Day 243 Two buses one miles away and the other nearby, the No 366 and No 367.

 After dropping some items at the Croydon dump I caught a bus to East Croydon and boarded the late running 1045 to Peterborough as far as Farringdon. Here I switched to an eastbound Elizabeth line to Stratford arriving at 1155. After only a four minute wait I was on my last train-the Central line to Redbridge. Emerging from the station I found there was a No 366 right outside but this is not where the route starts from, so I walked along Roding Lane South with the Roding valley park on my right as far as Falmouth Gardens.

A No 336 waiting at Falmouth Gardens

As I approached a bus that was waiting at the starting point took off for Ilford at 1210. The service was every 8-10 minutes so it was 1226 when I boarded London General's Byd electric single decker See217 and headed straight back the way I had walked to Redbridge station.

Falmouth Gardens bus stop

Regularity of service which should take just under
an hour

Awaiting departure

Roding valley allotments

Beyond the station the bus took the A12 briefly before heading off right down The Drive with the No 145 for company. This road passed Cranbrook Primary school and on to Cranbrook Road which took us into the town centre of Ilford. The station, having been passed at 1240, the bus went left and left again to pass the Central library and back past where I quite recently was awaiting the No 364. Out to the east of Ilford the bus briefly took the A118 but soon swung south down Sunnyside Road as the only bus covering the road turning left at Eton Road. The bus joined with another on South Park Road before heading back east along Loxford Lane past Loxford Park, again alone.

Sunnyside Road

Passing Loxford Park

At the 'T' junction at the end the bus headed left and ran into Barking town centre. At 1304 we were at Barking station and at Barking Green the bus stopped to change drivers 1306 to 1308. After this we travelled into an industrial are following a No 325 down roads with some bus gates before reaching the Becton triangle retail park. The bus retraced it steps back to where it crossed the North Circular and then took this south as far as Armada Way where it went left into Gallions Reach shopping centre at 1322. The bus took Armada Way around the DLR depot and then to Gallions station. We took the A117 at the Gallions roundabout then left down Ferndale Street and then Woolwich Manor Way after running past Cyprus station to pull into Beckton bus station at 1338.

Gallions shopping centre

Arrival at Beckton bus station

At Beckton DLR station I took a train headed for Canning Town but I got off briefly at Royal Albert to look at what was residing at London City Airport. 

Embraer Emb-190 of Cityflyer at London City

I then re-boarded a Canning Town destined train and  changed for one to Poplar. At Poplar I boarded a Canary Wharf train and here a Lewisham train arrived as we pulled up. Thus I arrived at Lewisham about 1500 and found there was a Sevenoaks train at 1516 which led to me getting the branch line train at Grove Park at 1532 to Bromley North.

Bus turning area at Bromley North

Networker at Bromley North

Waiting for the fourth item on the list

Bus number 8 on the list

A No 367 going down to the end to turn around

Abellio 8202 arriving

At 1556 I boarded Abellio 8202 at Bromley North setting off briskly down Kentish Way thence by Elmfield Road to Bromley High Street. Beyond this the bus took Westmoreland Road and then went right at Cumberland Road.

Heading for Bromley High Street

The first stop along Cumberland Road

Descending Kingsdown Road with the
 Central Library on the hill in the background

This road becomes St Mary's Avenue and the bus, beyond the church, headed north downhill along Kingswood Road. Going left at Valley Road the bus went left again at Shortlands railway station joining the No 358 briefly before heading right along Beckenham Grove. The bus then wriggles alone through Shortlands before emerging from Oakwood Avenue into Bromley Road and running into Beckenham beside St George's church. 

St George's church Beckenham

Pillar box cover of a spider for halloween

At 1619 the bus then went left down hill so as to take Beckenham High Street and then joined the No 352 to head along Village Way. The bus goes it alone again at the traffic lights to reach Elmers End via Eden Park Avenue. After passing Tesco's and crossing the Hayes railway line we entered the London Borough of Croydon.  The bus then took a long road called The Glade which lead to Orchard Avenue and eventually Shirley high street. 

Sweeping past Shirley library

Shirley Coop

From here the bus did a circuit of the Shirley Oaks estate between 1641 and 1645 before running down to Ashburton park and then left along Addiscombe High street. Finally going left up Cherry Orchard Road the bus reached East Croydon and subsequently taking Wellesley Road it terminated outside Delta Point at 1705.

Croydon transmitter on hill from Shirley Oaks

Final stop outside the Old BT building Delta Point

I walked around to West Croydon bus station and caught a bus home.

Day 242 Another bus in NE London the No 365 on 25th September from South Street junction with A1306 to Havering Park, North of Romford.

 The day started quite late catching the 1205 to London Bridge from which I travelled by No 43 to Bank and then walked to Fenchurch Street. The 1253 was waiting in the platform and at 1319 I got off at Rainham. The journey planner suggested I caught a No 287 but after twenty minutes no such bus had been seen travelling either way so I caught a No 103 to Cherry Tree Lane. On arrival I turned left into Cherry Tree Lane and was able to catch a No 365 to its start point. However, what I had not appreciated was that had I not done it this way, there were a number of roads I wouldn't have covered, as it is a one way route around the Orchard Estate.

Awaiting departure time on the 'old' A13

So at 1401 having alighted to get the obligatory picture I was back on board Stagecoach's double decker 19786. We travelled east initially along the A1306 but soon swung left into Cherrytree Lane passing the way in to the Orchard Estate but crossing over the A125 which the No 103 had used into SouthEnd. Once again I was on the remains of RAF Hornchurch and the bus turned left along Mungo Park Road.

A rather gloomy day driving through the suburbs,
of Hornchurch

Ex RAF Hornchurch

 On reaching Wood Lane the bus turned right and abruptly left to take us to Rosewood Avenue which enabled the bus to reach Elm Park station. At no point in the journey so far had the bus been the only bus operated  on the road and we joined the No 252 at this point before driving in concert with the No 165 down Elm Park Avenue then left into Abbs Cross Lane and finally left onto Hornchurch Road passing Hyland Way at 1425.

Elm Park 

 After the stop at Roneo Corner at 1431 we headed into Romford Town Centre by way of the Queen's Hospital. We passed the station and heading to Romford Market and then along North Street to cross the A12. 

Roneo Corner Romford

Once travelling along the B175 there was a fork right for Havering Atte Bower we could have taken, but instead we followed the well used route to Collier Row. Finally once we had turned right at the Collier Row roundabout at 1458 the bus was on a road I hadn't previously used as we took Clockhouse Lane to the end. We were climbing for much of the time and at the end of this lane we turned left and terminated in Frank Road having circled the roundabout on the western end of the road.

Queuing to cross the Eastern Avenue A12

Sign advertising Havering Country Park in Collier
Row

Descending to the final stop, which is on right after
having circled the mini-roundabout

Journey's End

I caught a No 294 then back to Romford station where I decided to take the London Overground train to Upminster. From Upminster it was District line to Whitechapel and London Overground from there to Croydon and home.