The Number 92 Route

Ealing Hospital to St Raphael’s North

Monday July 5th 2010

Jo seemed happy to spend her birthday bussing round NW London, so we boarded our Number 92 in the sizeable bus area just between the somewhat tired-looking Ealing General Hospital (quite a long way outside Ealing town centre it has to be said) and the even older St Bernard’s Hospital, formerly the Hanwell Asylum. As we know from our other bus trips, the Victorians had a habit of locating the insane safely on the fringes of the growing metropolis and St Bernard's, formerly known as the Hanwell Asylum seems to have been the most westernmost of these institutions. We started by saying it looked imposing and then decided ‘forbidding’ was more apt. The ‘gate’ sketched in the attached is still very much in place as we bowled up the Uxbridge Road under the Iron Bridges (one rail and a bit further along one canal), apparently a lesser known work of Brunel. The 92 is then able to turn and head off in more northerly direction across the Brent Valley, its park and golf course on the one side and the aptly named Golf Links Estate on the other – an impressively tall tower block, which has almost burnt down in its day.

Not surprisingly, as we were not that far from Southall, Greenford – which the bus traverses – also reflects the fact that this whole area has the largest concentration of people from South Asia outside the Indian subcontinent. The Baba Wadbhag Singh Trust seems to be appealing for building funds though our photo indicates quite a smart looking building.

Further along the RC church (and there is of course a sizeable RC population in South India too) also gets a look in, with another Cardinal Wiseman secondary school and ‘Our Lady of the Visitation’ prompted us to wonder when exactly was it that the Pope was visiting?

The advantage of one of these Thirties-built suburbs is that the roads are quite nice and wide so our bus had plenty of room. As we passed no fewer than three ‘drivers under training instruction’ the bus companies obviously also think these are good routes for learners. With the Grand Union Canal, then the railways and then not so distant Heathrow we supposed that this area has long been used for storage/transit and depots of various kinds and sure enough we passed the HQs of a range of well known companies Hovis (I just couldn’t resist linking to this advert) complete with a fleet of jolly yellow vans, and interestingly TATA who clearly make more than cars. As these buses have a ‘station habit’ the 92 did a little wriggle to access Greenford Station which had us both groping for the tube map – it’s on the Central line to save you the trouble

The bus then arrives in Sudbury and passes the finishing point of the Route 18, where the fine weather seems to have made them think about breeding as there were no fewer than 4 lined up… hairdressers were plentiful too – ‘Wise Guys’, ‘All that Glitz’ ‘Thru the looking glass’ to name but three.

Wembley is a small hop from Sudbury and is it was by now lunch-time we had a fairly slow but not dull journey along Wembley High Road – time to admire both their railing boxes and hanging baskets, all in great colour, plus all the work going into 'Building a Better Borough'– Brent Council’s strap line. The police station has moved into more modern premises leaving we thought the old traditional station to be developed as a restaurant. There was certainly significant evidence of regeneration around here with lots of building, some of it quite imaginative and reflecting the shape and textures of the stadium, so we felt Brent were working hard to live up to their ‘vision’.

Though several routes and not a few trains serve our national stadium only 1 bus route offers a 360º tour, and that was us today so we were able to get an excellent view of Norman Foster's soaring arch. Strangely it is sometimes MORE visible from afar (we can see it from SE London) and the closer you get the more it vanishes (very Alice through the Looking Glass) but we got some good detailed shots. We know it came in late and over budget but it looks the part.

Anything after that was going to be something of anti-climax, so sure enough suddenly we were almost the only passengers as we went through yet another industrial estate/ business park – enterprises large and small: Norbert Dentresangle, what we used to call haulage and now seems to be Logistic and Transport, and Panacea, suppliers of health foods. On the NW London bus map this part of the route looks as convoluted as those biology lesson pictures of the intestines so it was then no surprise that without tangling with the North Circular the 92 manages to dump you between the Tesco and Ikea in what we used to know as Neasden but now seems reborn as Brent Park.

Something for everyone along this route – residential to business – Thirties to Millennium Buildings this route has it all and within a wholly reasonable 55 minutes (the 38 minute estimate seemed a bit optimistic) given the minor delays through Wembley.

