Day 155 Barking to Stratford on the No 238.

 After a trip to Shoe Lane Library to see a presentation about Bram Stoker I then walked to London Blackfriars to catch a District Line train to Barking. All was going perfectly until we reached East Ham. At this point the driver announced there was a person at Becontree who was distressed and it was likely we could be held for some time. I therefore disembarked and caught a No 238 the other way to Barking at 1505.

Bus stop I have visited twice before,
 opposite the entrance to Barking station

Looking across at where next No 238 has arrived

Stagecoach 19853 about to come up to pick me up

I crossed the road to wait for the same bus to return towards Stratford. This was Stagecoach's 19853 which I boarded at 1540. The timetable suggested the journey should take only forty minutes which given the traffic I had seen at East Ham looked a tall order. It took twelve minutes to get back to East Ham High Street but after clearing the overhead boundary marker dated 1992 the bus turned left down Plashet Grove. 

The Halifax at East Ham with a Burtons sign above it

At the end of this road the bus briefly turned right up Green Street before again heading left down Plashet Road which later became Portway at Upton Lane around 1609.

Crossing Upton Lane with West Ham Park behind the wall

At the end of this road after it briefly became Densham Road the bus turned right into West Ham Lane which meant we reached Stratford Broadway at 1617 and by 1620, exactly 40 minutes after departure we arrived at the Stratford bus station.

Arrival at Stratford

Bus driving off to layover at bus station until its next trip to Barking

I caught Jubilee Line and then London Overground back to Croydon arriving just before 1800.

Day 154 Another visit to Hounslow, this time on the No 237.

 Initial departure was retarded somewhat by the need to take our son to the dentist in Orpington but I was able to catch the 1230 to London Victoria. I alighted at Clapham Junction as usual just in time to miss the London Overground train to Shepherds Bush. Thus I had to wait until the 1322 train to Stratford which deposited me at Shepherds Bush at 1336. The No 237 commences its trip to Hounslow Heath from White City bus station so caught a No C1 for that short trip.

White City Bus Station stop for the No 237

Metroline's VW1054

At White City I boarded Metroline's VW1054 at 1346 which took me back to Shepherds Bush and then headed west past Shepherds Bush Green and on down the Goldhawk Road. As the road swings south it remains Goldhawk Road but the No 94 carries straight on to leave the No 237 on its own on the road towards Stamford Brook Underground station at 1401. Once under the railway bridge the bus turned right and headed west towards Turnham Green along Chiswick High Road. There were some significant roadworks as we traversed this road and it was 1415 before Turnham Green was actually achieved.

Roadworks on Chiswick High Road causing substantial queues.

At Turnham Green we overtook the previous No 237 service and ran briskly past Gunnersbury Underground to the Chiswick roundabout. This then took us past Kew Bridge railway station where I had recently been when catching the No 235.

Grand Union canal at Brentford

 Beyond Brentford the bus stopped to change drivers at 1429 which allowed the other No 237 to overtake us again. It took five minutes until we were underway again and by 1443 we had reached Hounslow bus station. The bus followed the same route as the No 235 through to Hounslow including use of the pedestrianised part of the High Street. The bus finally turned away from the No 235 route choosing the right of Martindale Road and then left into Corporation Avenue and finally headed back towards the heath to terminate at the Hussar.

Arrival at the Hussar with VW1043 ahead of VW1054

I then went for a walk onto Hounslow Heath for a while which is where I have recently parked to watch aeroplanes arriving at Heathrow and subsequently caught a No 235 to Feltham and then the 1605 to Clapham Junction and onwards to arrive home about 1715.

Obelisk commemorating the use of Hounslow Heath as an airfield

Japan Air Lines Boeing 777 JA740J

Turkish Air Lines Airbus A330 TC-LNG

Day 153 to NE London for The No236 from Hackney Wick to Finsbury Park.

 Another late start, this time after table tennis saw us catch a No 410 bus to East Croydon and then the 1438 train to London Bridge from Uckfield and then Northern and Central lines to Bethnal Green. At Bethnal Green Charmaine had a book launch to go to and I then continued on the Central Line to Stratford and finally took the Overground to Hackney Wick.

Hackney Wick station looking towards Stratford

 I knew the bus route started on Eastway but it was not immediately obvious when I arrived there, so I called our son Richard and he confirmed the bus stop I needed was out of sight around a corner, but I was at least in the correct road. I passed the layover location just as a bus was emerging so missed that one and had to catch the bus twelve minutes later at 1619.

