Day 238 These two are nearby again the No 358 followed by the No 359.

 After the No 357 in NE London had been rather truncated I thought I might do the No 357 which I knew was close by, from Selsdon to Reigate. This bus was operated by Southdown PSV but all their services have been taken over by Metrobus Ltd. So I caught a No 412 from Purley to Selsdon library and waited for the No 357 at 1518 as indicated by the timetable. However, when I arrived there was No 357 indicated on the bus stops and no messages as there had been at Whipps Cross. When the No 409 came just before 1600 I asked the driver about the No 357 I was waiting for and he said it was discontinued in 2021.

So for the No 358 I caught a No 157 from the Waddon pub to Crystal Palace at 1356 and arrived at the top of Anerley Hill at 1428.

London General (Metrobus) 754 with its potential replacement
with cones around it. These buses are expected to take over in
three weeks.

 I walked across to the parade bus station and found there was one of the new Irizar electric buses parked, but it was an older Metrobus No 754 that quickly appeared to take me at 1437 round the corner and back down Anerley Hill. At 1445 I had reached Anerley station and by 1455 was turning left at the top of Elmers End Road.

Anerley Town Hall with No 432 heading for
Brixton

Looking East down Elmers End road with a
No 354 approaching

This road led us to Penge where we turned right and headed for Beckenham. 

Birkbeck Road near Kent House

At the war memorial roundabout the bus turned right to run past Beckenham Hospital and on towards Elmers End where we arrived at 1505.

Azelia Hall Croydon Road Beckenham

Had to Photograph this in Upper Elmers End Road

 

At the roundabout we took Upper Elmers End Road to Eden Park station and beyond this turned hard left under the railway line and on to the Chinese Garage. This road was served only by the No 358 until recently whilst now the Supaloop SL5 accompanies it. 

Chinese Garage taken over my shoulder

From the Chinese Garage we took Hayes Lane until we met Shortlands Road and then turning left, the No 358 was for first time, the only bus to service the road. It wasn't long however before the No 367 joined us from the left and then moved away to the right. At Shortlands railway station the bus turned right and made for Bromley at 1520. At the top of the hill instead of the bus turning right we were told the bus was being diverted.

North of Bromley High Street closed

Looking up Bromley High Street from
 Bromley south

Indeed the bus went left then right along Tweedy Road past Bromley North station without stopping and regaining its route at the top of Kentish Way. Thus we returned to Bromley High Street and stopped at Bromley South station at 1528. The bus then headed for the A21 passing The Crown on Bromley Common at 1538, an hour after leaving Crystal Palace. After passing the Princess Royal University Hospital the No 358 forges on alone taking Farnborough High Street just as the R4 joins the Farnborough Bypass. 

Entering Farnborough village

The triangle outside The George and Dragon
Farnborough

The building which has replaced The
George and Dragon

At 1547 we reached the location where the No 47 and No 51 buses used to terminate when I was young before the creation of the No 358 in the 1980s-this was The George and Dragon.

The bottom of Warren Road the start of a long walk
in the snow to reach Charmaine's house in the early
1980s

War memorial with a No 358 heading for
Crystal Palace

The bus continued on its own until it reached Shire Lane at the bottom of Farnborough Hill. The No R8 joined the bus from here to run past the Metrobus garage where I espied another two of the new electric 'Trambuses'. As we turned left we joined four other buses all of the R (Roundabout) type for the run to Orpington High Street. Instead of turning left at the war memorial and heading up to the station straight away, the bus went forward into the first part of the High Street. The bus turned right into Holmesdale Road and right again to Spur Road which enabled the bus to again reach the war memorial and this time we did climb Station Road up to Orpington Station where the bus terminated at 1403.

Arrival at Orpington station with an R4 behind

Bus stop showing the No R6 which is a bus that
will disappear for the second time shortly

I caught a No R4 to the alleyway on Tubbenden Lane to visit our daughter and an hour or so later I walked back to the station to catch a No 353 to Addington Interchange. I arrived at the Interchange at 1800 and checking on the bus stop it seemed I had 15 minutes to wait for the next No 359. 