The Number 91 Route

Crouch End to Trafalgar Square
Monday May 24th 2010

Unseasonably hot for May but we are NOT complaining…however the route from our previous bus was not nice enough to walk joyfully so we nipped briefly on an old friend – the Number 41 to get to the start of our key bus – the 91. They were in plentiful supply waiting sensibly in the shade before taking a turn round the roundabout (one of those small urban pimply things) to take on passengers. We were already half way along Crouch End Broadway and like many parts of the country the more you head uphill the better the outlook gets. Sometimes referred to as ‘the three wheeled pram hell’ that is Crouch End today’s passengers were quiet and purposeful until we hit the hotel and tourist belt further south.

Crouch End retains a few more independent shops and we were quite taken by ‘Pharmacia Naturale’ which sounded rather an exotic creation. More often than not it tends to be the hairdressers and beauty parlours that go in for the punning names but today we had the pleasure of the Thaitanic Restaurant… ‘The King’s Head’ is something of a refurbished pub but quite presentable nevertheless – we noticed the sign maker had gone for the King’s head off a deck of a cards rather than committing to a specific monarch…

What goes uphill must go downhill, and we thought we were probably passing the remnants of Highgate woods, those bits not built on. The local council have obviously tried to brighten up some of the flats by adding a new retro Thirties-style frontage – not sure it worked but it did show willing. As we headed downhill we glimpsed in the distance the top of the Emirates stadium, doubtless resting its grass for the next season. Not only do the Arsenal groundsmen seem to win more awards than the players, these days it seems they get poached for the transfer market....

Partly because of the one-way systems and partly through choice the 91 crossed several major routes and then settled southwards on to the Caledonian Road for most of its length. The shopkeepers round here seem pretty proud of their location as many outlets are pre-fixed with Caledonian in the shop name – e.g. the Caledonian Joinery. We have previously mentioned the cab drivers’ learning hot spot and the very asymmetric college building on the corner. One of the more decorative pubs is the Thornhill Arms though I gather the inside is not as pretty as the exterior. The café opposite to Pentonville prison seemed to have the right idea.

The local resident tells me the Hinterland of King’s Cross, never pretty, is being regenerated as the Regent Quarter with new St Martin’s College moving here and the Canal Museum quite well settled – we had of course crossed the Grand Union shortly before it dives into its tunnel. Even those bits outside the designated zone show signs of refurbishment. Sir Williams Crookes Charity shop seemed one of a kind – Sir William himself was both a physicist and a chemist and made some excellent contributions to learning but then turned to Spiritism (not Spiritualism) which the shop hereabouts seems to raise funds for.

The bus had never been in a hurry and from here on it was very slow – no obvious roadworks or hazards, just volume of traffic and that includes the pedestrians who were totally filling the pavements from here to the end of the route, a combination of lunch-time fine weather and many tourists adding to the driver’s need to keep his speed down as we all know that pedestrians step randomly in front of any and all traffic. It’s not like you can’t see a bus coming?

After a brief foray along the Euston Road we turned down Woburn Place, passing St Pancras’ Church – very neo classical – then Tavistock and Russell Squares, the former bearing memorials to conscientious objectors and the latter to the victims of the July 2002 bombings. Both are fine open spaces, recently refurbished and well maintained, and provide a fine oasis for local students. This whole area is also stiff with hotels (the Russell Hotel featuring in ‘Cats’) and we guessed the Route 91 must be really popular with tourists who can catch it down to the Strand and Trafalgar Square. We were certainly not alone in taking up the front seats for photography but between the less than clean windows and reflections we’ve had better pix in our time.

There were a couple of blue plaques – Sir John Barbirolli, generally credited with founding, conducting and making famous the Halle orchestra, so here is a sample of him in action with some nice Hadyn oboe music. The next plaque was for W. Richard Lethaby – not known to us at all! He turns out to be the first principal of the Arts & Crafts college, now St. Martins’s and, as explained above, due to move from its Charing Cross and Holborn locations to the Regent Quarter.

More learning establishments on this route now come thick and fast, with the London School of Economics and as the bus swings round in front of St. Clement Dane’s to head towards it final destination it passes of course King’s College London – we love the parade of famous Alumni who fill the windows of the rather dull and functional Sixties block. The bus picked up speed and left us virtually opposite Whitehall with time to admire the new arrivals in Trafalgar Square – the Message in a Bottle on the 4th plinth only installed yesterday and the cricketing elephants.

