Day 158 the first time since early August I have been able to do more than one route in a day. To Northeast London for the Nos 241 and 242.

The day began with catching the 1200 to West Croydon and then the late running 1210 to London Bridge at 1215. My destination was Stratford and having reached London Bridge at 1232 I was on a Jubilee line train at 1240 heading for the eastern end of the line. Unlike the No 238 this bus goes from the Stratford City bus station outside Westfield and at 1306 I was aboard Stagecoach East  London's 11027.

Bus Stop W at Stratford City Bus Station

Stagecoach 11027 arriving

The bus left the bus station heading left and then did three right turns to enable it to run alongside the main Stratford Bus station.

Stagecoach main bus station

From here the bus turned left into the Broadway and then right into Tramway Avenue the exact reverse of the No 238. 

Tramway Avenue Stratford

However, the bus went straight on along West Ham Lane continuing to Plaistow Station and then along Plaistow High Street until we turned right down Balaam Street. The road crosses the Northern Outflow Sewer or the Greenway and then we crossed Barking Road and continued into New Barn Street.

Plaistow station, most of it is closed

At the far end of this road we reached the A13 but had to burrow underneath it to continue heading southwards along Freemasons Road. Custom House station was at the bottom of the road with some rather annoying roadworks just before one reached the traffic lights at the bottom, making the passing of buses going both ways a little fraught. 

Elizabeth line train at Custom House station

Heading to Prince Regent we pass the Excel Centre

The bus here turned left and headed for Prince Regent where until recently the bus terminated. However, we went further crossing the docks past London City Airport before turning right at the roundabout and following the DLR concrete decking to Pontoon Dock DLR station. A little beyond here the bus turned left and headed through some newly built buildings to terminate at Royal Wharf at 1341, 35 minutes since departure from Stratford.

Arrival at Royal Wharf Silvertown

Typical builds around Royal Wharf

Looking east from West Silvertown DLR station

Looking towards river from West Silvertown station

The Tate and Lyle factory. We used to forecast
at London Weather Centre for their ship unloading

From here I needed to get to Homerton Hospital so had to go to Stratford once more. Here I walked through the same pedestrian tunnel I had taken earlier to get to Westfield but this time walked up to platform 1 for the London Overground train to take me two stops to Homerton. I caught the 1414 train to Richmond and alighted at 1420. I knew where I was going because I had seen both station and hospital when on the 236 last month and thus quickly reached the starting point of the No 242. A bus arrived very soon and I asked the driver if this was indeed the first stop and she confirmed it. I was concerned as there are stops HA and HB both served by the route. 

The route to the hospital from Homerton station

Stop HA at Homerton Hospital

HV234 at Homerton Hospital

Stagecoach 37572 ex Tower Transit 45108 on the No 488 route

The bus, Arriva's HV234, left at 1431 and did 3 sides of a square to reach stop HB before heading effectively north up Chatsworth Road past the hospital to the bus's left. At Dunluce Road the bus turned right and this required some very skillful driving to squeeze past the parked cars. The front window could have done with a good clean, however.

Dunluce Road parked cars both sides made transit very difficult

A quick right then left at the end took the bus into The Clapton Park Estate, unlike Dunluce Road which was evidently Victorian, this estate was 1960s and 1970s I would imagine. At the end of the run around this estate the bus reached the Millfields Estate,which is where Hackney park their refuse lorries. Heading West now along Millfields Road we reach the park and after 15 minutes are back on Chatsworth Road heading in the opposite direction. Not for long were we doing this though, before we branched right up Powerscroft Road with on one side 3 storey Victorian villas with basements downstairs presumably for all the servants. This road crossed the end of Dunluce Road becoming Median Road before we reached Lower Clapton Road. This road allowed us to run down to Hackney where we turned right along Graham Road which then led on to Dalston Junction station.

Approaching Dalston Junction station

The next route to be done going the other way in
Kingsland Road

After this the bus turned left down Kingsland Road past the Geffrye Museum and on to Shoreditch where Commercial Road was taken so we could access Aldgate. Aldgate was reached at 1527 and as I disembarked I told the driver how impressed I was with her squeezing past the parked cars in Dunluce Road. 

HV234 on its way to lay over in Aldgate bus station

To get home I caught a No 343 to London Bridge and just missed my train by 30 seconds so took a Thameslink to East Croydon at 1600 and then the No 410 from outside the Whitgift Centre so I was home around 1630.