Day 123 out and back from the London Borough of Croydon on the No 196 and 197

 Once again I caught the 1100 train to Victoria but only as far as the next stop West Croydon. There I changed for the following London Bridge train one further stop to Norwood Junction where I arrived 1115. I have seen the No 196 bus on many times when travelling on trains to London Bridge but I have never had occasion to use this bus. I reached the bus stop at 1118 and two Abellio double decker buses were waiting to head to Elephant and Castle. 

Approaching the Abellio 2612 which
operated my No 196 at Norwood Junction

At 1123 I boarded Abellio 2612 and this left at 1125 briefly stopping in Norwood High Street before swinging left at the traffic lights and heading up South Norwood Hill. For a short duration along this road the 196 is the only bus as the No 410 turns away to the right. 

Climbing South Norwood Hill
with Croydon transmitter ahead

However, at the next traffic lights the No 468 joins and then both buses run along the same roads all the way through West Norwood and passed Tulse Hill at 1145 until we reached Herne Hill. I was surprised along this road, that one stop was called Biggin  Hill, and just after this despite being high on the hill there was a pond next to the Conquering Hero pub.

Norwood bus garage passed in
West Norwood

At Herne Hill the bus turned to the left along Brockwell Park but was requested to wait here to regulate the service from 1151 to 1153. From here the bus took Brixton Water Lane and then onto Effra Road before turning into Brixton Hill to stop outside Brixton Underground station at 1200. At Brixton Police Station the bus headed left to run past the Brixton Academy and on towards Stockwell.

London School Board Lambeth Division in Stockwell Road

The driver was again asked to wait to regulate the service here outside a building that used to be the London School Board Lambeth offices, for two minutes from 1204-1206. The bus then reached Stockwell and crossed straight over into Binfield Road at the A3, a route only buses and cycles can take. Beyond this we wriggled around Stockwell bus garage and then took Landowe Way until it turned right into Wandsworth Road. This took the bus past the yet to open Nine Elms Underground station and moved into Vauxhall bus station at 1218.

Now closed Post Office in Wandsworth Road

Vauxhall bus station

Under the railway we took Kennington Lane until it crossed Kennington Road and beyond this for the first time in a very long time the bus was the only route until we reached Newington Butts. It was very slow traffic as we approached Newington Butts and it was 1235 before I was able to disembark at Newington Causeway just beyond Elephant and Castle.

Final bus stop on route No 196 

Abellio 2612 clearing to layover before 

return to Norwood Junction

The remains of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre

The destruction of the shopping centre meant I had to go around to the other side of the railway station to access a train to Peckham Rye in order to reach the start of the No 197.

View from Platform 2 of remains of shopping centre

I reached the platform at 1241 and caught the 1250 to Sevenoaks which arrived at Peckham Rye station at 1300. The main high street was being resurfaced which precluded crossing the road outside the station and I noticed that the No 197 was supposed to stop here. I reached the bus station at 1307 and by 1309 the No 197 EH339 was approaching.

Buses laying over at Peckham bus station

EH339 at Peckham bus station

The diversion along Consort Road

London Bridge service crossing over

So because of the resurfacing of Peckham High Street the bus had to follow along Clayton Road until Consort Road was reached. This took us under the railway bridges east of Peckham Rye station and then took the right turn of Heaton Road to join the southern part of the High Street at Nigel Road bus stop.

All buses being diverted away from Peckham High Street

I had actually used this route very much earlier when I did the No 12 which finished just north of Peckham High Street. The bus heads south to East Dulwich Road and then  right at the Clock House pub and up Barry Road with the church shrouded in scaffolding at the top of the hill. This is just around the corner from the Dulwich Library stop which was reached at 1321. This route then joined the South Circular Road at 1324 and headed past the Horniman's Museum and subsequently right into Dartmouth Road at Forest Hill. From here the bus went to Sydenham and down Lawrie Park Avenue and into Penge. From Penge the bus took me back to Norwood Junction via Anerley at 1352, two hours and a half since departure on the No 196.

Norwood Junction station regained

From Norwood Junction the bus route heads through Woodside Green where it is the only bus route for the first time.