Starting point for the No 359

Unusual pattern approx every 45 minutes

Bus arrives from Purley

The bus which arrived from Purley was number SEe167 of London General, one of the two dedicated to this service on delivery. The service runs every 45 minutes and as it takes less than 25 minutes two buses is adequate to fulfil it.

Ready to depart from layover

Reaching the Gravel Hill roundabout

The bus arrived exactly as expected and I was the only person to board at this point. The bus circulated around the bus station and headed west along Kent Gateway to the Gravel Hill roundabout. The bus continued past the roundabout and picked up someone opposite a small parade of shops and then continued up the A2022 along with the No 64. A little distance beyond the parade the bus went right into the Monks Hill estate along Farnborough Avenue. The bus then followed a loop along Heathfield Vale, Broadcombe and Tedder Road before returning back along Heathfield Vale to the A2022 via Farnborough Avenue at 1825.

Looking across Heathfield Farm

Baptist church in Selsdon High Street

The bus then headed up the A2022 to Selsdon and on to Sanderstead.

The other bus running the service at Selsdon library

Starting to descend Sanderstead Hill

 Beyond All Saints Sanderstead the bus went right at the roundabout initially down Sanderstead Hill but soon bared left on Purley Downs Road. At the end of Purley Downs Road the bus turned left along Brighton Road and terminated just past Purley Hospital opposite Purley URC at 1841. The journey actually took 26 minutes. 

Purley URC

Journey's End

To get home I caught a No 439 to Waddon station and walked and then took a No 410 one stop to arrive home at 1905.

Day 237 One not nearby after five that weren't difficult to get to, the No 357.

 This number used to be utilised by a longer version of the No 353 before the advent of the Croydon trams, when buses linked Orpington to Croydon. However, now it links Whipps Cross Hospital with Chingford Hatch or rather it should have! The day began with a trip to the Geffrye Museum (now the Museum of the Home) in Hoxton to see the newly renovated rooms. To get to Whipps Cross I expected to catch the train on to Dalston Junction and then take the train from the other Dalston station -Kingsland to Stratford. From there is would have been two stops to Leytonstone and a short bus hop to the hospital. However, after we had descended to the platform it was announced there had been a power failure and there was no idea when trains were likely to be moving again. So to plan B we walked back to Dalston Junction and boarded a No 56 which was supposed to go to Whipps Cross but this time was only going to Leyton Baker's arms. As we crossed the Overground line our train passed underneath so we would have been better off if we had waited. But we had made our decision so stuck with it and alighted at Leyton Baker's Arms. Looking at the TFL Go app there were five bus stops within the hospital complex where a No 357 would pick us up. So to get to the hospital from Baker's Arms we boarded a No 257 and got out at James Road so as to enter the hospital from the east finding bus stop N first. 

After many travel modes and a walk finally
we have arrived at Whipps Cross

Bus stop N Sundays only

Bus stop K Sundays only

Leaving the hospital grounds in search of a bus

This bus stop stated it was used on Sunday only so we moved on to the next two but these were also Sunday only and in fact so were the final two. From the main entrance bus stops we walked to the Whipps Cross bus stand which was all closed off because of a burst water main. Finally I found a notice about the closure of the bus stand and that the No 357 was not getting any nearer than Walthamstow and by the same token the No 56 was only reaching Baker's Arms. 

Finally I know why I can't find the No 357

The bus stop where we caught a No
W19 to Walthamstow Central

As a result we caught the next bus heading towards Walthamstow bus station but at this point Charmaine decided to go home because of the aggravation the journey had caused thus far. At the bus station I asked a member of staff where the No 357 was starting from and he explained it was from the market. 

This is finally where the No 357
should be starting from

A bus arrives without a destination with a No 357
on the other side of the road

Destination now changed I finally leapt aboard

So finally at 1611 I was aboard London General's Ee32 heading north towards Chingford. The bus journey according to the timetable should take twenty minutes.

Heading north now with a Superloop bus

The Dog and Duck Chingford Road

The route took us to the Bell at Forest Road and then straight over in the direction of the North Circular and after that the remains of the greyhound stadium which is filled with tasteful flats. Just beyond this the bus driver was asked to wait a short while, but we were soon on our way again in the company of the No 97 and No 158 towards Chingford Mount. 

