Day seventy nine, a local bus and one almost as far away as can be

I arrived at Purley station just as a No 127 left for Tooting at 1132 so had to wait until 1143 for London General E223 to depart.

E223 of London General resting before heading to Tooting

The No 127 approaching Purley Station

The bus traverses routes I have used frequently since moving to places west of Croydon in 1986. Thus we went up Foxley Lane and then right at the roundabout to pass Wallington girls school and down Woodcote Road, Wallington's high street.

The top of Woodcote Road ostensibly Wallington high street

A bus we use very frequently the No 410 with class 377 at Wallington station

From Wallington the bus goes to Carshalton where the bus had to skip the Bucklers' Way stop owing to road works at 1212. Turning north when we reached Hackbridge we passed the famed Bedzed development.

BEDZED development

The famous BEDZED development

However once past Mitcham Junction station the bus was on diversion and carried straight on into Mitcham turning right into Mitcham Fair Green.

The usual route past the closed Wilson Hospital

The route past Cannons Leisure I thought we
would take was also blocked and we carried onwards

Remains of tree branches brought down
by storm Gareth yesterday next to the pond

Diversion sign at Mitcham Fair Green

Once past Mitcham library the bus heads northeast rather than the direct route to Tooting choosing to head for Streatham until it reaches Southcroft Road.

The original boundary plates between Surrey County Council
and London County Council over the river Graveney.

Plates zoomed in, the LCC one is almost too corroded to read.

Tooting library

Final stop for the No 127

Here the bus turns left to Amen Corner and on to Tooting Broadway Underground station where we arrived at 1246.

From Tooting I had to get to the start of the No 128, this meant either going to Romford or to Clayhill Broadway. I decided to go to the latter as it would be easier to get back once the traffic and public transport got busier.
Initially I caught the Northern Line northbound to Clapham North where I was able to walk to Clapham High Street overground station, a distance of 175 M. This I am sure is the first time I have ever been stood on the platforms at this station.

The opposite platform at Clapham High Street

I arrived at 1300 and at 1308 a London Overground train picked me up and took me to Canada Water where I changed at 1328 to the Jubilee line again for a trip to Stratford. At Stratford I made the decision to catch a Central line train to Gants Hill at 1343. This station is underneath a roundabout so I took exit one where I was able to board a No 123 which took me within ten minutes to Roding Lane South. The No 128 starts from the opposite side of the dual carriageway here through a width restriction.

The Arriva bus hiding on the left beyond the width restriction

As with many of Barking's buses there are coloured
bars indicating a dedicated bus to the route

Arriva VLA135 awaiting departure

At 1419 the No 128 VLA135 of Arriva London departed due east towards Barkingside. Once at Barkingside the bus route turns right into Cranbrook Lane and follows this back to the large roundabout at Gants Hill which was reached at 1432. From here we followed the route of the No 123 back to Ilford and reached the railway station at 1439.

Passing Ilford railway station

Travelling east from here we slowly encountered more and more school kids such that by the time we reached the driver exchange at Becontree Heath at 1513 the children streaming over each zebra crossing caused us to make really slow progress. Finally we reached Romford station at 1536.

Final stop around the corner from Romford station

To get home required a train to Stratford and I caught the fast train at 1550 which was first stop Stratford arriving there at 1603. From here I took the usual route Jubilee line to Canada Water and London Overground from there to West Croydon. Thankfully the broken down train which had caused considerable chaos through Sydenham didn't affect my journey but there were plenty of cancellations from London Bridge through Norwood Junction.