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| The bus station at Stratford I was familiar with from the footbridge over to the Stratford City bus station |
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| Stratford City bus station with a No 97 waiting |
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| A No 97 and No 388 at Stratford City bus station |
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| Stagecoach 15106 arriving |
However, on arrival at Stratford I looked for the bus stop for the No 97. I found it wasn't in the bus station I had used hitherto, but was on the opposite side of the railway tracks at what was called Stratford City.
At 1206 I was aboard Stagecoach 15106 heading west on the No 97 with the bus doing a circuit of Westcroft shopping centre. It then picked up at the International station before running across the southern throat of Temple Mills yard and then turned north for Leyton. The bus then ran to Bakers Arms and on towards Walthamstow using many of the roads I had previously travelled on.
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| Heading towards Bakers Arms under the Gospel Oak to Barking line |
At this stage I contacted Tim and organised that he would meet me at Walthamstow bus station and travel with me for the rest of the day. At 1242 Tim joined me after having once again crawled towards the bus station owing to the roadworks that were still ongoing by the railway station.
From the bus station we headed north and passed Walthamstow Stadium which closed five years ago and is now a development of luxury flats.
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| No need to comment! |
From here we climbed up Chingford Mount where a number of buses terminate and eventually reached Chingford High Street terminating at the railway station at 1316.
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| Arrival at Chingford bus layover |
We found a shop for our lunch and then settled on a London Overground train: the 1340 to Liverpool Street, and ate it on a much speedier return to Walthamstow Central.
From here the Victoria line took us to Finsbury Park where we crossed the platform to board a much cooler Piccadilly line train at 1401. We emerged from Holborn tube station at 1414 and walked to St Giles Circus where a number of No 98s were waiting.
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| Tim considering which bus to board; there was also one behind the photographer |
It was actually quite confusing which of the three buses were going to leave first but eventually it was decided that the middle one, Metroline VWH2386 was going to be the next to leave. So at 1422 this bus set off towards Holborn station and into New Oxford Street. Unlike the No 94 last Saturday we did the entire length of Oxford Street and with the Crossrail works and numerous traffic lights progress was painfully slow.
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| Brand new Metroline VMH in Oxford Street |
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| Typical traffic outside Selfridges |
It was 1451 by the time we turned into the Edgware Road and from then on we followed the A5 much as I had done on the No 16 until Kilburn.
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| One of the five Chinese buses that are used mostly on the No 98 |
Before the bus reaches Brondesbury North London line station the bus turns left though along Willesden Lane as is the only bus that uses this road. This, as to be expected leads to Willesden and we duly arrived at Pound Lane outside the bus station at 1529.
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| The bus heads towards the garage after dropping us in Pound Lane |
In order to get to the start of the No 99 we took a No 260 to Willesden Green tube station and took the Jubilee line to London Bridge. Arriving at London Bridge at 1608 we caught the late running 1545 to Gravesend at 1615. This train travelled via Bexleyheath which was our destination but we decided to continue to Bexleyheath as it was easier for Tim to return home from Woolwich rather than the alternative end in Bexleyheath.
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| A selection of buses that start at Bexleyheath our No 99 DW452 on the left. |
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| Bus stop S showing the No 99 and also the B11 stop there |
This bus deposited us at exactly the right stop we needed for the No 99 and after 8 minutes DW452 of our fourth company Arriva arrived at 1709. This route was surprisingly tortuous as it wound its way to Slade Green. We had good views of the Dartford Bridge and what looked at a distance like the blue river Thames underneath it. However, when we reached the roundabout where we turned left for Slade Green we found the blue was a parcelforce building! Emphasising the tortuous nature was the bus stopping on both sides of Slade Green station but once out of that estate the route seemed a little more straightforward. However, a rather unusual aspect was the narrow part of the entrance to Slade Green Road being by-passed by a single carriageway but two way bus only road. By 1751 we were passing the south of Abbey Wood and we then headed down through Plumstead and on to Woolwich terminating at the bottom of Beresford Way at 1803.
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| Myself leaving the bus in Woolwich taken obviously by Tim |
Tim and I then repaired to the Dial Arch pub for refreshment at the end of a most satisfactory day's work
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