The Number 184 Route

Barnet (Chesterfield Road) to Turnpike Lane Station

Tuesday October 6th 2009

This route was in fact the return leg of the Number 34, but offered a very pleasing contrast to whirling along the North Circular. Again we were 4 – two followers from Exeter who were on extended child care duty and had joined us from their temporary base with Green Lanes girl.

Having had a relaxed lunch at the Pacino’s by Barnet Church, where our Route 34 had left us, we walked down the hill to Chesterfield Road and immediately boarded a single-decker 184, which skirted Chase Farm Hospital to get us back to the church and the surrounding old buildings, one housing Barnet Museum
(It has clearly been threatened with closure since we travelled this route), and then Bow House.

Barnet College on the hill offers performing arts and their students joined us briefly on what seemed a popular route – nearby was the Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School for girls founded in 1573 (now run by Barnet Education) – and down the hill towards East Barnet and New Barnet, down Potters Lane which for some reason was built up with bungalows of some vintage for almost its entire length. Perhaps the potters and the railway men (there are quite a lot of stations round here) were thirsty people as we certainly saw more open pubs then we usually do on a back route – these included the Railway Bell, the Alexandra, the Lord Kitchener and the Bell and Buck

All this while we are still outside London postal districts, finally getting to Brunswick Park N14 and the Osidge Arms. Barnet local authority is impressively extensive but we then moved across to Enfield at Arnos Grove, crossing under a most impressive railway viaduct (probably the Piccadilly line). Having been the sole bus until now we rejoined the 34 briefly (along the North Circular I’m afraid) and then past Bounds Green station and along Woodfield way where Jenny had visited the Sunshine Garden Centre with her locally based sister.

Somewhat to our surprise the bus then swung a sharp left and went up Alexandra Park more usually known as Ally Pally, where it became a ‘hail and ride’ service up and over the crest of the hill. After the peace and quiet of the side roads we crossed the New River again (well signposted here) and joined Wood Green at the heart of its shopping centre high street. The bus continued to make really good time and we stopped round the side of Turnpike Station to go our separate ways.

We concluded that though the views are less good from a single decker sometimes the experience is fresher and less congested.

8/6/2011 PS Wrote the journey account at the time of travelling but without access to (or I mislaid them) the appropriate photos, so there are a couple of mystery entries – William Cattley's Barnet plaque for example. He would appear to have been a botanist though his find was more luck than judgement, perhaps?