Day 168 Back to Hornchurch for the No 256 and then on the way back we stopped at Stratford for the No 257.

 I left on the No 410 bus so as to reach West Croydon in time for the 1131 to Canada Water. The 1130 to Victoria from Waddon would have just missed it. However, whilst aboard this train it was announced it was cancelled owing to a fault.

The 1131 still in platform, but 1146 indicated as next train

 I had to therefore disembark and catch the next London Bridge train at 1145 to intercept with the Jubilee line at 1204 where I travelled east to West Ham. At West Ham I had arranged to meet Tim and we met up eventually at 1230 where I had planned to meet at 1215. From here it took 28 minutes to reach Hornchurch and from the station we walked down the road to the start point of the No 257 having dropped into a shop on the way for a tuna and sweetcorn baguette.

Current state of Officers' Mess RAF Hornchurch

Plan for the building when rebuilt

RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre

The TFL website said the bus started at Miramar Way but it was actually further South opposite the RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre. The bus was laying over in a lay-by just beyond the heritage centre.

Stagecoach 19793 emerging from lay-by

Bus approaching first stop of the route

The Stagecoach bus serving the route was No 19793 from Rainham garage and this arrived at 1319. The bus headed north back past the tube station to the centre of Hornchurch at 1327. The bus continued due north past the library and the Queen Theatre to Emerson Park railway station. Beyond here the bus turned right along Ardleigh Green Road and became the only service through this built up area which I had heard the previous day was causing substantial hold ups on the A127 Southend Arterial Road, owing to the roadworks along it. Just before the road was crossed the bus route joined the No 294.

Bus stop in Gubbins Lane

None of the No 256s we saw had Miramar Way
as destination they either said St George's Park
or St George's Hospital 

Beyond this major road the bus turned left up Gubbins Lane and this took us to Harold Wood station. After this the A12 was crossed and the bus headed left towards Romford along Hilden Avenue. At the end of this the bus swung right up Straight Road. The bus is at this point doing a strange circular trajectory up Noak Hill Road before going right  and then left swapping and re-swapping roads with the routes covering by No 499 or No 294. Finally we came to a halt at 1354 on Whitchurch Road. The bus was booked to take 32 minutes but actually took three minutes more. There were a number of deer by a stream on the left side of this road. However we immediately boarded a No 294 and this did a circuit to pass the bottom of Whitchurch Road and just beyond that there were 15 Fallow Deer at the road side.

Arrival at Noak Hill with a No 294 in front of it

We disembarked at Harold Hill station and caught an Elizabeth line train to Stratford arriving at 1445. 

Great Eastern train passing through Harold Wood station

There was a No 257 resting in the distance but this was not the bus that came to convey us to Walthamstow. At 1450 we were aboard Stagecoach No 12430 of Leyton depot on a journey that is booked to take 44 minutes. 

Tim indicating bus frequency

A No 257 resting in distance but not our bus

Our actual mount to Walthamstow

On way to Maryland there is mural which depicts a No 257 in Stratford bus station

The route took us back to Maryland station  and then up the Leytonstone High Road to reach the Green Man roundabout at 1515.

Here the bus turns left along the Whipps Cross Road which takes us through semi rural conditions with Waltham Forest and then at the end of this road we headed left towards the Bakers Arms along Lea Bridge Road. At the Bakers Arms the bus crosses over into Hoe Street and ran into Walthamstow bus station at 1535 which means the journey took only one minute longer than the booked time.
(The remaining photos seem to corrupt this blog post so I've had to leave them out)


We moved into The Goose for a pint each and then returned home via Victoria line to Finsbury Park and then Thameslink to East Croydon. I then caught a No 407 bus home with our son who had got back from work at Crawley at exactly the same time.