Day 166 Having delivered the wife to a London theatre the opportunity was taken to go to Euston and catch the No 253.

 Or so I thought! Once at the bus station it was evident that no buses were using it as works for HS2 had closed the bus station at least for the weekend. There was a very helpful guy on hand to explain where I needed to go and so I 'hoofed' it to Mornington Crescent Underground station which was where the No 253 was currently terminating and departing from.

The map explaining all the changes

The bus stop E where I should have boarded

The first stop north which the No 168 serves but not
the 253

The second stop I missed

The third stop not being served

There were three stops en route I missed and it took me the best part of fifteen minutes to walk up Eversholt Street and beyond Mornington Crescent station where it was indicated the route was starting from Camden High Street.

A No 253 waiting to terminate beside Mornington Crescent Underground station

The route in purple should take 51 minutes

The No 253 approaching along Camden High Street

Boris Bus LT540 of Arriva

There was quite a wait but eventually Arriva's LT540 arrived picking me up at 1507. There were some road works in the High Street and to compound that one of Metroline's fairly new double deckers on the No 134 had broken down, so it was 9 minutes before we reached Camden Road. The route we followed from here I hadn't used since doing the No 29 in the Autumn of 2017 but was almost a straight line along Camden Road to Holloway at the The Nags Head where Parkhurst Road becomes the Seven Sisters Road.

A strange building for a methodist church in Finsbury Park

This road then took us through Finsbury Park at 1532 to Manor House. From here I was on new ground as the bus took Seven Sisters Road a bit further, before swinging right into Amherst Park parallel at least at first with the New River. 

The New River curving away from Amhurst Park

From Holloway onwards I will be repeating this journey on the No 254, although it has a different starting point. The bus then ran into Stamford Hill at 1542 and over into Clapton Common which eventually leads to Clapton Pond. From the Pond, which was reached at 1556 we repeated a number of other routes past Hackney Baths. We  travelled down Cricketfield Road, Pembury Road and then left just before Hackney Downs station to terminate prior to reaching Hackney Central Station at 1606. The journey took 59 minutes instead of the booked 51, all of which was lost in Camden High Street.

LT540 departing to lay over at Hackney Central

Stop says towards Cambridge Heath
but No 253 goes no further.
Normally bus stops say or other
 buses terminating here if a bus terminates
at that particular stop.

To return home I climbed up to Hackney Central station and then used the walkway to reach Hackney Downs station. I just missed a train to Liverpool Street but only had 15 minutes to wait for the next one from Chingford at 1628. At Liverpool Street I just about managed to fight off the desire for a pastry as they smelt so inviting, but at £6 were rather steep and caught the Circle line to Farringdon and then the Thameslink to East Croydon.

Day 165 another foray to the far east for the No 252 but at least it was a much brighter day than on Wednesday

 I just realised I would miss the London Bridge train so caught a No 410 bus to West Croydon in order to take the London Overground at 1046 to Canada Water. From there I changed onto the Jubilee line at 1117 and took the train  to West Ham to change again to the District line eastbound at 1129. The first train was for Barking and I took this and then alighted at the terminus and boarded the following train to take me to Hornchurch where I arrived at 1159. The No 252 actually stops at the Underground station but I thought I'd walk into town to the starting point as I had already been sitting down for an hour and a half. 

My bus laying over on the SW side
 of the Hornchurch town centre triangle

It took about 10 minutes to walk and I found that the bus doesn't start from where it was laying over but on the northern side of the triangle of roads in the town centre.

This is the fifth time I have called at this bus stop 
with the No 248 only the previous week

Stagecoach 10168 approaching

The bus departed at 1216 and comprised Stagecoach No 10168. It immediately returned me back to the Underground station and took me past it and onto the airfield estate where it soon became the only bus route. Much of the open airfield is Hornchurch Country Park but the domestic area is currently an almost finished estate of houses. Once we had wound around the area we came to some traffic lights where the bus turned right and a little way up the road passed RJ Mitchell Primary School on the right, the name recalling the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire.

A much older double decker on the same route number on Airfield Way with road on left leading to other roads all named after world war two airfields

One of many RAF relevant place names we
passed this one named after Sir Hugh

Just after the school the bus turned left signposted Elm Park station where we arrived at 1229. Beyond the station the bus turned left along Elm Park Avenue and only after a brief spell where there had been other bus routes the No 252 forges its own path again. The bus turned right at the lights at the end into Harrow Lodge Park and this road continued until we reached Roneo Corner where I had been last week on the No 248 to Cranham. The bus from here ran into Romford as the No 248 had exited Romford and we headed for the station where the bus driver was exchanged betwixt 1243 and 1245. 

