Day 106, two in south London the Nos 170 and 171.

After a break for invigilating the English and Maths GCSE resits for the sixth form I was able to sally forth from Purley station at 1145. From here I took the 1148 to East Croydon and changed for the 1200 fast train from East Grinstead to Clapham Junction. At Clapham Junction I transferred to platform six where a Hounslow roundabout train at 1218 took me to Barnes. Finally I boarded a No 265 bus to Roehampton Danbury Avenue arriving at 1240. The bus stop at which the No 170 originates is three bus stops down Danbury Avenue and I eventually arrived ready to catch the bus at 1250, having already missed two buses enroute.

The first bus I missed as I was waiting to
cross into Danbury Avenue

The next bus I missed coming up Danbury Avenue 

The bus terminus, will that No 170 wait for me?

Phew yes it has, SE 209 of London General

London General Dart SE 209 departed soon after at 1252 to return back to where I had alighted earlier but the bus heads up the road towards Putney Heath in a similar way to the No 85. The Green Man was reached at 1302 but from here the bus turned right up to Tippits Corner to turn left down West Hill {the A3} into Wandsworth. Initially the bus shares the road with the No 39 and No 493 but by the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability it is the only route which runs straight into Wandsworth.
There were some roadworks at the point just before the Wandsworth one way system but this didn't retard movement of the bus for very long before we were up and running around to Wandsworth Town Hall and then on to Clapham Junction station which was achieved at 1319, just under half an hour's journey. At Arding and Hobbs the bus turns left to run along Falcon Road under the railway tracks before turning abruptly west past the northern entrance to the railway station where we caught up with the previous bus on this service.

Autumn leaves on the London Plane tree whilst we wait in Plough Lane

The bus driver was therefore asked to wait once we had turned right into Plough Lane by the Waylands Estate. We waited from 1324 to 1327 before moving on and turning right into York Road and then left into Lombard Road past Battersea Heliport and into Battersea High Street. At this point 5 minibuses from Thomas Day schools went by-were Prince George and Princess Charlotte on board? I couldn't tell because the windows were all blackened. The road eventually reaches Battersea Bridge Road and it was quite a slow chug across this giving me time to photograph the high astronomical tide which had flooded Venice that day.

High Tide 4.08M at Chelsea at 1415, this was 1345, the next tide was the highest at 4.35M

Approaching high tide at Albert Bridge

The bus turned right at the end of the bridge along the Albert Embankment before taking a left past the Chelsea Physic Garden, National Army Museum and then the Royal Hospital Chelsea war pensioners hospital. The extension of this road took us to Buckingham Palace Road just South of Victoria Coach |Station and the bus then turned up the said road to end in Victoria railway station bus station at 1352.

SE209 has arrived at Victoria bus station

Bus leaving to layover before returning to Roehampton

After a brief comfort stop I sought a means to get to Elephant and Castle to board a No 171 to Catford bus garage. It transpired there were two options: the C10 or No 148. I chose the No 148 since when I caught this in its correct position in the list it was diverted down Vauxhall Bridge Road because of 'Extinction Rebellion' protesters outside parliament.

I don't tend to use the middle arch of the Southern side of Victoria where I noticed this map of the pre-grouping LBSCR

I was interested particularly in this section of the map. East Southsea only existed from 1904-1914, and why are the Isle of Wight railways on there when they were independent concerns?

I found the bus stop in Victoria Street and duly caught a London United 'Borismaster' at 1207.

The approach to St Thomas's Hospital with yellow sign stating Westminster Bridge is closed

Victoria Street was clear but we still couldn't follow the correct route as Westminster Bridge was closed so we were diverted left just before Westminster Abbey to cross over Lambeth Bridge. This time though the road was clear to St Thomas's hospital and we regained the normal route at the southern side of Westminster Bridge and reached Elephant and Castle at 1429.

Stop D at Elephant and Castle
 the same stop I had alighted from

London General's EH171, appropriate for route No 171

We must have just missed a No 171 as I had to wait until 1438 for London General's Enduro Hybrid EH171 to pick me up at bus stop D. This route initially followed many I have taken heading along the Walworth Road to Camberwell Green which was reached at 1454. The bus here took Camberwell Church Street which meant again I passed Trotters Reliant Robin outside the Peckham Best Western. The bus reached Peckham library at 1502 and continued from here past Peckham bus station and Queens Road Peckham station to arrive at New Cross bus garage. Here a change of drivers was expedited very quickly and we were on to New Cross Gate. At the next stop I heard but couldn't see a youth being thrown off the bus but the schoolkids on the other side of the bus seemed quite concerned as to what was going on. From New Cross the bus route finally heads off into new land on its own. Instead of taking the A2 or the A20 which I have on other buses, this bus takes Shardloes Road which is signposted Brockley and at Vesta Road I saw a sign to Brockley Nature Reserve. A little further up this road we reached Brockley Cross and then dipped under the original LCDR railway line from Nunhead to Lewisham to come to rest at Brockley station at 1528. From here the bus takes Brockley Road and this joins the No 122 route just prior to the cemetery. This was a part of the journey which was very slow owing to roadworks ahead on Crofton Park station bridge compounded by the school crossing patrol of the neighbouring school.

School crossing patrol in action with cemetery to the left and
roadworks ahead

Just past this were signposts to Buckthorne Cutting Nature Reserve at the Brockley Jack and progress subsequently became much swifter up Brockley Rise where we passed the starting point of the No 172 back to Aldwych. Mental note: don't do that bus at school chucking out time!

On the South Circular a No 171 heading for the Elephant and Castle 

Soon we were at the South Circular and at 1550 we turned left and into Catford then around the one way system to come to rest at Bellingham Catford garage at 1608. Exactly 90 minutes had been taken which precluded any thought of my doing the No 172 as it was already getting dark.

Despite the operator of the No 171 being London General, the service finishes at a Stagecoach operated garage. A typical result of the randomness of bus deregulation

Journey's end with Catford Garage behind

A view of EH171 as I wait for a No 54

Thus I caught a  No 54 to Beckenham in order to catch a tram to Wandle Park which took me an hour and twenty minutes. Had I not then taken a train to Sutton I would have been late for what turned out to be a cancelled PRG (Patient Reference Group) meeting at Sutton Town Hall.