A single decked bus and a dreary grey day did not seem to offer much in the way of pleasure; but we were cheered at the bus stop by the poster offering a free, volunteer run ride from Roehampton to South Kensington on Christmas Day, the only day of the year when there is no public transport.Our 70 left South Kensington on its no less lengthy journey to Chiswick Business Park at 11.15, and headed out along Harrington Road, to pass the Ampersand Hotel, its strange name unexplained on its website. (I could have researched it on my phone, as the bus
had charging points on the backs of the seats, but I didn't).
Turning right brought us to the Cromwell Road, where we turned right again, rather worryingly. Chiswick is West of Kensington, I wanted to say to the driver, but didn't. So we passed the Natural History Museum, and then we turned up to Hyde Park and, happily, westwards.
We saw the way in to Kensington Palace, which we had visited on our previous project, and then the extraordinarily unattractive Royal Garden Hotel, before turning right up Kensington Church Street. Again, this was worrying: why head north when Chiswick lies to the south? As well as all the oriental antique shops of this street, we noted the Russian Tourist Office. Its website is mainly about getting a visa, though it seemed also to be offering a centenary tour for the 1917 Revolution...
Kensington Church Street is also the home of Joseph Yates the timber merchant, which seems to have closed since we were last here. Passing the Old Swan pub, we enjoyed its pretty sign before turning East (aargh) to head along the Bayswater Road, past the imposing entrance to Palace Gardens Terrace, home of several ambassadors and embassies.
Then the route goes left (ie North) up Queensway, where the traffic was brought to a stand by some building works hidden behind dull grey hoardings. It may well be part of a regeneration plan, but was a bit annoying for bus users.
Westbourne Grove, where we turned west again, was equally congested; our driver then told us that we were on diversion till Ladbroke Grove Station. Nobody seemed to mind. Along Westbourne Grove we spotted a blue plaque to A J Cronin, though it proved to be one put up by the Royal College of General Practitioners, rather than EH. A novelist so committed to the NHS would be very nervous as the service becomes a bargaining chip for politicians whose words can never be trusted.
We came into Ladbroke Grove and to the station, the bus becoming more busy now it was on its official route; and we headed North some more, passing North Kensington Fire Station, and the Catalyst & Community, with its bright access ramps. I'm a bit puzzled by this as Catalyst seems to be the Housing Association which was involved in various controversial schemes around the Grenfell catastrophe and certainly we were in an area with Grenfell notices and graffiti. Perhaps this is their attempt at a community hub. Anyway, we got to the top of Ladbroke Grove and turned into the Sainsbury's, as most buses do. We caught a glimpse of the memorial to the people who died in the railway disaster of 1999, before - to our surprise - heading back down Ladbroke Grove.
We were relieved, however, to take a right along Barlby Road, and come out into the area known, strangely, as North Pole. Next we head south down Scrubs Lane to along Du Cane Road, parallel to the West Way, and heading definitively west at last. Aside from signs to the Linford Christie Stadium(unlike Blue Plaques, you can still be alive to have a stadium named after you) and the prison, this is a hospital area: Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte's and the Chelsea Hospital are all along here, together with former accommodation for hospital personnel, now presumably well out of their financial reach.
As we went over the cross roads with the West Way, we saw a Club which offered Russian Billiards. We were unaware of such a sport, but you can get a tutorial here. We came past King Fahad Academy, as well as signs to Shepherds Bush Cricket Ground, but we were sure we were coming into Acton. Acton Park was either side of us as we travelled along Acton Lane, and we noted the little cottage which might once have been pubic conveniences - or maybe a warden's home. 
Then we saw signs welcoming us to Acton Town Centre. What had presumably once been a cinema, is now the New Arch Climbing Wall. We passed the modest Oaks Shopping Mall, and a mammoth Morrisons, claiming to have existed 'since 1899'. We thought it probable that back them Mr Morrison was operating on a smaller scale. Against that kind of commercial muscle, we thought the hoarding asking people to support their local small shops stood little chance.
By now we had passed several of Acton's many stations, and after Acton Town, the Tube Station, we travelled through an industrial area, to urn right just before the level crossing and wait for the gates to open to let us into the Chiswick Business Park. It looked pleasantly leafy and had another number 70 waiting to take people away; but it didn't look much like Chiswick to us. We arrived at 12.35, 80 minutes after setting off, rather than the 69 offered at the head stop.
This had been a very peculiar route, twiddling around Kensington and Bayswater before resolving to get on with its job. But we had passed some interesing buildings, and it reminded us yet agin how the different areas of London shade imperceptibly into each other.
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