I had followed a route from Collier Row to Romford station on the No 247 but this bus doesn't use the same route and after going around the ring road as far as the Brewery returns to take Mawney Road once again as the sole user of a road. This road crossed the A12 and the bus continued across this thoroughfare heading straight on as the road is renamed White Hart Lane. 

The junction of White Hart Lane and Collier Row Road

At the end of this road the bus turned right into Collier Row Road and the bus terminated at the shops just before the main roundabout in the settlement at 1306. The bus timetable said the bus ought to take 45 minutes and it took 50 so was fairly close to schedule.

The Collier Row shopping centre where the bus goes
ahead to turn around the roundabout and heads back on the opposite side of the road

I returned on a No 247, as this was a quicker route back to Romford and then caught an Elizabeth line train to Whitechapel and London Overground from here back to West Croydon. I spent some time at Stratford admiring the view en route so didn't get home until 4 pm.

Day 164 to North London for the No 251 on a cold and murky day.

At 1030 I left for London Victoria from Waddon and by 1144 had reached Arnos Grove tube station having changed from the Victoria to the Piccadilly line at Finsbury Park. Arnos Grove is one of Charles Holden's very distinctive 1930's buildings for the Piccadilly line extensions and is the start point for a journey by bus to Edgware station on the Northern line.

Arnos Grove Piccadilly line station

The final stop for the No 251 coming from Edgware

There are bus stops outside the station but the No 251 doesn't service these, although it does layover there. The first stop is actually on the opposite side of the road. 

Bus laying over for no more than 5 minutes

DE21064 approaching the start point

All the buses are dirty after nine consecutive nights of sub zero temperatures which have meant that the winter maintenance teams in Enfield and Barnet have been out spreading rock salt and clay on the roads. Thus it was impossible to take photographs of the journey once inside the bus. The extensive low cloud caused by slightly less cold air invading from the northwest meant it was very gloomy and once we were on the higher parts of the journey around Totteridge and Mill Hill it would have made for very foggy shots at best.

The bus headed at first mostly in  a northwesterly direction from the station straight across the New Southgate roundabout, up Oakleigh Road South and then as it crossed the railway lines out of King's Cross in a little kink, this road became Oakleigh Road North. This brought us to Whetstone where we crossed almost directly over the A1000 at 1200 to pass Totteridge and Whetstone tube station as we descended to the Dollis Valley and the Dollis Brook. The opposite side of the valley was a higher climb and we entered the cloud base as we reached Totteridge Village and Common where there were lakes which were frozen. After passing Hendon Wood Lane, the bus took the left turn down Highwood Hill. On a sharp bend we should have stopped at a stop called Holcombe Hill but there were road works leading to Single Alternate Line Working and thus we had to go on to the next stop which rather upset one of the passengers as it was a long haul back up the hill to where she would have preferred to alight. Eventually having descended out of the cloud as we drove along Lawrence Road we reached the A1 at the roundabout by Mill Hill Broadway. We left the bus station here at 1222 and took the left initially before following the route Nos 114 and 204 to Burnt Oak tube station. We turned left onto the Edgware road and then ran up that to the junction with Edgware High Street and terminated at 1237 at the Underground station. The journey according to the timetable at Arnos Grove said it should take 46 minutes and it took exactly 46 minutes. I was quite surprised given how rural the route was between Totteridge and Mill Hill that the bus was as busy as it was but a good many people got off at Mill Hill.

 Once more disembarking at Edgware station

For the next bus I would have needed to get to Hornchurch so I decided it might be easier to go home and leave that for another day. I caught a Northern line to Euston then walked to St Pancras and took a Three Bridges train to Norwood Junction where I changed for home arriving at 1500.

Day 163 a pair of buses which are a near perfect combination.

I caught the 1035 train to Norwood Junction and then joined a London Overground train for just one stop to Anerley where I arrived  at 1058.

The No 432, the only other bus that stops here
taken from the station footbridge.

Anerley station bus stop

Arriva's HV293 of Norwood garage arriving.

The No 249 runs every 10-13 minutes and is expected to take 51 minutes to reach Clapham Common Old Town. Arriva's HV293 arrived at 1101 and took us right in the direction of Upper Norwood where we passed the Paxton Centre which had previously been the Paxton Arms Hotel. At the top of Anerley Hill the bus has to follow the one way system taking us south towards Croydon and past the original 405 lines TV transmitter at Croydon. 

