The Number 55 Route

Monday 9 September 2019

In order to do each route in the other direction from our first project (if you follow me), we had relied on the 56 to deliver us to Leyton, Bakers Arms, in order to take the 55 to Oxford Circus. So we were glad to make use of the facilities of the large Tesco, and had time to admire the terra cotta bas reliefs of the items they sell before we set off at 11.20.

The weather was damp and nasty, and as we all know the ghastly Boris Buses do not have good sight lines, but Linda managed some good pictures, as you can see.  We turned left past the Bakers Arms Benevolent Institution. The gate says it was founded in 1832, but the Italianate Almshouses are somewhat later than that.  I admired the remarkable cycling facilities of Waltham Forest.  They just show what a borough can do when given £30,000,000 to spend by TfL. 

Passing both the Lee Valley Riding Centre and the Ice Centre, we crossed the River Lea and came to Millfield Park. This green space on both sides of the road has been in the (local) news lately because a court order had to be sought to force out some Traveller families who had established themselves there.  We did notice some caravans which had not yet departed. 

This brought us to Clapton Ponds, and from there the route goes along Lower Clapton Road, passing the Round Chapel as well as the handsome Church of St John at Hackney, dating from 1792 and designed by James Spiller.

After coming past Hackney Central Station and the Hackney Empire as well as the town hall, we noticed rather a good anti-smoking ad: 'you're paying a fortune to wreck your lungs'.

Other interesting things spotted through the rain were the flower-covered Hare pub, an art-covered house, and a strange building with a clock tower, which I have been unable to identify.

We also spotted a hairdressers which claimed 'no gender, no texture, just hair'. Another one, later, suggested 'Life's too short for boring hair'.
The former Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children is now apartments, though we thought they had kept the balconies where sick children were exposed to fresh air. These were not the only new-build we passed, and at one building site, the previous building was still being knocked down.


This area of London has a large number of hoardings (there's a surprise) which are attractively embellished by artists happy to sign their names.  So we were interested to see (later)  an agency which offered such a service:  'You say it, we'll spray it'. They are the Global Street Art Agency, should you want any graffiti.

Now we were heading slowly down to the Old Street Roundabout, which is a mess at the moment while they 'create a better environment for walking and cycling' which, Heaven knows, would not be difficult, given the horrors of this multiple interchange.  I was interested in their phrasing. It has long been my view that some of the vitriol addressed to cyclists is because they are personalised as human: cars are cars, HGVs are lorries, but cyclists are people, so somehow their crossing of red lights or being on pavements is worse than similar offences committed by motorised vehicles. So I liked the fact that it is the activity, not the people, identified here. But I digress.

The Shoreditch Grind was offering 'Brunch not Brexit' an antidote, perhaps, to the known view of the proprietor of a certain pub chain, whose 'Masque Haunt' was nearby.

Meanwhile, we had come past LSO St Luke's, a former church being put to good use, and headed along the Clerkenwell Road to reach the Crossrail Works at Farringdon, as well as a cafe called Fidelio, which offers classical music as well as the more usual cafe fare.

The Inns of Court have attractive walled gardens which we passed on the way to the Conway Hall. The route then crosses Southampton Row, to pass the HQ of the Unite Union.  

Some fellow passengers, who had been commenting on the various Brexit references we passed, were interested to see the name 'Sicilian Avenue'. Linda and I remember when it was full of furniture shops and such:  now it seems to be all about food and coffee

We came past St George's Bloomsbury and the James Smith Umbrella shop into New Oxford Street, where demolition is in progress right next to Centre Point. We can't remember what the building was which is due to come down.

This brought us into Oxford Street, past Tottenham Court Road Station, still incomplete and still awaiting the arrival of Crossrail.

Oxford Street was closed Eastbound for some distance, because of building works, but we were going west and so did not mind.  We reached Oxford Circus at 12.50, having had a straightforward east to west ride, only slightly marred by the gloomy and damp weather.