Even with the bits of sightseeing the trip had only taken an hour and would be well recommended for any visitors coming into town from the north.

The Number 90 Route

Tuesday 10 August 2010

This was a wet and miserable day, but Linda and I felt quite cheerful as we set off on an epic five bus trip, which took us, or so it seemed, round and round and round Heathrow.

We emerged from Feltham Station (trains from Waterloo, very easy) and had a bit of a scenic walk to find the head stop.  Eventually a very nice security bloke in the Feltham Leisure and shopping area announced 'all London is here' as he touched his forehead, and showed us. So we were onto our double decker by 10.35, destination Northolt.  We were pleased that it was a big bus:  most of the 90s we saw in the other direction were single deckers.

We liked Feltham, with its green open area, and pretty church, though were surprised to see a huge ASDA and an ALDI in the town and then a large Tesco on the outskirts.

We crossed the Duke of Northumberland's River which, as we suspected, is not really a river, but an artificial cut made by the owners of Syon Park.

 Planes were landing so close to us that we were a little uneasy, so it was good to see the many animals of the Hounslow Urban Farm clearly unaffected by the heavy traffic on the road and the relentless noise from overhead.  Our next river was the River Crane, and shortly afterwards were over the A 30 and into Hatton Cross, visiting its bus and underground station for the first, but not the last time of our day.  From there, we turned into the great city that is Heathrow, apparently employing more than 10,000 people itself, without counting the innumerable hotels, both large and larger, and the acres of carparking with their attendants.  The bus was not busy, but that may have been because we were mid-shift as far as airport workers were concerned.  Then we were over the motorway, and into Hillingdon, noting the good use of wide pavement for cycle track as well as pedestrians.  Nestle's Avenue told us the name of one of the big, if controversial  employers of the area, and we also saw signs to the London Motor Museum about which we did not know.

Over the Grand Union Canal, and into Hayes and Harlington, the bus needed to go 'round the back' of the pedestrianised shopping street, and soon we were travelling through a pleasant residential area, where the road was lined with what I am pretty sure were Gingko trees, which seemed adventurous of the Borough.  Many of the front gardens had been turned into hard standing, so we enjoyed one that had gone to the other extreme.  Then we were going through Yeading to pass Jedi-Robe, the Star Wars shop and so into Northolt.  The village sign still uses the old Middlesex county coat of arms, and the garden and small clock tower were looking lovely as we arrived at the station at 11.30.

The Number 89 Route

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Linda and I, Mary still being busy with family affairs, headed for Slade Green by train and boarded the 89 at 10.20.  Through suburban streets, and at first very flat, we noted TV aerials on high stalks to get reception. The Corner Pin Pub, named for the outermost and hardest to hit skittle, seemed to be in quite a good state, whereas a little later we passed a mound of rubble, only the pub sign, for The Harrow, surviving to tell us what it had once been.

We turned into the dual carriageway of North End Road, zipped along, round a roundabout and back, to turn left into Colyer's Lane, steeply uphill and then down again,  passing the green -though rather parched - open spaces of Erith School and then Northumberland Heath.  The substantial homes of this area mostly have hard standing instead of front gardens, but I expect all that green space will absorb the rain, if we ever have any.

At Bexleyheath bus garage we had a change of driver,  and then we passed signs to The Red House before reaching Bexleyheath centre, with its William Morris clock.  There was an attractive fountain, too, but the water was all foamy:  whether a deliberate ploy to prevent  trouble in the school holidays, or just a mistake, we do not know.  We noted lots of good shops, and an enormous Asda, before moving on, past more signs to the Red House, along Crook Log.  This is both a street and the pub (now a Toby Carvery) part way along it.  Apparently Roger Moore, The Saint, once lived around here, but that is Wikipedia and not a blue plaque sighting.  We admired the very modern Crook Log Leisure Centre and swimming pool, and were rather taken aback at the sight of a gun shop, since we though that opportunities for wild fowl shooting round here must be a bit limited.

We saw Erith and Belvedere Football Club's ground, and then were interested by two more pubs.  The first was Guy Earl of Warwick.  A cursory web search suggests that an awful lot of Earls of Warwick were called Guy, and this one may have been early 14th century and involved in wars against Scotland as well as opposing Piers Gaveston.  Then we saw a pub that appeared to be called 'John Barras' but it proves to be the name of the chain, rather than a fascinating local person.  The Woodlands Farm Trust was on our right:  we have passed it from the other side, on other journeys, but this was the first time from the Shooters Hill side.  We also passed signs to Severndroog Castle, of which I had never heard, but Linda was abl to tell me about the hopes to get it all restored.  The large military accommodation blocks were on our left as we came through the edge of Eltham, noting that the Blackheath Dog Spa was closed and up for sale - they only lasted 18 months!