The Paxton Centre

Crystal Palace parade bus terminus

The Croydon transmitter mast

Past the old VHF transmitter which now has mobile phone signalling equipment upon it, the bus swung right at the traffic lights into Beulah Hill. As we progressed along this road one of the stops was called Biggin Hill. This is named after a local road and not the settlement I passed last week on the No 246.

The Biggin Hill bus stop where I had previously stopped on the No 196 soon after lockdown

At Crown Point it was announced that the bus would be changing drivers, this being the nearest point to Norwood garage where the bus is based. This exchange took only two minutes and we were on our way by 1119 turning left towards Streatham and out of the London Borough of Croydon and into the Borough of Lambeth. As we descended towards the A23 Streatham High Road there was a good view looking West towards Wimbledon Common and beyond to Richmond and Teddington. 

Looking down the hill with Streatham Common North to our left and Wimbledon Common in the distance

We turned right as if heading for Central London when we met the A23 but after passing Streatham station the bus turned sharp left at St Leonard's Church and subsequently right at Ambleside Avenue in the direction of Tooting.

Tooting Common at junction of A214 and B road to Balham

This road is the A214 as it runs past Tooting Lido and the athletics ground before reaching Tooting Bec station which was achieved at 1137. The bus turned right here onto the A24 and this road took us through Balham and onto Clapham Common where we took a left called Rookery Road, having passed Clapham South station at 1146.

Clapham South additional entrance for the deep platforms.

The bus reached the Old Town at Clapham Common at 1151, just fifty minutes after departure. From here I walked passed the appropriate Omnibus Arts Centre along The Pavement which is name of  the road that the bus would have started its return to Anerley station, whilst I was walking to Clapham Common Underground station. 

The Omnibus Arts Centre at Clapham Common

Journey's end with already the destination
 having been changed

Thus I was on the Northern Line platform at 1158 and took just the two stops to Stockwell before changing onto the Victoria Line the one stop to Brixton. I arrived at Brixton Underground station at 1209 and was waiting for the next No 250 by 1214.

The Brixton police station stop where
 I had previously
boarded the No 109

The countdown display stating I had five minutes
 to wait

The route maps indicating the bus would
terminate at Croydon Fairfield Halls

I only had to wait 5 minutes before the next No 250 bus arrived at the Police station. Arriva T146 was my mount for the second bus of the day. The bus said West Croydon on the front of it whereas the bus stop showed the bus continuing to Fairfield Halls Croydon.

Arriva's T146 arriving.

As the bus climbed Brixton Hill the bus stops indicated that this was the 7th bus route I had used either to climb or descend this road. At 1229 I had reached the top of the hill and was soon crossing the South Circular to again be driving along the Streatham High Road. Ten minutes later we had got back to St Lawrence church where a No 249 was seen doing the abrupt turn from the High Road into Mitcham Road. The A23 was followed as we passed the Streatham ice rink run by the same company as so many leisure centres and library services.

Streatham ice rink

A No 249 having dropped down the hill to the A23
passing by

Once in Green Lane the No 250 is the only bus
to service this road

At the point just before Hermitage Road the No 250 leaves the A23 and takes Green Lane in the direction of Thornton Heath. The houses that line this road are for a long time from the inter war years. It was only as we neared Thornton Heath that earlier houses were encountered. At the Thornton Heath clock tower we were asked to wait to even out the service at 1255 and we dwelt at the bus stop here for 4 minutes before turning right and heading past the station and library to Thornton Heath pond. The bus turned left at the pond to regain the old road to Brighton through Croydon, passing Mayday hospital and the original site of Croydon General hospital which is now a school. The bus emptied at the stop before West Croydon railway station and then continued into Poplar Walk and did a complete 360 degree turn to drop me off at West Croydon bus station at 1319.

A gritter heading for Sumner Road from St James Road

T146 leaving the bus terminal point to layover at
West Croydon bus station

I then caught the next No 410 bus home which was reached by quarter to two.

 

Day 162 to far East London for the No 247 and No 248.

 There were no trains because of engineering works to Victoria from Selhurst and neither were there any trains to London Bridge. Therefore my initial transit at 1030 was just as far as West Croydon where I changed to the London Overground to Canada Water. From here it was then a Jubilee line that I took to Stratford arriving at 1130. I then transferred to the Central line so as to reach Barkingside  Underground station on the Hainault loop of the Central line. I arrived at 1154 and it was very wet as I searched for the stop from which I could catch the No 247 to Romford station, there being no signs at the station to tell me where to catch any buses.

