Day 24 The No 46 and part of the No 47.

The wife's visit to the CILIP headquarters formerly called the Library association afforded me the opportunity catch the No 46. I used the Central Line to Lancaster Gate from Tottenham Court Road where the underground station is set in a triangle of roads and it took a little searching to find the correct bus stop. I was also a little tired after climbing the steps from the platforms as the lifts were not working at the station. This was only the second time in the sequence that the bus has been a single decker.

Metroline DE1336 at Lancaster Gate

DE1336 at Lancaster Gate bus stop

This was an AD Enviro200 of Metroline DE1336  which left towards Paddington at 1239.
The No 27 and the No 36 both took me along the side of Paddington station but neither took me over the tracks at Bishops Bridge and then over the Grand Union Canal Paddington arm. The bus route is a sort of north circular similar to the No 31 which runs from Camden to White City which I did a while back but it is a little further out. It took until 1301 to reach Swiss Cottage and then we headed up hill towards Hampstead Heath. We turned right down towards the Royal Free Hospital and then followed the route of the No 24 before turning left to the Kentish Town West Overground station. The bus turned right at Kentish Town we travelled through Camden to St Pancras station where the drivers were changed at 1340. From here we followed the No 45 route until Holborn Circus whereupon we transited the Holborn Viaduct and turned left to terminate at St Barthlome'ws Hospital at 1402.

After arrival at Bart's Hospital with a  No 56 on layover in front of it 

To get from Bart's to the start of the No 47 at Shoreditch Church required me to walk through Smithfield Market and up St John street where I purchased a pasty at the Sainsbury's local. The price of the sandwiches at Bart's hospital cafe proved to be prohibitive. I subsequently walked along Clerkenwell Road and caught a No 55 to Shoreditch Town Hall. I was then ready to board the No 47 at 1441, once again this was a double decker, operated on this occasion by Stagecoach, their  No 13091, a Volvo B5LH AD Enviro400 H based at Catford.

Stagecoach 13091 at the first stop in Shoreditch High Street

This route exactly mirrored the No 35 to Borough High Street which took twenty minutes to achieve. Before all the road works near London Bridge the No 47 used to go along Tooley Street but now we headed down the Borough High Street, then turned left to the Bricklayers Arms roundabout. We then turned left up Tower Bridge Road to reach Tooley Street then turned right into the Jamaica Road, on to Bermonsey and then to Canada Water bus interchange. My wife rang as we reached Canada Water but I couldn't get off the bus and with the next stop closed I had to travel on to the Surrey Quays leisure centre where I arrived at 1535. I then caught the Jubilee Line to meet my wife at Piccadilly Circus changing at Waterloo for the Bakerloo Line. We then visited the combined flats of Handel and Jimi Hendrix. I will thus have to return in due course to complete the No 47 route to Catford bus garage next.