Day fifty five 29th Aug 2018 to Feltham for the No 90 and then the No 91 to Crouch End

Today I hoped to do three buses, if possible, starting with the No 90. To catch this bus I needed to travel to Feltham which meant a train to Clapham Junction and then another to Feltham. The 0958 fast train to Feltham was delayed so I caught the 1002 to Weybridge which stopped at all stops via the Hounslow loop  and meant I didn't arrive until 1048 an hour and a half since leaving my local station. I had been warned that there were roadworks and these were quite obvious viewed from the railway station. However what wasn't so obvious was where the the No 90 now began its route since it used to come over the bridge and into the station but was still starting from the Leisure West but only calling at bus stop Z. This was a bit of a walk from the station and when I reached this bus stop I found it was closed.

The closed bus stop Z

After a wet start to the day it was drying up with a No 90 approaching
from the direction of Hatton Cross at The Airman pub. As often the case
I had to board quickly so no picture of my boarding to display.

I continued past the Leisure area and the large aeroplane propeller, which recognises the area's history for aircraft maintenance and found a No 90 on layover in the distance. This was Metroline's VW1194, a Volvo with Wrightbus Gemini bodywork and I departed aboard this bus at 1121.
I had occasionally made use of this bus to get to work at Heathrow, when I travelled on SW trains to Feltham, as one could alight at Hatton Cross or Hanworth and travel free from those stops into the Heathrow central area.

Travelling around the Eastern and then Northern Perimeter Road  I passed the BA engineering area with Boeing 747, 777 and 787.  Beyond is a Qatar airways A380 and one of the new Boeing 737s of Air Canada opeating the Halifax flight. On the far left are two Boeing 787-900s, one of Virgin and one of Vietnam Airways

The main issue on the journey was the roadworks through Hayes which delayed progress a fair bit, but otherwise we made good time and entered Northolt at 1208 and reached the green past Northolt Underground station at 1220.

Journeys end at Northolt Station, albeit the park somewhat beyond it

From here I had to get to Trafalgar Square to begin the No 91 route so took the Central line eastbound to Oxford Circus at 1228 changing then to the Bakerloo line to Trafalgar Square.

The bus resting prior to starting its run to Crouch End

The No 91 was a 'Borismaster' of Metroline LT748 and left from Stop F at 1311. The bus then passed down the Strand to the Aldwych turning north here up Kingsway and on into Southampton Row to reach Euston bus station. By the time we had moved on past King's Cross we didn't reach the stop by the canal museum, where I boarded the No 59 many months ago, until over half an hour later at 1346.
Progress thereafter though was quite reasonable and passing through Holloway we reached the terminus at Rosebury Gardens Crouch End at 1417.

The northern limit of bus route No 91

I was still hopeful at this stage of doing the No 92 but to reach this bus required me to walk to Hornsey Town hall where I boarded a No W7; I wonder how many years it will be before I officially do this route? This bus took me to Crouch Hill station; the No 91 had passed by the closed Crouch End station just before it entered the descent into the High Street.

Class 172 diesel arriving at Crouch Hill station under the catenary

At the first station mentioned I was just in time to catch the 1430 to Gospel Oak. I wondered if this would be the last time I would catch a two car DMU on this line as the electric overhead wires were all ready up. To prove the point an electric Class 90 train pulled a freight through from Upper Holloway, whilst I waited for the 1450 to Clapham Junction.

The terminal platform at Gospel Oak, introduced when the Thameslink service frequency, precluded the original service, which was from Kentish Town to Barking being maintained.

 To access the No 92 it would have been necessary to change again at Willesden Junction and at the rate we were getting there I could see I would get caught up in the rush-hour if I endeavoured to reach the bus. Thus I carried on to catch the 1532 from Clapham Junction to Horsham as I needed to get to the garage to pick up Susan's car after its MOT before the garage closed for the night.

Day 54 two buses in SW London the Nos 87 and 88 followed by the No 89 in SE London

The August Bank Holiday seemed a good day to try and get some routes done and so it proved. I left on the 1105 to London Bridge and changed at 1135 for a train to Charing Cross. From Charing Cross I walked along the Strand to once again reach the Aldwych where the No 87 starts from.