A very wet first half of the day for this trip

Barkingside Station stop is a good 5 minute walk from the station 

Eventually I found the stop, on Tanners Lane near the junction with Craven Gardens, where Stagecoach 19829 of North Street Garage Romford was already waiting. At 1206 I was aboard and we set off to the magistrates' court where we picked up the first collection of passengers. The bus turned right and headed for Fullwell Cross whereupon we took the left turn called Fencepiece Road. These are all roads I have used before and we turned right along the New North Road to Hainault station which I traversed when upon the No 150. Throughout this journey it was extremely difficult to take photographs as the inside of the windows were steaming up and there was rain streaming down the outside of the windows. At the junction with Elmbridge Road the bus went straight over joining the route No 362, the route No 150 having turned left at this point. At the traffic lights at the end of the road the bus turned right and entered much more rural surroundings with Hainault Forest on both sides of the Romford Road. At the roundabout at Mark Gate we turned left along Collier Row Road with a No 62 just across the roundabout at the terminus of its route from Barking. We also in quick succession, went from the Borough of Redbridge into the Borough of Barking and Dagenham and then into Havering. From here we ran back into suburbia at Collier Row and turned right at a roundabout I had previously seen on the No 175. Thus it was only a very short part of the route from Mark Gate roundabout to Collier Row Glass Junction where this bus was the only one to cover that road. From Collier Row we headed south to the A12 arriving at 1239. 

Waiting to cross the A12, just north of Romford, weather gradually abating

Once across the A12 we passed the North Street Romford bus garage of Stagecoach and ran around the eastern side of town and down to the railway station where the bus terminated outside LIDL at 1250. The route was supposed to take 38 minutes but this time we took 44 minutes. 

Terminal bus stop, around corner from Romford
station

Bus layover point now visible as Stagecoach 19829 moves away

By this time the cold front had passed through and the rain had ceased so I was hopeful my next bus from Romford Market the No 248 might present better opportunity for photographs. I walked back through the town and emerged on the other side of the eastern bypass and crossed by underpass the roundabout by the town hall to arrive at the Romford Market bus stop. There is a bus layover point to the north of here but the 'Borismaster' which was to be my mount was actually parked at the stand near LIDL when I got off the No 247. This bus had come up the eastern bypass around the roundabout at North Street and back to pick me up at 1313. This was LT90 of Arriva and it only picked up myself at this point but picked up many more as it drove through the town centre back to the railway station.

Route No 248 to Cranham due soon on my arrival at bus stop

My earlier bus returning whence it had come

Arriva's LT90 arriving, roads wet but it is now dry

Emerging from town onto Rom Valley Way we soon were turning left to Roneo Corner and onto the Hornchurch Road. On the way we crossed by a park and in the dip we passed across the Ravensbourne. Despite working at Flood Forecasting Centre I could only recall the Ravensbourne being in South London, indeed I passed by the source of that river at Keston on my previous day out to do the No 246. We reached Hornchurch Town Centre at 1337 and then pressed straight on along Upminster Road towards Upminster Bridge. 

Heading up the Hornchurch Road at Abbs Cross Lane

Upminster Bridge District line station

Queuing to get to Upminster

 Station Road

Once past this station we crossed the Ingrebourne river and climbed up St Mary's Lane to reach Upminster. 

There were roadworks in Station Road which were somewhat troublesome but once past the station we continued for a while eventually turning right into Avalon Road. Towards the end of this road we passed the Golden Crane Pub and then turned left into Front Lane. The bus then took us into the Upminster Park estate and turned right into Roseberry Gardens, a name I am very familiar with as every day walking to school I used a road named this in Orpington. This road took us along two sides of a square so with Front Lane to begin with and Brunswick Avenue to end we were back at the same point this time with the Golden Crane Pub ahead of us.

Approaching the Golden Crane Pub in Avalon Road

Turning into car park by Moor Lane

Underground service vehicles

Disembarkation in the car park 

The bus next turned left and followed along Front Lane until it reached the junction of Moor Lane where it terminated at 1401, although didn't announce that it had. The bus just turned right into a car park and I had to ask the driver to open the doors to let me out. This car park is next to the Upminster Underground depot.

Rather than sample the delights of the Upminster Park Estate again I thought I'd try an alternative route to Upminster and crossing the bridge I found another bus stop and very soon a No 346 arrived at 1406 and this deposited me at Upminster station at 1416. The next train to Fenchurch Street was at 1422 as there was no Underground service owing to engineering works. Rather than change at West Ham and use the Jubilee line home, I stayed on the train until Limehouse and caught the DLR a brief one stop to Shadwell. Here I was able to change to a London Overground train to West Croydon and after a four minute wait a train home, where I arrived at 1634.