IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Beech Drive, TADWORTH, KT20 6PP

A group of engineers and scientists gather early in the morning before (possibly) more mundane real work starts, to observe the first transit of Venus across the sun's disc in living memory. The telescope in the picture provided stunning pictures of the entire sequence using digital photography and also through the eyepiece - the actual photos taken can be observed at http://www.jim-easterbrook.me.uk/astro/ap/photo/venus/transit/ Others (including myself, equipped with a pair of binoculars to project the sun's image onto a card) had brought alternative ways of viewing the transit too - but the most innovative "viewing device" can also be seen in the picture - observe the traffic cone experiencing a new purpose as a pinhole camera to the right of the picture! It worked too!

One of the private access roads into the exclusive Kingswood Warren estate.

The BBC's engineering research and development centre now occupies this Victorian gothic country house.

The Kingswood Arms was built to replace the Station Hotel which was burned down in 1912. Modernised in 1968 it was for a while named the Pigeon Pair, recalling Kingswood's involvement in the early days of Reuters News Agency.

A stop on the Tattenham Corner Line from Purley.

The location is a strange one, on the corner of Woodland Way nowhere near any other shops, and in a building that was probably intended as an estate lodge. But being close to a railway station used by wealthy commuters, they probably do good business.

Since 1948 this country house at the centre of a later exclusive housing development has been the headquarters of the BBC's research department. According to an online article http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/01/bbc.television the BBC were due to move out by the end of 2010, but the future use of the property is unclear. Here it is glimpsed down the private track from the nearest accessible road.

The bridge carries the B2032 (Waterhouse Lane) over the Tattenham Corner railway branch adjacent to Kingswood station.

A branch line along the Chipstead Valley from the Brighton Main Line was first projected in 1884. This scheme failed to take off. The line from Purley East Junction to Kingswood & Burgh Heath was eventually opened on 2nd November 1897 as a single track and this was doubled during 1899. The line finally reached Tattenham Corner on 4th June 1901 - Derby Day. The railway provides attractive views of Chipstead Valley and it is certainly one of the pleasantest rides within London Travelcard Zone 6, even though most of it is in Surrey. The original station building, seen here on the right, is on the up platform. Part of the building is still used by Southern, but the upper floors and part of the ground floor are used as offices for the Tudor Business Centre. As stated above, Kingswood station originally opened in 1897 as Kingswood & Burgh Heath. It was the original terminus of the single-track line before it was extended to Walton-on-the-Hill in 1900 (now Tadworth) and Tattenham Corner a year later. A plaque inside the station building was unveiled by The Bourne Society on 2nd November 1997 to celebrate the centenary of the Chipstead Valley Railway on November 1st 1897 (sic). The bridge ahead carries Waterhouse Lane over the railway. This view looks towards Tattenham Corner.