Day 290 (December 29th 2025) the longest journey yet undertaken to a bus the No 426 from Hereford to Bodenham!

The journey started with Charmaine and I catching the 0805 train to London Bridge and from there the Jubilee and Bakerloo lines to Paddington. There was a direct train at 0949 to Hereford but this would not arrive in Hereford until 1245, so to arrive quicker we booked the 0946 Carmarthen train and alighted at Newport. Here we took the 1137 Transport for Wales train headed for Holyhead or Caergybi. This reached Hereford rather later than the booked 1230 arrival but still prior to the arrival time of the booked direct service. We seperated outside the station and I hurried off to find Shire Hall where the bus was expected to leavae at 1300. I tried to follow my map app but the largely pedestrianised are was not represented well and I saw signposts saying city bus station which I wrongly supposed wss the right place. After asking many locals desperately I arrived at the bus stop at 1303 knowing full well if I had missed the bus then it was a two hour wait for the next one.

Only the No 426 stops here

Another companies bus DRM on the No 476

Only four buses a day

I hung around at the bus stop for fifteen minutes and then admitted defeat  and walked back into town for some lunch. I paid some money in cheque form for church at the HSBC there and then had an orange juice and cheees croisant followed by a pain au chocolat. I had passed the country bus station which was close to the railway ststion so investigated the bus services there are ther are a number of 400s that are missing in the tfl list and it would be useful to check if they were possible substitutes. Some were some definitely were not running only once a week for example early in the morning. 

St Peter's church

Signpost I missed when initially running into town

Typical black and white building of the region

Kerry club with large size of decorations

Typical bus of the region this one
 operated by Yeoman

The free route Z bus called the Zipper

After purchasing some valve oil for Richard's trumpet at the local music shop I walked back to Shire Hall and awaited the 1500 bus. This arrived back from its previous trip about 1445 and the driver went off for his break.

The bus having arrived from previous trip

Now ready to return to Bodenham

Offa House and the memorial central Hereford

At 1458 I was aboard Yeomans YX23OYB and I then confirmed this bus trip was an out and back as some I had seen were only one way, presumably the bus then went off on a different route and if I missed the potential connection I would then miss our train home. At 1500 we took off down St Owen street and then turned left around the city centre to reach Corporation road and thereby headed back past the Country Bus station and the railway station and uphill out of the city. 

Hereford music shop

Looking NE towards the Malvern Hills

This meant we climbed out of the Wye valley and at the top began to descend into the Lugg valley. Nearing the valley bottom we reached the A4103 which we crossed at a roundabout and then embarked on a journey of only 'c' roads.First we went under the Hereford to Worcester railway and then ran parallel with the Welsh Marches line for a while before crossing the river Lugg in a northeasterly direction and we entered Sutton St Nicholas. Here we stopped at Woodville Grove and then set off up hill dropping a few more people off as we went.

Marden Community Shop

Losing the light near Litmarsh

There was a sharp left turn to take us in the direction of Marden and once past the community shop there was another sharp right (OrchardGreen) and the stops here meant all but one passenger other than myself alighted. There was one road here signposted Wellington which had a sign saying road closed due flooding; there had recently been heavy rainfall in the Welsh Marches prior to Christmas.   Once past Litmarsh there was quite a sharp drop and then we turned left and headed along a anrrow road which led by turning left aat a 't' junction to Bodenham primary school. At this terminal point the other passenger alighted.

Roads used were mostly of this size

Bodenham primary school

This was 1535 and the bus reversed and went back the way it had come to the't' junction but this time went past it and on to a settlement called Bodenham Marsh which seemed to be much more recent. After turning right at the end of this road we picked up our first passenger of the return journey. From here we got caught behind a slow moving hi liftcrane which only slowly creeped up the hill from the valley bottom. We left from the painfulness of trailing this vehicle as we went right down from very narrow roads throughVauld back to Litmarsh where we rejoined our outward route andfollowed it all the way back to Hereford which was reached precisely on time at 1615.

AT01 153307 of Transport for Wales at Newport

There was now 35minutes until our trainback to Newport and we slowly met up and caught the train and then had to wait just over an hour for our booked train to Paddington. The Elizabeth train was taken from here to Farringdon and then Thameslink to Norwood Junction where we had four miuntes to wait for oiur tarin home. A tiring but ultimately successful day.

Train and bus ticket, bus ticket £8.50 return

Day 289 the No 425 from Clapton to Ilford; or so I thought!

 I had planned to catch the 1105 London Bridge train but missed it and caught a No 410 to the top of Tamworth Road and then walked to East Croydon station. Here I took the 1125 to London Bridge and then the Thameslink to Farringdon at 1146 and from there the Elizabeth line to Liverpool Street station. Finally the 1218 Chingford train took to Clapton where I arrived at 1228. I walked from there to Brooke Road and then into Nightingale Road where there was already a No 425 loading up.

A very scratched bus timetable display, bus less than
15 minute interval service taking about an hour 

Only the No 425 calls here

Layover point in Kenninghall Road also used by
the No393

When the bus arrived, as with the previous one, it stated on it that its destination was Manor Park. Stagecoach 11373 picked me up at 1245 and then returned the way I had come on foot to Upper Clapton Road. The bus turned right here towards the Lea Bridge roundabout.

Approaching the Lea Bridge roundabout from the north

The bus headed straight on at the roundabout to Clapton Pond and then on down Lower Clapton Road and into Urswick Road.