EH35 of London General, my mount to Wandsworth

The traffic free streets on a bank holiday

The bus was operated by London General's EH35 an Enviro E400 Hybrid Double Decker and it departed at 1155 towards Trafalgar Square and then down Whitehall to the Houses of Parliament. The bus continued along Millbank to Vauxhall Bridge Road and then crossed the bridge to Vauxhall bus station where I arrived at 1211. One of the benefits of travelling on a bank holiday was the speedy translation through the Central London streets. A little further on at Lansdowne Green we waited to exchange drivers before leaving for Clapham at 1218. The bus was by now following the same roads as the No 77 and we continued in this vein until Clapham Junction where we arrived at 1232 (37 minutes from departure). The bus from here continued on to Wandsworth town and terminated in Wandsworth Plain at 1244.

Wandsworth Town Hall

Wandsworth Plain the terminus of the No 87

Almost brand new electric bus VHP1

I crossed the road called The Armoury to bus Stop E where I was able to catch a No 37 to Clapham Common at 1253. The bus that arrived was London General's VHP1; this has only recently started operation and is apparently equipped with a pantograph for electric operation. We passed Clapham Junction again at 1300 and dis-embarked at Clapham Common at 1315.

VHP1 one of two apparently, at Clapham Common

The No 88 at its layover point at Clapham Common

London General LT66 along with an arriva
Volvo Hybrid on the No 417 and another London General 'Borismaster'

LT66 now approaching to begin my second route of the day

I walked to bus stop TT in Wingate Square Clapham Common where I boarded London General 'Borismaster' LT66 at 1324 which provided the No 88 to Camden Town. It wasn't long before we were changing drivers again, this time at Stockwell at 1333. Vauxhall bus station was then passed through at 1346 before the bus crossed Vauxhall bridge. The bus turned right into John Islip Street and as we did so we passed a flashing sign which was indicating that the road was closed between Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street. A left turn into Bulinga Street led to a right turn into Marsham Street which took us to Westminster Abbey and then a run up Whitehall in the reverse direction to that which I had made on the No 87. There seemed to be no issue as we passed Piccadilly Circus at 1408. However on the left we passed a bus stop without its sign and the one side of the seat seemed to have been crushed with the windows smashed of the shop beyond. Further on I passed BBC Centre where there seemed to be some activity related to Strictly Come Dancing. An announcement was made just past this that the bus was on diversion. Notwithstanding this was only because the left arm of Park Crescent had roadworks and we emerged from the left end into Euston Road to regain the normal route. The bus then headed up past Euston station and Mornington Crescent into Camden Town where the bus arrived at 1433.

The terminus in Camden Town

LT66 not quite able to stop aligned straight behind its predecessor

From Camden Town the Northern line southbound was taken to London Bridge where I boarded the 1509 to Slade Green and this was reached at 1545.

Slade Green station

London General E44 at Forest Green Road Slade Green

There was a No 89 waiting in Forest Green Road but the countdown system told me I had 6 minutes to wait so I nipped in the nearby McColl's to get my lunch at 1550 to eat on the bus. The bus left at 1555 a Trident Enviro 400 No E44 of London General. Initially it meandered around the local estates making for Northumberland Heath. In Colyers Lane water was streaming down the road presumably from a burst water main. On arrival at Bexleyheath Garage drivers were exchanged very quickly and we reached the Bexleyheath clock tower at 1615.

Bexleyheath town centre

We then followed a straight road through Welling and on to Shooters Hill where there was a brief spectacular panorama across London. It was after this that I encountered the only hold-up of the day by what was the Brook Hospital and now seems to be being turned into flats. At Blackheath we passed through the village and down into Lewisham and finally reached the terminus at Lewisham station at 1703.

Lewisham Station is approached

From here I caught the 1713 towards Hayes and alighted at Elmers End where I took a tram to Wandle Park arriving at 1758.

Day fifty three another long hike to Romford! The No 86.

Just for a change my wife agreed to accompany me to Romford to do the No 86. She wanted to visit Romford market. So after collecting the cat from the cattery post our week's trip to Scotland we set off to Canada Water at 1150 using the London Overground. At this point we changed to take the Jubilee line to Stratford and then what is now TFL rail to Romford arriving at 1320. This was pretty good going to only take an hour and a half in total. I escorted Charmaine to the market and then drifted up North Street to visit the Stagecoach bus garage for a while before returning to join her in central Romford to find the starting point of the No 86.