As usual I just missed Stagecoach's 39128

The Trowbridge Estate Hackney Wick

A rift in the cloud after an aircraft has passed through

Stagecoach 37553 approaching

 

It seems that Tower Transit has shed many of its buses now as each bus I saw was an ex Tower Transit bus now operated by Stagecoach London. This bus was now labelled Stagecoach No 37553 and very soon took us left under the A12 to Mabley Green along the Lee Conservancy Road. At the first junction we turned left along Homerton Road and into Homerton. Once in Homerton we turned right just beyond the library in order to access the Homerton Hospital. The bus then returned to the same road which by now had become Homerton High Street and soon turned left under the North London Railway. This afforded the opportunity to reach Morning Lane and after a little trip around back roads we were heading south down Mare Street. 

An old bank on Mare Street just before we took Westgate Street

This direction of travel was arrested at Westgate Street where we turned right through Broadway Market at 1642 and thence to Queensbridge Street where we travelled due north as the only bus on the road to Graham Road and Dalston Lane. The bus then headed west after crossing the railway again to Ridley Market and later crossed straight over Kingsland High Street heading for Canonbury via Boleyn Road, Matthias Road, Stoke Newington Green and Beresford Road. It was only at Stoke Newington Green that we left the London Borough of Hackney having been wandering around the borough for 40 minutes.

A chippy that obviously supports the Arsenal in Highbury

From Canonbury station the bus took Grovesnor Avenue which become Highbury New Road and at the end of this road the bus turned right and followed the route I had taken previously taken 5 years ago on the No 4 and the No 19. Finsbury Park station was reached at 1709, 50 minutes after departure.

Final destination Finsbury Park Station with another ex Tower Transit bus in front

I caught a Thameslink train to East Croydon from Finsbury Park at 1730 arriving home at 1845. 

Day 152 Another opportunity to travel through Hounslow, this time starting from Brentford.

 This trip started later than normal by catching a bus around 1410 to East Croydon and then took the train to Clapham Junction. The idea was to ensure I could catch the 1502 to Kew Bridge which I would most likely have missed if I had caught the train from Waddon at 1430. 

Platform 5/6 at Clapham Junction

So the 1502 to Weybridge conveyed me to Kew Bridge where I alighted at 1519 and intended to walk to the starting point of the No 235 at The Great Western Quarter Brentford North. However, on my arrival I found the bus stop closed and there was a sign indicating I needed to walk to the bus stop on Brentford High Street coded BL.

The Great Western Quarter where I
should have been able to catch the bus

It hasn't happened that often that the bus
has been diverted from its start point

I therefore walked the route from the start to beyond the county court where the bus route is temporarily ending and starting. On the way I passed a compound with a number of Routemaster buses and reached the bus stop on the run as a No 235 had just arrived.

At least ten routemasters in a 
compound

Resting Routemasters

The current final stop eastbound, the county court

Chasing after London United's 30238

This bus route is now operated by RATP London United and No 30238 was my mount to Sunbury which left at 1552 heading west. The route runs straight west past Syon Park and once we reached Isleworth was a repeat of doing the route No 117 through Hounslow. The bus station was reached at 1606 and then unlike many other buses this route transits the pedestrianised area before turning left into Douglas Road.

This is where the bus really filled up from Hounslow west towards Hounslow Heath and then on to Feltham. The driver was exchanged close to Hounslow Heath depot at Islay Gardens but very efficiently and we were on our way at 1628 having stopped at 1626. The river Crane was crossed and the bus then took the right fork unlike the No 117 but rejoined this route again, once the bus had turned left at Faggs Road. Both the No 117 and No 235 then follow the route into Feltham which was reached at 1641 after quite a hold up caused by the roadworks which seem to be never ending here. Beyond the High Street the bus turned left down Sunbury Road and once it had passed Hamilton Road the bus left Greater London and entered the Spelthorne district of Surrey. Sunbury Cross was reached at 1655 and the Three Fishes final destination in Sunbury Village was reached at 1700.

The layover point for the No 235 after depositing me at the final stop

The Three Fishes bus stop where the No 235
isn't shown but it is announced as the final stop on the bus

From the same bus stop I was able to catch the No 216 at 1709 to Kingston. At Kingston I caught the 1748 to Wimbledon and then the tram to Beddington Lane. After walking for a while towards home finally I boarded a No 455 at Therapia Lane to arrive home at 1845. The journey thus took half the length of time the outward trip took.

Day 151 The next bus was the No 234 in North London and indeed the next few alternate West/East followed by West/East.

 I caught the 1130 Victoria train to Balham and then the Northern Line to Stockwell, Victoria Line to Warren Street and then back on the Northern Line to Highgate station. Arrival here was at 1235. This route would have been recommended by the TFL journey planner as the quickest option. On emerging from Highgate Station I walked north to Highgate Woods and indeed found that the bus stop I was aiming for was actually beyond Highgate Woods, although nevertheless being called that.

