Transport from home to Hounslow was surprisingly efficient compared to my six years commuting to Heathrow. The 1100 to Victoria caused us to arrive at Clapham Junction at 1130 just 3 minutes before the arrival of the 1132 to Weybridge which deposited us at Hounslow railway station at 1201. It is 15 minute walk from there to bus stop C where the bus departs from, this being the self same spot where earlier in the year I had caught the No 203 to Staines.
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Timetable suggests journey should
take just under an hour |
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| Metroline's VWH2168 based at Uxbridge garage. |
After a perusal of some shops we boarded Metroline's VWH2168 at 1239 and followed the usual route around the Treaty Centre and stopped at The Bell. The bus then took the Bath Road and followed exactly the route of this to the slip road for the tunnel to Heathrow Airport. However this is where the bus diverges from travelling straight westwards and does a little loop so it can cross the A4 and head towards Sipson. This process led to the bus taking roads only the No 222 traverses for much of the time through Sipson and on into West Drayton. The bus reached the Plough just before turning right into Holloway Lane at 1311, about half an hour since departure.
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| The Approach to Harlington Corner by Heathrow, so much quieter than pre-pandemic |
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| Foliage trying to subsume bus stop in Sipson |
The bus seemed to be colliding with foliage constantly, so perhaps there are no open top buses that do tree clipping at present. Holloway Lane took the bus under the M4 before it next turned left into Cherry Lane to regain Sipson Road before running into the shopping streets of West Drayton and then Yiewsley. As we turned into West Drayton station we very nearly hit a lorry that wasn't intending to give way.
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| The small entrance road for West Drayton station looking back at Yiewsley High Street |
At 1320 we returned back to the shopping streets to head north towards Cowley. Once over the cross roads and passing Tesco' s again the bus took a route no other bus proceeds along. This road was followed through Cowley and on to Uxbridge passing a strangely named road on the way Benbow WayE, and we terminated in Belmont Road at 1335.
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| Disembarkation at Belmont Road with a U4 ahead of us. I saw U1 to U10 whilst in Uxbridge which I will not reach until many many years to come |
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| VwH2168 heads into bus station to lay over before returning to Hounslow |
The Metropolitan line to Finchley Road was taken changing there for the Jubilee to Green Park, where the Victoria line took us to Victoria and then train home to East Croydon, followed by tram and bus which took us just over 2 hours.
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