Charmaine queuing to board the No 86 at Romford Station

Charmaine climbing aboard Stagecoach 19814

The bus route starts at the same bus stop as the No 66 I caught a few weeks ago, alongside Romford railway station. However, this route is operated by Stagecoach rather than Arriva. It was their No 19814 which is considerably newer than some of the Dennis Tridents still operated on the route, which are now 15 years old on which we departed at 1515. Once around the northern half of the ring road the bus headed west along London Road and is the only bus that utilises this road from here to Goodmayes. From Goodmayes the No 62 which I again visited some weeks ago joins it for a time before that route heads off south to Barking.

The No 86 plunges on east paralleling the Great Eastern mainline which we had travelled on earlier to get to Romford and eventually we reached Ilford. From Ilford onward the bus route follows exactly the same route as the No 25 to Stratford; the road now called Romford Road. There was considerable police presence near Forest Gate which I wondered whether it was football related. However, it seemed the police were questioning a number of courier motorbike riders, perhaps for insurance or MOT infringements. We arrived at Stratford at 1630 an hour and fifteen minutes after departure.

Journey's end Stratford interchange

'Robert' an Avonside  industrial tank engine No 2068 of 1933
on display at Stratford interchange

Our return was the same route as arrival, thus Jubilee line to Canada Water, London Overground to West Croydon and southern Rail home arriving around 1800.

A frequent occurrence when travelling
with Charmaine, she is reading a book. Note all the shopping
Romford market traders did well that day.

Displaying her purchases to good effect on  the walk
home from the railway station

A goodly number of photographs as it
has taken a while to persuade Charmaine to
accompany me

I'm carrying all the bags if you are wondering where they have gone

Day 52 a short evening trip to do the No 85

Much of the day had been foul and this meant by the time the rain cleared up it was not worth Charmaine travelling with me to visit the shops as had been originally intended as we wouldn't have arrived with worthwhile shopping time. The evening started at 1804 with a tram to Wimbledon. After changing to a District line train to Putney Bridge I arrived at the start point of the No 85 at 1847.

Buses on layover at Putney Bridge

London United 45173 arriving

London United 45173 provided my trip from Putney Bridge station to Kingston Hall Road and this departed at 1855.

Thames high as I cross on the No 85

The trip was quite brisk up Putney High Street to Putney Heath and the bus then turned right towards Roehampton where we arrived about 1910 at the end of Roehampton Lane where it met the Kingston Bypass.

The bus ran down the Bypass dropping into the Roehampton Lane ASDA and then beared right and climbed Kingston Hill before dropping down the opposite side past Kingston Hospital.

Journey's end in Kingston

Having alighted in Hall Road Kingston

The bus did not stop but left immediately for Putney Bridge

The only hold up occurred as we reached Tiffin school as the road works in Kingston Town centre caused a hold up which delayed the bus at least ten minutes. We finally reached Hall Road at 1937 where I disembarked and walked to Kingston railway station. Here I caught the 2004 train to Wimbledon from where I took the tram home.

Day fifty one a trip to the utter north to do the No 84

The trip to the southernmost limit of the No 84 at New Barnet began with a train to Victoria at 1050. There we changed onto the Victoria Line to Finsbury Park where arrival was at 1150 before taking the 1203 towards Welwyn Garden City.

Waiting for the No 84 at
New Barnet station

We had to wait just over ten minutes outside New Barnet station for a Metroline double decker TE 949 to arrive and furnish our initial transport towards St Albans. The bus route is outwith the TFL oyster area which meant we had to pay £4.80 for the journey. Our No 84 departed at 1234 and as we turned the corner we soon espied the reason for the nasty stench we had to endure whilst waiting: a drain was being purged from beneath a multi storey building.

TE949 of Metroline at
New Barnet

There was a fairly quick change into countryside proper, as we left Barnet High Street and once we reached the next built up area we were asked to change buses at Potters Bar bus garage at 1256. The bus we were invited to mount was an Enduro Dart lengthened DEL850 once again owned by Metroline.

Progress was quite brisk in rural areas as few stops were made but the southern approach to St Albans near London Colney was rather tardy owing to road works and an abandoned car on the roundabout at the North Orbital Road. Once across this roundabout we dove into a large supermarket car park before returning to the roundabout and heading erratically towards St Albans. We finally came to a halt in St Peter's Road at 1344.

Metroline DEL850 at St Peter's Road in St Albans

My wife heading to the Works shop behind DEL850

Charmaine heading for interesting shops, leaving me in her wake. St Albans!

