery. A lone coal tax post nestles in the verge by the crossroads. And then Molesey ends abruptly against a wall of grass, these the dams that hold back a pair of mighty reservoirs. On the right is the Bessborough and on the left the massive Queen Elizabeth II which was opened by Her Maj in 1962. Unless you're an employee or a migrating bird you will not be getting in. Walton-on-Thames lies on the far side but I can't face hiking there, so it's the 411 back to Kingston for me. You'd never introduce such a route today but I'm glad it survives.
