Day one hundred and nineteen the No 190 from West Brompton to Richmond

This trip started with my helping to carry second hand books to a community centre in Battersea where my wife is organising a library with a thespian friend. After depositing the books I took the 1104 from Battersea Park to Clapham Junction and crossed to platform one for the 1117 to Stratford. This train, however, was rather tardy arriving and it was not until 1133 that I reached two stops down the line at West Brompton. The start point of the bus route is given as Empress State Building, a location I had a Civil Service training course in presentation skills in 1985. The bus lays over in the forecourt but does not pick up at this point.

Metroline's DE1004 outside Empress
State Building

The point of embarkation is a fair distance down
Lille Road. DE1004 arriving at 1149

I boarded the bus at 1149 which arrived just after an Easybus minibus that was taking half a dozen travellers to Gatwick airport. The route takes the bus straight west southwest across North End Road and on to join the Fulham Palace Road at the western end of this road. This was where the No 74 had turned left, but we turned right which took us past Charing Cross Hospital and on into Hammersmith bus station. We left Hammersmith bus station at 1201 and took King Street until it morphed into Chiswick High Road near Stamford Brook bus station. The bus then turned left and became the only bus route for the first time, as we took Chiswick Lane North. At the end of this road we reached Dorchester Grove where the driver was requested to wait a few minutes to even up the service at 1216. By 1218 we were queuing to round the Hogarth roundabout in order to take Burlington Lane, south of Chiswick House, which then became Alexandra Avenue and finally the Great Chertsey Road.

A car crossing the Hogarth roundabout flyover

After crossing Chiswick Bridge the road becomes the Lower Richmond Road and we headed straight on to Lower Mortlake Road to reach Richmond Circus at 1231. The bus here takes the road past Richmond station and terminated at the bus station at 1237, only 48 minutes after departure for a journey that is supposed to take 53 minutes. However, we started 4 minutes late so in effect we were only one minute early!

Arrival at the bus station in Richmond

To return home I took the 1249 train to Clapham Junction and then the direct train home. It seemed sensible to leave the next two buses until another day as they are in far northeast London and it would be good to do both in one go, if possible.

Apologies for poor quality of the photography as unfortunately I left the memory card in the laptop at home!

Day 118 After a visit to the Design Museum to see the exhibition about the future trip to Mars I headed to Marble Arch to do the No 189.

There has been a break in activities for two weeks. Firstly my dear mother passed away and in addition there were the GCSE and A level mock examinations to be invigilated. However, the opportunity arose this evening to do the No 189 from Marble Arch after a trip to the Design Museum with my wife. I dropped Charmaine off at Kensington High Street Underground station so she could visit a theatre in Islington. I walked from the station eastwards past the Albert Hall and on beside Hyde Park until I reached the Household Cavalry barracks. Here I boarded a No 23, on a totally different route to when I had travelled on it in 2017, at 1802 and alighted just past Marble Arch in the Edgware Road ten minutes later.

Coach rounding the Marble Arch

Coach in front of Marble Arch

Bus stop L Marble Arch station

LT655 of Metroline approaching to take me once again to Brent Cross

The No 189 lays over on the north side of Hyde Park but the first stop which I could board was stop L to the east along Oxford Street from Marble Arch Underground station. At 1825 Metroline's LT655 arrived at this bus stop and the bus turned left and headed north towards Baker Street Underground station following the same route as the Nos 13, 113 and 139. Beyond Rudolf Steiner House the bus turned left which meant the route followed the No 139 alone across the throat of Marylebone railway station. The bus turned right after this and took Grove End Road and then along Abbey Road.
After this there were buses coming down the road which were evidently not supposed to be there, eg the Nos 187, 13 and 113 so presumably there were issues along the Finchley Road. As we joined West End Lane the bus headed west down Quex Road when finally the bus took a route I hadn't used on the odyssey, although previously I had used it on the No 328. At the end of this road the bus turned right into Kilburn High Road at 1856 and then we passed Kilburn Underground station at 1902. This meant I was again on a road I had covered before whilst aboard the Nos 16 and 32 . On reaching Cricklewood Broadway the bus turned right along Cricklewood Lane to the railway station of the same name which I had used when on the No 245 when headed for Golders Green. Immediately after the station I returned to a road I hadn't previously used: Claremont Road; at least the southern part of it, because half way along the route is joined by the No 102. Soon after this the bus crossed the North Circular Road and ran into Brent Cross bus station terminating at 1921.

Arrival at Brent Cross showing the futility
of my trying to take photographs well
 after dark

In order to get home I decided to catch the No 113 at 1934 to Finchley Road and Frognall London Overground station. I only had to wait 4 minutes for a train to Clapham Junction and then caught the 2039 to Epsom Downs.