I caught the 1035 to London Bridge and then boarded the Northern line to Brent Cross. I crossed through the passage at Camden Town from the Mill Hill East train I was initially riding, to an Edgware bound one. I reached the Brent Cross Underground station at 1132 and then walked to the shopping centre where I located the starting point of the No 266.
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Leaving Brent Cross Shopping Centre
on board London United 40406 |
After a short comfort break I saw there was a bus boarding as I emerged from the shopping centre so had to quickly get on without taking the customary photograph. The bus was RATP London United 40406 which departed at 1152 and turned right out of the bus station and then over the A406 to run parallel with it to Staples Corner. At Staples Corner the bus turned left and headed down the A5 towards Cricklewood.
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| Cricklewood Railwayman's Club |
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| Cricklewood bus garage |
After passing the bus garage and part of the High Street the bus turned right down to Chichele Road where we joined the route of the No 260 which I did not very long ago. Last time the traffic was really slow through Willesden owing to roadworks but this time, although not fast, progress was steady. There was an interesting sign on a building at the corner of Linacre Road and we reached Willesden bus garage at 1220.
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Willesden Green station with Metropolitan Railway branding;
this probably has been superfluous since 1933 |
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At the corner of Linacre Road and Willesden High Road
there is an advertisement for a pound of tea at 1/6 |
The bus continued to follow the No 260 route taking High Road, Church Road and into Craven Park the site of another long holdup last time I came this way. The bus descended to Willesden Junction station where drivers were exchanged from 1242 to 1244. The No 266 route was finally the only route on the road after dropping along Old Oak Lane to Victoria Road. On our left and right works connected with HS2 were very much in evidence and once past these and over the tracks at North Acton a No 260 rejoined us as far as Gypsy Corner.
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| Extensive works for HS2 beside Old Oak Lane |
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| East of Old Oak Lane HS2 works |
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| Looking down on abandoned GWR mainline to Birmingham and Central line at North Acton |
This time, unlike the No 260, the bus crossed straight over the A40 and turned left into Horn Lane to cross over the Great Western railway at Acton Main Line railway station. There was a gradual descent from here down to the roundabout at the Uxbridge Road where we turned left to run to Acton Old Town Hall where the bus turned off the High Street and terminated behind it at 1303.
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| Behind the Old Acton Town Hall |
I phoned our daughter and organised meeting her for lunch at Gunnersbury museum, although I hadn't anticipated it would be quite such a long walk. It was one and a quarter miles so didn't meet Susan until 1325. We then had lunch in the park and I returned to Acton Town Underground station where I boarded a Piccadilly line train at 1426. I alighted at the next stop-Hammersmith and went to Barclays Bank in King Street to pay in the first quarter cheques paid from St Paul's to St Michael's bank accounts. I was back at the bus station at 1445 and at 1450 I boarded LT995 of Abellio forming the No 267 service to Fulwell.
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| Inside Hammersmith bus station |
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| No 267 laying over |
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| LT995 arriving |
The bus immediately took me back down King Street past the Barclays bank which is the same route as I had covered on the No 110 and No 190.
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| King Street Hammersmith with Barclays bank on left |
King Street runs straight into Chiswick High Road and as we were about to enter Chiswick itself the Goldhawk Road used by the No 237 met our route and we the continued straight on to the Chiswick roundabout which was reached at 1515. At this point the bus took the road to Kew Bridge and then bore right to Brentford.
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| No 65 heading for Kingston at end of Kew Bridge |
At 1523 at Brentford County Court hordes of teenagers joined the bus and it remained busy thereafter until we reached Twickenham. We continued heading in the direction of Hounslow until we had passed Syon Park.
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| Queues of slow moving traffic by West Middlesex Hospital |
Here we turned left down Twickenham Road running past the West Middlesex Hospital very slowly and eventually reaching the Great Chertsey Road. After this the bus ran into Twickenham.
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| Stopping just before turning left to Twickenham station |
It passed along the High Street and into Heath Road until Twickenham Green where the bus took Hampton Road and terminated after turning left into South Road at 1609.
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| Having disembarked at South Road Fulwell |
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New Abellio buses with 72 registrations at Fulwell
depot |
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| New Abellio electric buses with 72 registrations |
From here I walked past the Abellio bus garage and turned right along Clonmel Road so that I could access Fulwell Station. I caught a train in the direction of Wimbledon, but was surprised when we reached Hampton there was an announcement that the next stop would be Wimbledon, missing out the four intermediate stations, including Kingston. At Wimbledon I changed to a tram and reached Wandle Park at 1715.
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