Proceeding down Lower Clapton Road

About to turn left at Urswick Road

The road turned east and we went left into Fenn Road so as to access Homerton Hospital which was reached at 1258. As we returned to Homerton High Street the bus turned right passing Fenn Road again before heading left under the railway then left into Morning Lane. The bus then continued into Kenton Lane before turning right into Valentine Road and then Well Street. We followed next Cassland Road and then Terrace Road now with the No 277 for company.

The church of Church Crescent 

We ran around Church Crescent into Lauriston Road and across Victoria Park where we entered the borough of Tower Hamlets at 1308.

Crossing through Victoria Park

Taking Grove Road we went over the hump back bridge of the Regent's Canal and down to the Mile End Road. Here we headed east to Bow and onward to Stratford, passing under a railway line with evidence of the covered stairwell of a disused station, this was another station called Bow Road which closed in 1949.      

Mile End Underground station

Approaching the Bow Flyover

Stratford the left turn will take us into bus station

We did a circuit of Stratford bus station at 1329 and then went east along Romford Road. 

Travelling along Romford Road east of Stratford

At this point we were following the route of the No 86 and No 25. The latter had as its destination Ilford Hainault Street as should the No 425, but at 1345 on arrival at Manor Park the bus announced it was terminating.

Stagecoach 11373 leaving me at Manor Park

Bus Journey should normally take
another 10 minutes to Ilford

On the countdown display in 15 minutes it was showing a No 425 going to Hanault Street. However, three minutes later that bus said it was going to Manor Park. I then googled on my phone why were there no No 425s going to Ilford and the reply said that until 12th December cycle lane works in Ilford meant the No 425 would be terminating at Manor Park.

BACityflyer G-LCYL outbound from London City

Class 66 of GBRF 66781 about to take
North London line

G-XWBF of British Aiways for Heathrow

B-LXM of Cathay Pacific heading to Heathrow

720550 heading empty to depot via international
loops

9V-SKU A380 of Singapore Airlines for LHR

Cessna 510 OE-FOE outbound from London City

I therefore went around the corner and caught the next Elizabeth line train to Stratford where I watched trains and planes for a while. At 1510 I took the Jubilee line to Canada Water and then the Overground to West Croydon arriving home at 1620.

Day 288, the No 424 from Putney to Fulham.

I walked to Wandle Park tram stop to catch a Wimbledon tram, however, on arrival the information system said there had been a tram failure and thus there were delays. Despite this there was a Wimbledon tram indicated in eight minutes so I decided it would be quicker to wait for that arrival. I was at Wimbledon station at 1200 and by 1209 I was aboard a No 93 to Putney Heath. The timetable suggested it should take just ten minutes but reality was that the roadworks on Wimbledon Hill meant it took almost double that.   

Strange time interval service of every 35 minutes. 
Journey supposed to take 37 minues.

WS86 of London General awaiting departure

Once at Putney Heath Green Man bus terminal there was a No 424 in at bus stop B and I only just managed to be aboard for its 1229 departure. The bus headed off alone along Wildcroft Road with two other passengers who both alighted as the bus turned right into Telegraph Road opposite the cricket ground. 

Wildcroft road with heath on left

Cricket ground after turning into Telegraph Road

Telegraph Road took us down to the main road of Putney Heath where we briefly joined a few other bus routes. However the bus soon left them by turning right then left down Carslake Road. There was next a good deal of wriggling around narrow roads made more difficult for the driver by all the parked cars.

Waiting at the lights to turn left down Putney Hill

Crossroads between A205
 and Putney Hill 

Eventully at the end of Chatfield Avenue we returned to Putney Hill and turned left to head for Putney Bridge. Progress towards the bridge was quite slow, we stopped a Putney railway station at 1242 but didn't reach the bridge until 1250. Once off the bridge we took the New Kings Road accompanied by the No 22. It wasn't very long though before we turned right into Peterborough Road alone. 

St Mary's church by Putney Bridge south side

The duke by the Green

The green Parsons Green

This road took us towards the river and at Carnwath Road we went left to cross straight over Wandsworth Bridge Road into Townend Road. Here we joined other bus routes again but were soon diverted left along Byam Street and Broughton Road then Pearscroft Road so as to reach Bagley Lane, which we should have reached nearer the river.

Bulding works on river waterfront Carnwath Road

Fulham old Town Hall

This took us back to the New Kings Road at 1311 but only briefly as soon we took Harwood Road to Fulham Broadway. The bus then took Fulham Road for quite a time before it headed off right on its own along Munster Road past the strangely named Reporton Road.

Reporton Road 

Church in Fulham Palace Road

WS86 on arrival

Journey's End

This meant we reached Lille Road rejoining with a number of routes and we followed this road until we turned left at Fulham Palace Road. As we reached Fulham cemetary the bus turned right into Lysia Street and was then on its own to the end of the route near Craven Cottage stadium in Stevenage Road which was reached at 1341. The journey had taken almost double the time on the bus stop at 72 minutes. 

Statue of Johnny Haynes outside
Craven Cottage stadium 

River Thames high upstream of Putney Bridge,
4.63m at Richmond with 4.60 flooding level

To get home I walked past the stadium to Fulham Palace and stopped there for lunch. I walked onward afterwards to Putney Bridge station to get an Underground train to Wimbledon and then a tram back to Wandle Park. I arrived home at 1515 catching for a short way a No 410.

Pill box gun implacement now at least 80 years old at northern end of Putney Bridge