Metroline's DE1332 awaiting departure with driver
over at petrol station getting lunch

I arrived, as is so often the case, when a No 234 was leaving. It is a twelve minute interval service so I then had twelve minutes to wait before Metroline's Enduro Dart DE1332 was on its way around the 'triangular' roundabout to head back north towards East Finchley. My departure took place at 1259, now as the timetable indicated a 44 minute duration service, surprisingly identical to the No 233, the timetable presaged my arrival at Barnet the Spires at 1344. East Finchley Underground station was reached at 1302 and then we climbed for a while before turning right along Fortis Green. 

A No 102 bus passing at western end of Fortis Green

This road I had last used on the No 102 service and by this means we travelled to Muswell Hill. By this time there was continuous light drizzly rain and therefore it became increasingly difficult to take clear photographs. 

The Everyman Cinema at Muswell Hill

From Muswell Hill Broadway the bus turned left and started to descend towards the North Circular Road, but very soon the bus turned left into Pages Lane and then right into Creighton Avenue and right again into Coppets Road. This took us past Halliwick Park and Coppets Wood Primary School before returning back to the road, Colney Hatch Lane on which we left Muswell Hill, just before it crosses the North Circular Road. From here we continued on Colney Hatch Lane to cross Friern Barnet Road and continued along Friern Barnet Lane all the way to Whetstone. At times it was the only bus on the route but was later in consort with the No 383. This is a bus route operated for TFL by UNO and joined us at The Ridgeway. The road became briefly the Great North Road between here and Barnet. 

Signpost for Great North Road but misty rain making photography difficult

At 1341 we entered Chipping Barnet and headed up hill past High Barnet station and turned right at Barnet Church into Barnet High Street. The Spires are located on a turning off St Albans Road which is a left turn from Barnet High Street. I disembarked at 1345, so very close to the 44 minutes expected on the timetable.

Arrival at The Spires Barnet

The Spire bus stop at Barnet. The first two buses are frequent in comparison to some of the others listed. There are only four 389s a day for example and the 614 is a UNO bus service from Queensbury to Hatfield

I walked back the way I had come dipping into Greggs to get a crispy tuna baguette and headed for High Barnet station. However, a No 107 arrived heading for New Barnet station and I thought that would be a more interesting route home. I caught the 1415 towards Moorgate as far as Finsbury Park but unfortunately had a twenty minute wait here for the next Brighton bound Thameslink service and  I arrived home at 1555.

Day 150, The camera had been away for two months for repairs so I missed John's tenth anniversary last month but have today ridden the No 233 from Eltham to Swanley

 We travelled to Eltham by car as we had an item to drop off for the Edith Nesbit society-that done I left the car by the house and walked to the bus and railway station. Metrobus's No 180 was waiting between turns in the bus station when I arrived at 1324.

Eltham bus station

No 233 arriving from its lay over point

At 1328 I boarded the bus with two other travellers and we turned left and headed up Well Hall Road to the High Street which the bus took to its junction with Southend Crescent. Taking Southend Crescent the bus descended towards Foots Cray Road having picked up many more passengers at the stops in the High Street. I tried but failed to locate some indication of where Tanglin Manor was in the 1950s, whilst we drove along as it was my parents' first home after marriage in 1953. This road I traversed previously on the No 160 as far as New Eltham but shortly east of the station the bus diverted left down Longlands Road where there was a section of the route offering a 'Hail and Ride' type service. The bus gave names of various roads as we moved along Longlands Road but there were no stops as such. At the end of this road the bus turned up Station Road to Sidcup High Street where it turned left and followed to Foots Cray where we reached the previous location of the Barley Mow at 1400. This location is now known as Holly Tree Parade.

The district of Kent to the east of LB Bexley

An unfortunately blurry image of Kent
boundary as bus travelling rather quickly

From here the bus continued east passing the Bexley refuse and reclamation centre and on down the old A20 through Ruxley to Swanley past the Bull at Birchwood, originally a Tudor inn, which is now attached to a Premier Inn. By this point we were in Kent proper and shortly after we reached the White Oak Leisure Centre where I learnt to swim in about 1968. The bus at this point deviated away from the main road wandering around some residential roads before emerging at Bartholomew Way beside ASDA at 1414. From this point the bus does a little wriggle around two roundabouts and then heads over the railway line and out towards Junction 3 of the M25 passing on its way the old London Country bus garage now used by GoCoach Buses. We arrived at the final point at 1417. The journey had taken 49 minutes opposed to the booked 44 but there were a few places where roadworks hindered our progress.

Beechenlea Lane final stop

The driver has prepared his bus for the return to Eltham

The No 233 at layover point

White Oak Swanley on return

Since this point was out-with the Greater London area I could not return for free unless I returned the same way I had come on the No 233, as it is the only TFL route in Swanley. However, I didn't travel all the way back to the station at Eltham but got off in the High Street and walked to where I had parked the car from there.