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.

Day 241 Another visit to Ilford this time to do the No 364.

 This time we caught the 0935 London Bridge train and changed there onto the Jubilee line to Stratford where we arrived at 1027. An Elizabeth line was then taken the four stops to Ilford where we arrived at 1045. I then separated from Charmaine leaving her to do shopping in the High Street whilst I walked to the far end at Hainault Street where the No 364 leaves for Dagenham. 

This display spoke with forked tongue as there were
,many more buses before the No 364 arrived

The journey should take 47 minutes and is
 every 8 minutes or so

London General's SE 317 arriving

As usual I just missed a No 364 as I approached London General's SE 308 which I rediscovered when the journey ended. SE317 of London General finally arrived at 1105 and then conveyed only me as far as the library and Kenneth More theatre where other persons joined and more passengers got on as the bus went along the road avoiding the pedestrianised part of the High Street. The bus turned right past Ilford station and then very soon turned right into Coventry Road and it was announced we were in a hail and ride section. This section saw the bus turn right down Granville Road and then back left to rejoin Coventry Road, all the houses being of late Victorian or Edwardian era construction. The hail and ride section ended as we turned right into Perth Road, still as the only bus to cover these roads. The bus combined with other routes briefly as it took the left turn into Russell Gardens. Soon however, the bus started to plough its own furrow again, along Wards Road as another hail and ride section. Travelling along this road we passed a bridge parapet which had allotments beside it. This was the remains of the GER branch from Ilford to Newbury Park which was replaced by the Central line service from Leytonstone in November 1947. At the end of this road we went briefly left then followed Meade Lane until it became Percy Road. Two weeks ago we stayed in Percy Street in Alnwick in Northumberland-a strange coincidence.

At the end of Percy Road we turned right into 
Barley Lane where we joined the EL3. A bus I caught
after doing the No 362 and saw a No 364 in this
very spot last week.

The bus then took us straight across the A118 past Goodmayes station and left at the end along Green Lane as far as Bennet's Castle Lane where again the No 364 is the only bus that serves the road. At the junction with Longbridge Road the bus went left for a short spell before going right and then down Parsloes Avenue which took us past the Bobby Moore Sports Hub.

Bobby Moore Sports Hub playing fields

Beyond this we crossed over Heathway into our last hail and ride section along Reede Road. At the end of this road the bus turned right to reach Dagenham East station where the last passenger alighted. I then continued to the next roundabout where the bus did a complete circle around and terminated facing back towards Dagenham East station, behind the bus I had missed in Ilford London General's SE308.

Bus terminated at 1153 behind sister, 48 minutes
after leaving Ilford Hainault Street.

I then rang Charmaine and arranged to meet her at Whitechapel as we had an appointment arranged for 2 PM at Enfield archives.

Day 240 on 12th September 2024 the No 362 and No 363.

 Today's journey started with a bus- the No 157 to West Croydon at 1113 in order to catch a London Overground train to Canada Water and then a Jubilee line train to Stratford. I arrived at Canada Water at 1200 and was at Stratford at 1219. The first Central Line was going to Epping so I had to wait three minutes for a Hainault train which reached there at 1247. I then needed to cross platform for the Woodford shuttle to take me on to Grange Hill where I pulled in at 1258.

Arrival after two hours of leaving home

Some evidence of pre LPTB ownership

The terminal bus stop for the No 362

Roundabout left to become wild

Difficult to read but 1/2 hourly service

Stagecoach 36370 having arrived at stop D will have a little rest

Destination King George Hospital in 27 minutes

The starting point of the No 362 is left out of the station to bus stops D and C. D is for terminating buses so it was bus stop C where I waited for the half hourly service. I had arrived nicely in the middle so only had 12 minutes to wait for Stagecoach's single decker 36370 which initially set up south but soon went left along Brockett Way. The bus route remained on its own as we took The Lowe to the point where we intersected with the No 150 and No 247 bus routes which come from the direction of Hainault station. The bus at this point turned left at New North Road to the 'T' junction with the No 247 and then right along Romford Road which becomes Whalebone Lane North to Mark Gate. We passed Hainault Golf Club at 1326 and entered the Borough of Barking and Dagenham at 1328. Once we had passed the terminal point of the No 62 the bus headed into the estate here via Billet Lane and Rose Lane. This took us back to Whalebone Lane where we turned right and headed across the A12. 

Passing a No 150 heading for Chigwell

Countryside near Mark Gate

Then when we encountered the A118 High Road Chadwell Heath the bus turned right and headed east. At the intersection  with Station Road we entered the London Borough of Redbridge and turned right up Grove Lane into a hail and ride part of the route which was once again only served by this one route. At the end of this road we joined other bus routes on Chadwell Heath Lane and taking Little Heath and then Barley Lane we reached King George Hospital and terminated at 1355.

Freshco shop in Chadwell Heath rather
 than Weatherfield

At King George Hospital

After a brief comfort stop I caught a No EL3 to Goodmayes station and there took the 1414 Elizabeth line to Farringdon. This arrived with only a few minutes to wait for the 1447 to Sutton which I only took as far as Elephant and Castle.

Bus stop E Elephant and Castle

New form of timetable, just one screen so one
route at a time which means only one customer
can use it at a time

Another option was a map on same unit

Abellio 2570, blurred as I needed to be quick

I missed a No 363 as I crossed the spokes of the roundabout but was still aboard Abellio 2570 at 1506 at stop E. The bus took the New Kent Road from the roundabout and at the end of this took the Bricklayers Arms flyover onto the Old Kent Road. 

On New Kent Road

Approaching Bricklayers Arms flyover

Descending Bricklayers Arms flyover

The bus turned right into Trafalgar Avenue, although there was no road name, as where it had been situated on a building it had almost totally gone. This meant we were following the route of the No 63 which makes sense as this route is basically a spin off of the original. We crossed over two dry canal bridges and headed up Peckham Hill Street to Peckham. Having stopped adjacent to the bus station the driver informed us there were problems with the bus and an engineer was supposed to be waiting for him. We stopped at 1528 and it was at 1540 that I left this bus and got the following fully electric No 3084.

Changing to Abellio 3084

In Peckham

We then went around the outside of the Aylsham centre and bus station to access Rye Lane and continue our southerly journey past Peckham Rye Common and Peckham Rye Park. This lead us to a road called Forest Hill next to Camberwell Cemetary at Honor Oak where the No 63 terminates and the No 363 forges on alone. The bus turned right alone Wood Vale which is the boundary betwixt the London Boroughs of Southwark and Lewisham. We didn't follow quite to the end of this road as there was a short part along Melford Road and then right along Underhill Road presumably to allow access to the central lane on the A205 so the bus could turn right up Sydenham Hill.

We followed Sydenham Hill until it met Crystal Palace Parade and the bus terminated at this point at 1618.

Finally arrived

This time there are two of the
 trambuses at Crystal Palace bus station

To get home I caught a No 157 from its start point here at Crystal Palace as far as Croydon Tamworth road where I skipped onto a No 410 home.