Back to the buses

Thursday  13 September 2018

For a number of reasons, we are planning a return to the buses:

• we have visited pretty well every museum in London.  A few remain, open rarely, or only at weekends; a few are closed for refurbishment; but on the whole the Project is complete.  Some museums have been great; some have been...well...dull, but from now on we shall visit them in a more ordinary way, when there is something we want to see.

• it's coming up to 10 years since we travelled - and posted - the first of our 549 bus routes
• many of the routes have changed since then: the building of the Olympic Park (remember that?) diverted several; others have been shortened or altered to adjust traffic flow

• the buses have changed: some for the better, like the hybrid versions; some very much for the worse, like the grim Roastmasters introduced by a former Mayor of London whose name escapes me, paid for with Londoners' money

• the infrastructure is changing and affecting bus travel; we shall watch with interest as the West End Project unfolds; if the current Mayor begins to deliver on his election pledges on cycling (come on Sadiq, only 18 months left) we may find the Holborn gyratory being redesigned and the growing Cycling Superhighways are likely to affect bus routes too

• Then there is the Elizabeth Line.  We had thought we might spend a few outings travelling the line and exploring its new stations; but, unsurprisingly it is not merely over budget, but also delayed for a year, so there will be disruption there too. And HS2 is beginning to affect streets around Euston.

• We had thought of visiting cemeteries but, as they say in Game of Thrones, winter in coming, and anyway, there are good books about London's cemeteries such as the one by Darren Beach.  The same is true of London's many monuments and memorials.

• And finally, our logoed hoodies are still in good condition!

We intend, as far as possible, to travel the routes in the other direction this time.The project may be harder to plan, because TfL has abolished its paper bus maps, saying that you can find the information on line.  This is true if you are planning to GO somewhere;  but looking for a bus that will start where another finishes is less straightforward.  Still, we shall do our best, and you can begin by reading about the Number 1 route any day now,