Running past Woodside Green

Only one route the No 197
at Woodside Green

It was a slow drift into Croydon from Addiscombe Road and eventually we reached the Fairfield Halls at 1411, one hour and two minutes after leaving Peckham.

Heading towards Fairfield Halls from East Croydon station

EH339 at rest outside
Fairfield Halls Croydon

Finally after almost eighteen months I resume my quest on the 4th anniversary of starting it on the 6th September 2017. The No 195.

 I had been holding off doing the next route so long owing to it being a single decker and the fact it was an hour's journey to reach the start of the route. The route being a single decker had until recently meant numbers on board were restricted and I didn't want to be stuck at a bus stop waiting for a long time or more significantly precluding genuine travellers using the bus when I am riding for 'fun.' It had been the intention that my wife would be joining me but she woke up with a headache so unfortunately I had to make the journey alone.

Since my last trip I have received my over 60 TFL travel pass, which now has to be paid for annually. As my wife received hers in July 2019, she doesn't because the dividing line was the first of August 2019. Even more annoying is that I have not used it at all in the first year, May 2020-2021. The only use it got was going through the barriers from one side of Wallington station to the other!

Waddon railway station

Thus at 1042 I found myself at Waddon station waiting for a train to take me to Clapham Junction. There seemed not to be a 1050 train so I guess post Covid only half hourly trains are provided to Victoria, at least for the present. However, the 1100 arrived on time and deposited me at Clapham Junction at 1130 where I could change for a Southwest Train from platform 5 to Brentford.

Clapham Junction sidings With class 701 prominent

I had yet to see any of the new stock for Southwest Trains the class 701 so it was nice to see one in the sidings at Clapham Junction, as I crossed the footbridge. This unit is 701011 and is one made up of ten coaches. There should have been an 1132 train to Brentford but luckily this was running late and I caught it at 1138 after it had been re-routed to platform 6 and arrived at Brentford railway station at 1159. The station is fairly close to the county court where the No 195 begins its tortuous trip to a housing estate to the east of  Uxbridge.

I felt a photo in a face mask had to be done! Taken on train to Brentford.

As I was about to turn off the road to walk to the bus stabling point a bus pulled away so I waited a good ten to twelve minutes for the next one.

There was already a bus waiting as I arrived and I took a photo of Abellio 8876 expecting that to be my mount but in fact before long two more had arrived. It was the second one, 8879 that took me at 1218 back the way I had just walked from the railway station.

Note how Abellio in West London have branded their buses with the route

The route taken is initially quite a straight one passing Boston Manor Underground station where you can see the tracks and trains in Northfields Piccadilly line depot. This was reached by 1224 having passed the A4/M4 soon after Brentford station and we moved on Northwest to the Uxbridge Road at Hanwell which was reached at 1229. The bus turned left onto the Uxbridge Road at this point and could quickly reach its destination if it continued on the Uxbridge Road. However, soon after Southall Park it took a sharp left turn down Southall High Street to Southall railway station. 

Southall original fire station which more
 recently was Southall Community Arts Centre

The traffic this way was very slow and once we had got past Southall we saw why: there were roadworks in Western Road. It was therefore 1258 before we had breasted the Grand Union canal bridge and were able to head towards Hayes. We crossed the roundabout of the A312 at 1303  and then for a short spell were the only route that takes this road towards Hayes.  Once we had turned right at the end though, there was a plethora of bus routes which traverse the Great Western Mainline at Hayes and Harlington railway station. After this railway station the bus bears to the left and takes Church Road to reach the Uxbridge Road once again at 1320. Fairly soon the bus has to do a 'U' turn in order to access Landsbury Drive as the road at this point is dual carriageway and after a few wriggles through many residential roads we reached Charville Lane and came to a halt at Romney Road in the midst of the Charville Estate at 1332.

