Day seven the 15, 16 and 17

To commence the No 15 made for some jiggery-pokery, as it leaves from above the Blackwall Tunnel to Trafalgar Square. I have already travelled a large proportion of this route when I needed to get from the eastern end of the No 8 in Bow to the start of the No 9 at the Aldwych. To arrive at Blackwall it was necessary to take the London Overground to Canada Water and then change to the Jubilee Line to reach Canning Town, whereupon I changed onto the Docklands Light Railway to travel two stops west to Blackwall. It was therefore not until 1115 that I boarded LT402 a Stagecoach London 'Boris Bus'. Progress was quite good and the entire journey only took until 1230.

Sheltered underneath the DLR station at Blackwall from the drizzle 

Arrival at Trafalgar Square

As I had my retirement do to go to that evening, I resolved there was little point avoiding travelling on the underground in Zone 1. Since the No 16 started at Victoria I briskly walked down to Embankment station and took a District Line westbound to Victoria where I arrived at 1242.

No 16s resting outside Victoria station.

I took this picture and then walked to the adjacent boarding point only to find because of all the works going on around Victoria station they actually didn't take passengers from there and I had to go out of the eastern side of the station to wait at the same stop where I had earlier boarded the No 13.

The actual location for boarding the bus

The No 16 approaching

So once again a 'Boris Bus' the No 16

arrives at the stop outside the eastern side of Victoria station. This time it was LT549,  a Metroline owned version that I boarded for the journey NNW along the Edgware Road towards Kilburn and on to Cricklewood at 1250.

The arrival at Cricklewood garage was just under an hour later at 1347.

A selection of most of the bus types operating from  the garage 

As of yet I have not 'officially' travelled on a single deck bus but the only one indicated in these photos is the No 112 so it could be a while yet!

The movement from the end of the No 16 route at Cricklewood Bus Gararge to the start of the No 17 at Archway is a very involved process. It looks close on the map but it took me over an hour. I boarded a No 245 to Golders Green where I could have got a No 210 to Archway but I decided to take the tube by Northern Line to Camden Town and then back north to Archway as that might be a quicker way.

Bus stop R at Archway where the No 17 and the No 43 starts

The No 17 which I boarded at Archway at 1500 was a Volvo Wrightbus Hybrid VWH2004 of Metroline which means after 17 buses I have travelled on only three bus types. Different companies just label their buses slightly differently. I arrived at London Bridge station or really the southern end of London Bridge at 1558 and there my efforts for this day terminated as I needed to be near Heathrow for 1730 for my retirement party.

Turning onto London Bridge at the monument

The solid traffic heading the other way across London Bridge

Day 6 buses 13 and 14

After a delay waiting in for the 'imminent' delivery of my son's graduation photographs, (his twin's arrived in early August!), I set off for Victoria by train at 1204. The No 13, since April 2017, has started from Victoria; prior to this it ran from Aldwych to Golders Green. Currently it passes Golders Green and it runs further north to North Finchley. This was my first bus in the numerical sequence operated by Thames Transit and also the first time I have travelled in a MCV EvoSeti body on a Volvo B5LH chassis, No 38210.

Thames Transit 38210 awaiting start of service beside Victoria station 

This bus left from outside Victoria station at 1257 and for a fair period moved quite steadily. The main hold up was around Swiss Cottage to Finchley Road station which led to the entire journey lasting an hour and a half. I disembarked at North Finchley bus station at 1427 which is a piece of rather 'brutalist' architecture in the vein of the recently demolished Northampton bus station, albeit a smaller size.

Entering North Finchley with the succeeding No13 having overtaken us.

The bus stops outside North Finchey bus station

After crossing through the bus station with the intention of taking the northern line to Warren Street from Woodgrange Park I noticed as I crossed the road a No 134 which was headed for Tottenham Court Road. So in the interest of saving money I took the bus which gave, it has to be said, a marvellous view of Central London from atop Muswell Hill. I arrived outside University College Hospital to catch the No 14, having crossed over the Euston underpass by foot at 1537.