South Chingford Methodist church

Chingford Mount bus terminal

At Chingford Mount this bus route turned right along New Road and crossed over the roundabout at the end with New Road morphing into Hatch Lane after crossing under the Chingford rail line. We terminated outside the parade of shops at 1634-so 23 minutes after departure.

Journey's End but into sun Chingford Hatch

From here I caught a No 212 to Chingford station and caught there the 1710 to Walthamstow Central. I then transferred to the Victoria line two stops to Tottenham Hale where I changed to the 1741 Greater Anglia service to Stratford. The Jubilee line, after quite a wait conveyed me to Canada Water where I travelled to West Croydon and finally I was home at 1925. 

Day 236 Another nearby bus the No 356 from Shirley to Upper Sydenham

It surprisingly took an hour from leaving home to getting started on this bus, I have in the past walked from home to Shirley in 45 minutes. This was down to there being roadworks in Waddon Road where my No 407 repeatedly couldn't get through because too many vehicles were coming the other way and stopping at the lights behind us. I thought to change onto a tram at Centrale but no trams were running across Croydon because of track works. No doubt this was adding to traffic density. I alighted at the Whitgift Centre and walked to East Croydon where I caught a No 198 to Monks Orchard Road. Here I had at least a ten minute wait until the next bus arrived-the bus running every twenty minutes.

Twenty minute service taking just under an hour

Layover point empty

Stagecoach 36534 arriving to rest

At 1228 I was finally aboard Stagecoach No 36534 on the No 356 and we passed the Bethlem Hospital as we headed to the roundabout at Links Way shared with the recently introduced SL5.

Passing Bethlem Hospital

Elmers End Green where the No 289 used to
layover before the local Tesco was built

At the roundabout we parted company with the SL5 but were joined by the soon to be ridden No 358 and the last TFL bus I had to pay to travel, the No 194. Together the three buses then went through Eden Park and on to Elmers End Green, arriving at 1236. For the first time the bus was then on its own as it crossed the bridge at Elmers End station and went west towards Beckenham Crematorium and Birkbeck station. On the way we were joined by the No 354 route recently taken, but soon separated from this by turning left down Marlow Road. These houses were initially all late Victorian but the further we travelled away from Birkbeck station they slowly became more recent-some might have been war replacements. At the end of the road we turned right up Wheathill Road and these houses were more of a mix of ages. At the end of this road we rejoined other bus routes by turning right into Croydon Road.

One of many buses on Croydon Road

The Goldsmiths Arms in Penge

From here onwards we ran almost due north to Penge crossing the Elmers End Road we had been using at Beckenham Crem. at 1245 and passing the huge Crystal Palace Travelodge. We crossed Penge High Street at 1251 passing the newish library-well it wasn't there in the '80s and turned right on our own along Thesiger Road. At the end of this road we joined Kent House Road and continued along the length of this passing into the London Borough of Lewisham after Albemarle Court.

Kent House Road the No 356 on its own

Bell Green Retail park

At the end of this road we turned right to run past Sydenham Library to Southend Lane and then into the Bell Green retail development, where I had recently boarded the No 352 to Bromley North. Leaving here at 1304 the bus went straight over into Perry Rise as the only bus to do so. As we reached Perry Vale the No 75 joined us briefly in the direction of Forest Hill station but we were soon alone again. We joined the South Circular at 1315 and followed that road west until the Horniman Museum.

On the South Circular underneath Forest Hill station

 Almost opposite the museum the bus headed left up Sydenham Rise, which at its far end became a 1 in 8 slope. The No 363 briefly joined us here from the right before we dived left down Kirkdale once again alone. This road took us to Sydenham the Woodman where a number of other routes joined from the left. However, soon we separated from those buses taking the right turn at Wells Park Road. Now we just had the No 202 with us for entire length of the road passing the Upper Sydenham station, closed 70 years ago, now just house number 151. The road climbed steeply from here to the Sydenham Hill estate and at the 'T' junction at the top the bus turned right and went past three more stops before terminating at Sydenham Hill/Kirkdale at 1327, just two minutes longer than the 57 minutes journey time specified at Monks Orchard Road.

Journey's End

From here I walked to Crystal Palace Parade and caught a No 157 bus home arriving almost four hours after leaving home.