After the huge roundabout that offers you the Blackwall Tunnel or the Channel Tunnel (because it is the A2!) we were onto the heath of Blackheath, which is looking very dry, and the station, the private hospital and St Matthew's Academy, which has taken the Gove route of having nothing to do with local agencies.

And so to Lewisham, not for the first time.  We were interested to see that the derelict area where once there was a cinema is to be a green space, with a turfed mound in process of construction.  We look forward to enjoying its finished look on future trips.  As it was, we arrived at Lewisham Station at 11.30

The Number 88 Route

Camden (behind Sainsbury’s) to Clapham Common Station

Monday July 26th 2010

This started and ended as an overcast clammy day with some fairly feeble rain in the middle (not an umbrella’s worth) and low cloud obscuring some of the photographic opportunities.
88 – two fat ladies – slight exaggeration but 2 bus ladies boarded at Camden after what seemed like a pretty long wait which somewhat set the tone for the whole journey…

It was a long time since we had done any real central London trips, having been out beyond the TfL limits recently, and while in some ways it was good to be back – lots to look at – in other ways it reminded us how unpredictable central London traffic can be.

Anyway down Bayham Street, one of Dickens’s many dwellings and past the glories of Mornington Crescent – refurbished Craven A building and less furbished Taylor Walker pub (the lamps and trimmings needed a polish) and Koko club – I am sure it looks better by night.
Talking of disrepair, the former Temperance Hospital looks a real wreck along the approach to the Euston Road – perhaps it’s like the picture of Dorian Gray and the more the population drinks the more it crumbles? Not that we’re exactly tee-total.
The bus had to detour round a stranded car that seemed to have died on this rather busy thoroughfare.

Anyway the new bit of the route into town was along Great Portland Street (this is in fact one of those routes that correctly you should do both ways: as much of the earlier part is one-way the experience surely differs). Once behind the station this is a very fine stretch of upmarket shops and restaurants including one calling itself the Flower School. Even more surprising was a shop headed up hair-raising for kids, which I thought must be an exclusive children’s salon – it however proves to be a much more worthwhile venture.

We were quite surprised to see extensive queues of young people often with buggies in line for the Polish Embassy which finds itself in this corner of the West End. Of course the 88 soon crosses Langham Place with the cleaning of the Broadcasting House nearly complete and arrives at Oxford Circus – strange all that disruption last year to create a diagonal crossing and hardly anyone uses it? The journey down Regent Street towards Piccadilly seemed painfully slow today – we had a quick ticket inspection and then spent our time wondering randomly –

- why the road surface was quite so bumpy, after all this prime tourist Regent Street

- is oh-so-English Burberry still justified in flying the flag? 

- and why had another car ground to a halt on a double yellow line just short of Eros?

Down Haymarket was if anything even slower as by now in addition to the 10 or so routes queuing this way we had also acquired two ‘Original Sightseeing Tour’ buses. Trafalgar Square went comparatively faster and then we enjoyed reasonable speed down Whitehall giving us time to admire the range of statuary (General Haig in a rather commandeering pose), the Women at War Memorial and of course the Cenotaph. Talking of war, of course the Parliament Square peace protesters have been moved on and the grass looked as bare and yellow as it does elsewhere.

Milling crowds almost obscured the entrance to Westminster Abbey, leaving us to contemplate the Sanctuary Building nearby – once the HQ for the British Union of Fascists (I take no credit for this historical information). Soon after this and before we got too much of a nasty taste the 88 dives down Great Smith Street, which is much quieter . There was some debate as to whether the new government had dropped the Children & Families from the schools bit of its Education department so ‘we’ may be floating free again? Here is the HQ anyway, then bits of the Home Office too and eventually the 88 creeps up behind the Tate Gallery emerging in time to cross Vauxhall Bridge , which is of course where the rain set in – spoiling the transpontine photo opportunities of which I am so fond.