The No 134 with the 'GPO Tower' ahead of it

The Euston underpass already queuing at 3.30

The starting point of the No 14 outside University College Hospital south of Euston underpass

At 1537 I boarded this Wright Hybrid on a Volvo Chassis, WHV163 and headed south and then west. There was light traffic for the most part until we had passed South Kensington. The bus was then diverted because of road works, first down Beaufort Road then after this we turned right past World's End before rejoining the normal route via Gunter Grove. By this time the rain had started and it became increasingly difficult to see out of the front of the top deck through Fulham and Putney. Road works on Putney Hill made for slow progress to the final destination of Putney Heath which we achieved at 1715. Luckily by this time the rain had largely ceased as I had to cross the road to get the No 93 bus back to Wimbledon and then the tram and bus home.

The end point for the No 14 at Putney Heath

The Green Man at Putney Heath bus stands

Day Five the No 11 and No 12

I had intended to do the No 11 the previous Friday but a bomb on the District Line at Parsons Green Underground station put paid to a trip to Fulham prior to going to see a play at the Young Vic. Thus today having been to my daughter's workplace and back I embarked on a trip to Fulham at 1145. I caught a tram to Wimbledon and then the No 93 bus to Putney Bridge station. From here I walked to Fulham and found first the lay-over point for the No 11 and then the actual boarding point at Fulham Town Hall.

LT51 NBFL at the lay-over in Fulham

My stead approaching the Fulham Town Hall bus stop

I boarded LT51 one of  the earlier, of the now 1000 'Boris Buses', at 1304 and proceeded east through the prosperous suburbs of Kensington and Chelsea after leaving the Borough of  Hammersmith and Fulham. This was obvious when I saw a very posh looking lady stop her car on a red route, with no loading markings, then put her car hazard lights on and go shopping!

After transiting these posh bits of London it was onto Victoria and the West End before arriving once again at the Aldwych. It is becoming rather reminiscent of the Floral Clock on Malta with all the buses seeming to stop here!

At the end of The Strand as we approach The Aldwych

The Duchess theatre in Catherine Street which we visited less than two weeks ago was on my walking route through Covent Garden to Oxford Circus

From the Aldwych I now had to wend my way to Oxford Circus which I did once again by foot. Since traffic is so slow around the Crossrail works at Tottenham Court Road it seems to be quicker to walk. So I went through Covent Garden to Shaftesbury Avenue on through St. Giles to Tottenham Court Road and then followed through the warren of small streets south of Oxford Street in an endeavour to make more progress rather than fighting my way through shoppers on the aforementioned street. I emerged onto Oxford Street from Dean Street having walked around Soho Square. On arrival at Oxford Circus I felt my rucksack was rather unbalanced and when I took it off I found the main area had been totally unzipped. Thankfully I had kept the camera around my neck, so all that could have been stolen was the newspaper I took to read or an empty camera bag - phew!!!

The starting point for the No 12

The empty LT450 approaching from the direction of All Souls Langham Place

After grabbing a sandwich in Topshop's bottom level cafe I boarded a No 12 at 1445. This bus was LT450, which is almost halfway through the build and operated by the same operator, London General, as was the No 11. It was slow but steady until we reached Parliament Square. Road works outside St Thomas's Hospital then contrived to make progress painfully slow until we were the other side of the Waterloo station bridge. The bus then runs to Elephant and Castle, Camberwell through Peckham where there is a nice freshly painted Reliant Robin outside the Peckham Best Western Hotel and onward to Dulwich. I reached Dulwich library at 1614 almost an hour and a half after I had left Oxford Circus. 

The final stop of the No 12 with LT450 leaving to soon turn left to its lay-over point

To get home from here I took a No 176 to Penge then a brief foray on a No 356 which enabled me to  reach a bus stop for the No 157 which took me home.

Day 4 buses 7,8,9 & 10

This day did not begin very auspiciously when the train I intended to catch was cancelled; well it actually shot through without stopping and the next one was 15 minutes away and also it was delayed so I decided not to trust it. Therefore I caught a train in the opposite direction and arrived at Clapham Junction in time for the 1031 to Willesden Junction. I alighted at Shepherd's Bush and took the Central line westbound two stops to East Acton. I exited the station and took the first right and eventually reached Brunel Road and the East Acton industrial estate where the No 7 starts from.