To return I initially walked up Charville Lane towards Pole Hill Road with the intention of walking to the Uxbridge Road to get a bus back. However, as I reached the junction a No U7 arrived heading for Hayes Sainsbury's, so I crossed the road and was making my way home by 1341. This bus took me back the way the No 195 had brought me initially but then ran around some other roads to return to the Uxbridge Road. Once at this point I decided to change to get a No 607 Express Bus towards Ealing. Since I had 4 minutes to wait I dived into a shop and procured a bottle of juice and a croissant. I travelled briskly on the No 607 past Hayes and through Southall but just before Hanwell the bus driver announced he was changing buses. I thus thought it was expedient to leave the bus and catch a No 195 that I knew would be following to take me back to Brentford station. At 1428 Abellio 8890 arrived and took me to Hanwell and at this point it became evident that the bus route goes a different way around the triangle depending on direction of travel so I then covered a part of the route I wouldn't otherwise have utilised. This namely being a bit of the Broadway and then Boston Road to its junction with Lower Boston Road. I returned to Brentford railway station at 1446 and caught the 1454 to Clapham Junction and then the 1539 to Waddon having to wait over twenty minutes owing to the reduced frequency of trains. Below is a helicopter landing at Battersea Heliport from Platform 15 at Clapham Junction.

 

The third anniversary of the start of the odyssey 6th Sept 2020.

 Well thanks to Covid-19 I have not been able to do any bus trips since March 2020 and as things stand now I do not know when it was sensible to resume. I would feel guilty if my project led to me bringing the virus home and I'm sure John would perfectly understand. I have put the whole thing in abeyance until it is a much safer to continue. In the interim I have reached 60 years of age and now have my TFL bus pass which I have yet to use 4 months after receiving it. 

So with no recent bus trips herewith a couple of photos of my co-travellers.

Debbie and Charmaine preparing to
 do the No 100 bus at Shadwell.

Tim and Charmaine at Stratford ahead of taking the No 104

Day one hundred and twenty one the nearby No 194.

The day started with catching a No 410 to Croydon with my wife. I got off at West Croydon bus station and she continued to East Croydon to catch a No 119.

Arriva's DW311 arriving as it has circulated the bus station.

Arriva's DW311 arriving at West Croydon bus station.

At 1126 I boarded Arriva DW311 destined for Lower Sydenham, having advised a lady to join this bus in order to change at East Croydon for the No 119 as she wished to get to Bromley South. She was considering catching a No 367 which has a most convoluted way of reaching Bromley.

East Croydon bus station with Charmaine at head of line for No 119

Shirley library where the bus turned right.

The No 194 follows the route of The No 119 until Shirley library is reached and then it swings south down Hartland Way which then runs into Westway where the front of the bus hit a tree branch very hard but was uninjured, the bus that is not the tree.

Heading south to turn around the roundabout and then back north
down the opposite carriageway.

At the end of Westway the bus headed east along Shirley Way until it reached Bridle Road where the bus turns south again and does a 360 degree turn around a roundabout near Shrublands and heads back down Bridle Road in a northerly direction.

No 198 which before computerisation was the No 194B in
Bridle Road

Eden Park station with a Metrobus No 358 passing heading for
Orpington.

Back on Wickham Road the bus turned east and finally reaches the Bromley borough boundary at 1159. After West Wickham High Street the bus turned left into Station Road past the swimming pool and then we didn't stop until Eden Park station.















From here we reached Elmers End Green at 1212 where we turned right for Beckenham. In the years before we moved to Croydon the bus turned left and went past Elmers End bus garage but whilst my wife was working at Beckenham library betwixt 1984 and 1992 the change was effected.

Beckenham war memorial

 From Beckenham the bus headed west to Penge where I passed Cottingham Road and saw a plaque on both sides of this road called Central Exchange?

 Central Exchange plaque above The Mobility Centre

The bus turned right down Green Lane past the new Penge library under the railway then left along Parish Lane, Lennard Road and into Newlands Park once past Penge East station. Sydenham High Street was reached at 1230 and the bus terminated at the Bell Green Retail Park at 1238.

Arriving at Bell Green Retail Park

From here I caught the No 181 to Bromley Road and after a short wait a No 320 heading towards Biggin Hill valley which I took as far as Bromley Market Square. I then met the wife with her librarian friends Angela and Gill for lunch in Waitrose before heading for the Victoria and Albert Museum and then home.