We did a little shopping in the non chain shops before walking to City station and returning home via Thameslink to West Hampstead Thameslink which cost £11.30. The London Overground train then took us to Clapham Junction but on arrival we found there had been a train failure on suburban services out of Victoria. We had to catch the only train that was running which was first stop Carshalton on its way to Dorking and then walk to the bus stop to catch the No 407 bus homewards.

Day 50 A trip towards NW London to do the No 83.

This day started with taking our son to an interview at Battersea Park Childrens' Zoo for 1130 which took place 1145-1310 whilst I was waiting on the grass outside. After this we caught the 1340 to Clapham Junction whereupon I disembarked with the intention of catching a train to Brentford and then a bus to Ealing Hospital. However, there was an obstruction on the line and therefore I caught the 1402 London Overground to West Brompton. Here I changed to a District line train to Earl's Court changing there for a District line to Ealing Broadway arriving at 1442. I expected, given the information from the last bus map, that the No 83 started at Ealing Hospital. However, when I reached the bus stop it was obvious that the bus had been replaced by the No 483 and when I asked the bus driver of a No 483 he told me it started at Alperton. I thus boarded a No 483 and alighted near the Sainsbury's at Alperton from where I had caught the No 79 to Edgware. It transpired though, that the No 83 started in the High Street by the Metroline bus station.

VW1777 has just turned out of the bus garage at Alperton
which is next to Alperton Piccadilly line station

At 1523 I finally caught VW1777 a Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini 2 of Metroline operating the No 83 service to Golders Green. The bus route followed the No 79 route up until Wembley High Street but then continued on further to turn left past the Stadium station and past Wembley Park station. Having turned right at the 'T' junction the bus headed ESE for a while before at a roundabout turning north into Tudor Gardens. The bus route then parallels the route of the No 302 which my wife saw for 4 years when she worked in Kingsbury. The bus company has recently updated the buses from 2005 to 2017 stock as evidenced by VWH2427 pictured below.

Brand new almost VWH 2427 of Metroline on route No 302

From the top of this road the bus turned East and reached Hendon Broadway.

The Hendon Broadway crossroads

After this the bus continued East to reach Golders Green at 1624. Thus the journey took only a fraction over an hour in its entirety.

Arrival at Golders Green Bus station at 1624

Southbound train leaving for the Charing Cross branch

Northbound train headed for Edgware

 In order to return home I took the Northern Line City Branch to Balham and then the 1745 from there towards Epsom Downs.

Day forty nine a trip way outside the TFL area

I was in a bit of a quandry as to what to do about the No 82 as TFL had dispensed with the route in April 2017 by rearranging the No 13 to start from Victoria and extending it to North Finchley. So I could have not bothered; quite justifiably and moved straight on to the No 83. However, I found that Arriva Kent had a short route in Maidstone from the Town centre to an outlying area called Park Wood. Thus I resolved to keep the chronology going and drove down to Allington where I parked the car and then walked into the town centre. I left home about 1150 and arrived outside a friend's house in Allington where I parked at 1245.

Walking down the A20 into Maidstone

Crossing the River Medway

It then took me 3/4 of an hour to walk to the bus station where the latest Arriva bus news had told me the bus left from stop J2.










The bus arrived and I was able to purchase a return to Park Wood Parade for £5.20; no use of the TFL Oystercard here, although there appears to be a local equivalent.

Awaiting the arrival of the bus under the shopping mall

Arriva Kent 4094 arrives an AD E200 of last years intake

The bus left at 1350 and headed east to run for quite a while along the road to Sutton Valence called Sutton Road. After a while we turned right into Wallis Road and this is where our traverse of the Park Wood estate appeared to commence. What I wasn't expecting, however, was that the bus did not come to a terminus but just goes around the estate emerging once more at Wallis Road just before its meeting with Sutton Road.

One of the bungalows on the Park Wood estate

Bus layover point back in Maidstone town centre

A quicker way back to Allington was
using the path that runs by the railway bridge
from Maidstone East station across the Medway
to Maidstone Barracks station

From here the bus ran back into town and we reached the clock tower at 1430. The bus driver then announced the bus would wait ten minutes before it headed to the bus station. There seemed little point covering that short distance which I had walked previously just to complete the circuit when all the other bus trips to this point have been done as one way trips.