I missed the first No 7 behind the No 283 so caught the second one VWH2304

The journey began at 1105 on another almost brand new Wrightbus Gemini 3 on a Volvo B5LH chassis which passed Wormwood Scrubs prison as we headed towards Paddington and eventually Oxford Circus where I arrived at 1207. Not so long ago the bus continued past the British Museum but recently it has been curtailed at Oxford Circus.

The No 7 turns left just after the bus stop and then runs round to be ready to go back to Acton

Alighting from the No 7 at Oxford Circus

The No 8 used to start from Victoria and ran along Oxford Street, but in recent times has been curtailed to start from the eastern side of Tottenham Court Road. I started to walk along Oxford Street and saw a No 25 (a Tower Transit Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini 2 on a Volvo B9TL Chassis), so caught that to the starting point of the No 8.

The reflection of the No 8 bus I was on reflected in the preceding No 38 

I boarded LT253 a Wrightbus NBFL hybrid at 1224; this was for the first time in this odyssey- that I used a bus operated by Stagecoach London. I had to run for the bus so had to take a slightly unusual photo to prove I had indeed taken the No 8. The traffic was light through the west of the city owing to the road works precluding all but buses from roads around Bank. However, it was very slow around Bishopsgate and also through Bethnal Green but otherwise progress was quite steady and eventually I arrived at Bow Church at 1333.

Bow Church

My No 8 leaving Bow Church to run round

Bow is not an ideal place to catch the No 9 from, as it starts in the Aldwych. So I walked to Bow Road District line station and travelled three stations west to Whitechapel, thereby remaining outwith Zone 1. I then crossed the road into the Royal London Hospital and got myself a drink and piece of flapjack before continuing to Commercial Road to catch a No 15 back to Central London (another stagecoach NBFL hybrid which I will return to in due course) and this bus reached Aldwych at 1435.

Boris Bus providing the No 9 to Hammersmith

Hammersmith Broadway where the No 9 was going to languish for 11 minutes. The traffic is queuing to get onto the roundabout. The bus station is in the middle of this roundabout.

One of the early 'Boris Buses' LT83 operated by London United was my mount for the No 9 from the Aldwych to Hammersmith. We left at 1438 and moved steadily until progress became slow when we were in Pall Mall and were informed by the driver it was a demonstration in Oxford Street causing traffic to be 'backed up'. We arrived at Hammersmith at 1531. I actually alighted the bus stop before the bus station as the driver said he would have to wait 11 minutes to enter the bus station owing to congestion and I could see it from where I was, so felt this wasn't a cheat.

Aboard LT83 again this time on the No 10 within Hammersmith bus station

I visited the Halifax to get some money and returned to the bus station to get my final bus of the day- the No 10 to Kings Cross. This was actually the identical bus to that which had provided the No 9 service. We left at 1553 as evidenced by the bus information panel in the picture. The biggest issue was the length of time to get from one end of Oxford Street to the other-half an hour. The driver did do some marvellous manoeuvering around a delivery lorry and two parked buses as he headed towards the British Museum. Nevertheless we didn't arrive at King's Cross until 1721.

LT 83 Having arrived in York Way King's Cross

To get home I took the No 63 to Elephant and Castle, so as to not get a train inside Zone 1, then the Thameslink service to Mitcham Junction followed by a tram and then walked home.

Day three the number six

Around midday I caught a bus and tram and then the Thameslink service to Elephant and Castle: a station nicely poised at the boundary of Zones 1 and 2. It was then a short ride on the No 133 to Borough Market on a fruitless pursuit of a porridge bar my wife had seen at a market earlier-the people are only there Wed-Sat and this was a Monday. From here I walked along the South Bank to Waterloo Bridge which I then crossed to reach the starting point of the No 6 to Willesden bus garage. It has recently taken a deviation and now runs along Piccadilly rather than Oxford Street. I left on VWH2309 a Volvo B5LH Wrightbus Gemini 3 which was almost brand new at 1340 having just missed the 1330 departure. This trip, as with the previous five buses I have taken, was around or over an hour in duration and it reached its ultimate destination at 1455. I subsequently caught a No 266 to Willesden Junction and then the London Overground to Clapham Junction with a Southern train home from there, thereby avoiding Zone 1.