Off the bus prior to it heading east to layover.

Day 120 to NE London for the Nos 191, 192 and 193.

Today was an earlier start than most as I hoped to do all three routes which were a fair way away. Thus I boarded the 1005 train to London Bridge which started off 3 minutes late but arrived early by 30 seconds. At London Bridge it was one stop on the Northern line and then one stop on the Central line to reach Liverpool Street. I had just missed the 1045 train to Edmonton when I arrived so had to wait almost a quarter of an hour for the 1100 to Enfield Town which deposited me at Edmonton at 1128.

Two London General EN's providing the route No 191 service in thrbus station

Thick traffic made getting to bus station a little difficult
as there was no crossing initially as I headed north.

The railway station is situated just across the roundabout and as I approached I could see there were two No 191s in the bus station. Within five minutes of arrival at Edmonton railway station I was leaving the bus station on London General's EN7 heading for Brimsdown. Although the main destination on this bus route is Enfield the bus does anything but go straight there. After turning right out of the bus station towards Enfield it soon turns right down Bounces Road to Nightingale Lane where the bus takes the left and becomes the only route servicing this road. The road takes us back to the Hertford Road A1010 but after a short return to the northerly heading road we again swing to the right and head down South Street to Ponders End railway station.

Ponders End railway station at the end of the road

Blocks of flats under demolition near Ponders End railway station

The road cannot cross the railway track here so the bus goes left around the corner which is notable for the blocks of flats being demolished and then goes under Nags Head Road which crosses the Lea valley to Chingford at this point. After the bridge the bus turned left into Durants Road and left again so we could reach Nags Head Road. From here the bus runs straight into Enfield.

About to cross the Hertford Road with bus garage and Tesco
before the climb over the railway line at Southbury station

Once across the Hertford Road again, the road to Enfield becomes Southbury Road and we passed the Arriva bus garage and Southbury railway station. All the housing stock flanking the roads around here seem to be turn of the twentieth century-a fact exemplified by the road names Mafeking Road and Ladysmith Road.

Enfield Town centre-a place I returned to once we had been to
the terminus of this route.

Finally I reached Enfield Town at 1212 having crossed the A10 where I saw two Sullivan buses on route No 217. This is a service provider I have yet to use on my odyssey. After passing the library, strangely marked 1912 to 2010, we saw the bus terminus for my next route the No 192 at Little Park Gardens and headed up Chaseside.  Once again there was a meeting with the W8 as we turned right into Lancaster Road, a route I had previously seen soon after leaving Edmonton Green near Pickett's Lock. At the end of Lancaster Road, an area which seemed surprisingly built up, given how far north from London we had come, the bus reached Baker Street and turned left to go even further northward.

Baker Street Enfield style

At the end of this road the route reaches its furthest north at Forty Hill and then heads east and southeast along Carterhatch Lane.

Reflection of my bus EN7 in the back window of a No 279
now in the Hertford Road again going to the utter north of Waltham Cross

Back at the Hertford Road, again, the bus turns north then right along Bell Lane and finally south down Brimsdown Avenue to reach Brimsdown station where we terminated at 1240.

My bus departing to layover.

The diversion sign indicating that my quicker bus
back to Enfield, the No 307, was on diversion

I then had to return to Enfield Little Park Gardens to catch a No 192 and the No 191 driver suggested catching a No 307 would be quicker. However, because the No 307 was on diversion owing to roadworks on the Hertford Road I actually passed EN7 coming the other way before I reached the town centre. Still we are only talking 4 or 5 minutes, so I would have been unable to catch the No 192 that passed us as we drove past Bryn y Mawr Road and Clydach Road, two places close to Ebbw Vale. I alighted at the town centre museum and cafe and walked to the park to find the No 192.

