Day 48-A trip to the far west and beyond the boundary to Slough on the No 81.

This was, in is early stages a repeat of how I used to travel to work at Heathrow when not using the X26. I changed trains at Clapham Junction to platform 5 for a train to Hounslow. Up to this point it was plain sailing, but whilst on platform 5 it was announced there were problems with the points and no train could travel between Barnes and Richmond to Feltham. My train wouldn't be intending to go that way but of course all the others had to come my way through the Hounslow loop, too. Thus having left home at 1135 it wasn't until 1335 that I was boarding London United's ADE40439 at stop C, which is where the route starts after it emerges from Hounslow bus garage. This is one of the more recent buses that ply this route, many of which are the ten or almost ten year old Scania Omnidekkers.

Stop C with bus station roundel above rear of this bus

ADE40439 arriving at 1335

So on towards Heathrow and the Great West Road on which progress was so much quicker than on the occasions when I was travelling to work around 6-7pm.

Heathrow's control tower just photgraphed behind a
 lamp post as we went by

The large blue bulk of the Compass Centre: my last working location

We reached the Compass Centre around 1410 and hoped to be back in an hour or so to meet up with my ex-colleagues. However, having never gone beyond this point previously, I wasn't expecting the next 7 miles to take almost 40 minutes.

The line through Colnbrook to Staines West,
still potentially usable

Heading towards journey's end at Slough

ADE40439 awaiting its return to Hounslow at Slough bus station

Thus it was 1447 before we pulled into Slough bus station. It was therefore decided at this point that a meeting would be impossible with my workmates as I was booked on the choir dinner at 1930 and the journey home from Heathrow is 2 1/2 hours in any case. I was unlikely to arrive home much before 1800 if I went straight home from this point and given how hot and sticky it was I wanted a wash first, before the dinner!