Routemaster RM324 on the No 15 heading west at Aldwych

My mount VWH2309 approaching the starting point at the Aldwych

An earlier VWH model passing Green Park underground station, part of the new route along Piccadilly.

Willesden bus garage

Day 2 The Number FIVE

 Yesterday, having been thwarted by the sloth of the No 4 through the city, and the roadworks at Islington, so I couldn't avoid taking a train through Zone 1 to get home. Today I was determined to remain outwith the costly zone. This is easy to achieve if all one wants to do is go to Romford by taking the London Overground to Canada Water and then the Jubilee line eastbound to Canning Town. Here I swapped to the bus station to find the No 5 to Romford Market.

Canning Town bus station, the No 5 lays over here before running around the island to the boarding area 

The service was provided by one of the later Wrightbus Gemini 3s, WVL488, which left Canning Town for Romford at 1244. The bus traverses parts of the Borough of Newham into the Borough of Barking and Dagenham and finally reaches the easternmost Borough of Havering with Romford Market itself achieved at 1401.

Romford Market final destination of the No 5

Terminus at Romford where the No 5 turns around

 It was pretty slow going and having arrived and taken lunch it was obvious I wouldn't be able to do the next bus which would start at the Aldwych today.
It was just as well as it turned out, as having taken the No 103 to Dagenham East with the intention of returning towards London it appeared there had been a signal failure at South Kensington and the District line had severe delays. I thus alighted at West Ham and took the Jubilee line back to Canada Water, then a Crystal Palace bound London Overground to New Cross Gate and sprinted up the stairs and down to platform 3 to get a fast train to Norwood Junction and homeward.

Day One-Buses 1-4

Well, the Odyssey has begun having travelled this morning by London Overground to Canada Water. I arrived at 1034 and the No 1 departed from the Canada Water bus station at 1040 which was Volvo B5LH Wrightbus Gemini 3 WHV142.

Canada Water bus station

The current end of route 1, Holborn Kingsway

After almost an hour the bus terminated just across the road from Holborn station in Kingsway at 1128. Prior to the Crossrail works it would have gone to Tottenham Court Road.


The No 2 starts from Marylebone station and in an endeavour to not use the underground in Zone one, to minimise cost, I ended up walking to Leicester Square then Oxford Circus and on to the station. This took me an hour in total.

Marylebone railway station

At 1252 I boarded Volvo B5LH Wrightbus Gemini 3 HV302 outside Marylebone station. This bus threads its way through Vauxhall and Brixton and it subsequently arrived at Norwood bus garage at 1359.

No 2 starting point at Marylebone station

Norwood garage the end point of the No 2

I walked from there to West Norwood railway station and caught a train to Crystal Palace 'low level' railway station and arrived at 1422. From there it is just a short walk up Anerley Hill (!) to the bus station at Crystal Palace Parade to start the journey on the No 3 where I arrived at 1433.

Crystal Palace station 

Here I caught the Wrightbus NBFL hybrid LT623 towards Trafalgar Square. This journey lasted from 1433 to 1537.

Crystal Palace Parade the starting point of the No 3

Another No 3 heading for the route end along Crystal Palace Parade

Arrival at Trafalgar Square the current end of the No 3.

On arrival at Trafalgar Square I then walked down Northumberland Avenue to the river, crossed Hungerford Bridge and reached the starting bus stop for the No 4.

The view east from Hungerford Bridge towards Waterloo Bridge 

Here I boarded AD Trident AD Enviro 400 TE679 at 1602 and set off for Archway.

Bus stop at Waterloo station from where I used to get the No 341 and previously the  No 171a to work

Boarding the No 4 to head north for Archway

This journey was really slow owing to traffic density in some parts around Islington and I didn't arrive at Archway until 1720. The lateness of arrival and distance from Canning Town precluded my making further progress.

This time crossing Waterloo Bridge looking east to Blackfriars Bridge

The destination of Archway reached

From here I took the Northern line south to Balham and caught a train home, satisfied that at least I had achieved 4 buses, each journey lasting around an hour in duration. However, this did mean I did not avoid Zone one and thus paid the maximum Oyster fare for Zones 1-5. I could have used the London Overground to circle the north and west of London to reach Clapham Junction, but by now I was getting a bit travel weary!