Arriva's almost new ENN59 at Little Park Gardens

I have used part of this route before betwixt Edmonton Green and Tottenham Hale but had never used the more northerly part. An almost new ENN59 of Arriva was waiting for me at Little Park Gardens and this I boarded at 1336. Initially the bus turns left and takes to Enfield High Street but just beyond the Boer War roads mentioned earlier it heads south down a small residential street with parked cars on both sides called Fotheringham Road. After a short while of winding through Victorian residential streets the bus announced we were on a hail and ride section: these are quite a feature of this bus route. Hail and ride briefly ceased as we reached Bush Hill Park station but soon resumed. Eventually the bus turned left into Bury Street West near Salisbury House, which I had visited with Charmaine for a craft fayre last year. This road crosses the A10 Great Cambridge Road and then becomes Bury Street all the way until the A1010 Hertford Road is reached and we here turned right and arrived at Edmonton Green bus station at 1400 exactly. This proved to be half way through my day and was also half way through this particular route.
From Edmonton Green the bus only travels briefly down the A1010 before deviating east then north along Plevna Road, where hail and ride was again initiated. The bus goes east along Town Road and then south on Montagu Road which brings the bus to the junction with the North Circular Road. Here the bus then hops over the railway track and under the A406 to reach the Angel Road superstores. However, Angel Road station closed a few months ago to be replaced by Meridian Water station which now allows for the extra platform for a shuttle service to Stratford.

New railway station

No 341 which I used to get to work
at Angel Road Tesco

     From here the bus moved swiftly south passing Northumberland Park London General bus garage and the Victoria line tube depot. We reached Tottenham Hale interchange at 1419.

A line of No 192s at Tottenham Hale awaiting return to Enfield.

My No 192 at Tottenham Hale

Next I needed to find the No 193 which starts at Queen's Hospital Romford. Therefore boarding a train at Tottenham Hale bound for Stratford was necessitated where I could swap to a train to Romford. It was quite a chilly day so I was pleased not to have to wait more than 7 minutes for my train for Stratford. I arrived at Stratford at 1435 and had to wait until 1446. However, I did see my first example of the new Greater Anglia 12 coach class 745 trains. This was introduced early in January apparently.

Class 745 at Stratford with some coaches articulated

My Crossrail class 345 took me to Romford where I arrived just after 3 PM and then had to walk to the hospital. By now it was getting increasingly bright as the cloud cleared which had meant some rather blurry photographs on the No 192. I found after walking through the Brewery Mall to the ring road that half of it was shut off and traffic was proceeding rather slowly from the hospital.

The previous No 193 caught in traffic by Brewery Mall

The No 193 approaching

I arrived at the bus stop just as Stagecoach 37520 was approaching from its resting place and I boarded the No 193 at 1523.

Stagecoach 37520 at Queens Hospital Romford providing my
No 193

The traffic was rather slow as previously seen and it took until 1532 to get to the other side of the ring road at Romford Market.

My bus at same location as earlier photograph looking through
back window at Freightliner class 86 running into Romford station

Thereafter though, the bus moved at a fair rate. Beyond Romford Station the bus took Brentwood Road as had the No 165. However, this bus took a right down Osborne Road, which was a hail and ride section. Here there were some really intense showers and we were also caught up by Stagecoach 37522 which then created a state of leapfrogging of the two buses all the way through Hornchurch which was reached at 1552. From this point the bus took a southerly route to Hornchurch station and after this roughly easterly down Vaughan Avenue. This area all seemed to be a post war estate and this was proved when two of the roads I passed were Bevan Way and Clement Way. There was now a slight hold up in order to cross the A124 where a sign said Romford 2 1/2 miles. The journey by this stage had taken 3/4 of an hour! Across the main road there was a narrow hump back bridge for the single track Romford to Upminster railway line where it was impossible to pass traffic coming the opposite way. This road had the lovely name of Wingletye Lane.

Country park reached!!

This took us into the Country Park Estate and the bus terminated at Essex Gardens at 1616. However, almost as soon as we arrived swarms of school children arrived and we were back returning to Romford at 1617 once again overtaking Stagecoach 37522 as we did so.

Approaching second stop of return journey after leaving Essex Gardens

I remained on the bus to Hornchurch station and then caught a District line service to Whitechapel and here changed for London Overground to West Croydon. I finally arrived home at 1815 after an eight hour hour jaunt.