The streets off the South Lambeth Road have rather more to offer than the main drag, which has a somewhat patchwork period feel – there is just about something from each era. The  Black History Walk  starts from here and the link gives you both history and a map.

There was not to be much walking today, however, as the 88 pressed on down to Stockwell , as it happens our last journey through here (shh we’ve already ridden the 345), I think pretty thankful it could take on grateful passengers and move at normal bus speed. We passed again the church for the deaf – St Bede’s – and what seemed to be a speciality hereabouts – strange pub adornments: first of all an astronaut atop the Circle bar and a fish skeleton for the Railway Tavern near to Clapham North Underground.

From there it is but a quick run down to Clapham Common though quick was NOT how one could describe the total running time of this trip which was close to 1 ½ hours – still, if we had wanted to be in a hurry we would have taken the Northern Line all the way, but we are the Ladies who bus so we stayed put – it’s like a slow cooked flavoursome casserole as opposed to fast food.

The Number 87 Route

Tuesday 1 September 2009

This route was taken almost a year before its posting and, unusually, I was on my own.  Like the 86, which we were to travel much later, the journey was remarkable for many miles of straightness.

A short walk from the 28 brought me to Wandsworth Plain, where a selection of 87s stood, and we were off by 11.50.  We went at a smart pace, particularly compared to the lethargic 28.  After Wandsworth Town Hall, we went pretty well straight until we reached Vauxhall: East Hill becomes St John’s Hill and in due course Lavender Hill and Wandsworth Road.  The first time our driver had to steer at all was to get into and then out of Vauxhall Bus Station. We swept past Clapham Junction Station, and Arding and Hobbs (now Debenhams).

The Artesian Well has a handsome Triton on its exterior, though its website reveals it is not really a pub for people our age.

The Postmen’s Office proves to be Clapham Sorting Office.  Being alone limits the chances of taking photographs, but the website will show you what a quaint building it is.

On every occasion that we stopped at a traffic light, the driver hooted as soon as he got green, to encourage whoever was in front.  The scheduled time for the trip to Aldwych is 45 minutes, and this is clearly rather tight.

After Vauxhall we crossed the river to proceed smartly along Millbank.  No-one wanted to get off for Tate Britain, but as we reached Parliament Square and Whitehall there was more passenger movement.  

We were a little slowed by the continuing works up Whitehall.  The barricades are, I take it, to protect our civil servants from their employers, the governed, which seems an interesting use of the taxpayers' money.  We were not seriously delayed, however, and we panted into Aldwych within the set time but only just.  

When they make me Dictator of all Buses, one of my first acts will be to shorten the time allowance for the 28 and lengthen the 87’s.

The Number 86 Route

Monday 12 April 2010

Having emerged from the Blackwall Tunnel on the 108 and got to elegant Stratford Bus Station, Mary, Linda and I had to hurry to get onto the 86, before it left at 11.15.
There were already lots of people on board, so we didn't get our customary front seats on this, the only double decker of our journey.

We headed straight along the Romford Road, and in fact were to go straight for many miles.  It's hard to say whether this is because (a) the comparatively flat nature of the land makes straight roads easier, or (b) the roads came before some of the settlements or (c) the Romans were here. Certainly it was very different from some of the lane-like high streets we have wound along in West London

We passed The Old Dispensary which apparently is now being used as Newham Council's 2012 Olympic Offices.  We were, of course, in Olympic territory with good views, though poor photo opps of the main stadium and the aquatics centre.  By the time you read this, it will all be even nearer completion, but this website is quite fun anyway.

The West Ham Municipal Baths is now home to the First Musical Academy,  and we also saw the large Police Station and the Forest Gate Mosque.  We were still heading straight, noticing anxiously that almost all the front gardens had been converted into hard standing - where will all the rain water go?

Manor Park High Street had some attractive shops and we were able to admire them before popping under the North Circular and over the River Roding  and (at last!) making a right and then a left to point towards Ilford and Romford.  Winston Way, we thought, was an indicator that we were getting into Churchill territory, though his constituency was a little further out.  We also noted the Winston Children's Centre. Our route paralleled the railway (our return on the 66 was to follow the Central Line) so we passed Seven Kings, Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath Stations.

The pubs on this trip seemed to be in better condition than other places we have been, and we admired the realistic sign of the Cauliflower.  We also approved the Borough's signage about drinking too much.

Other signage we saw included the 'yoof' Church board ('luv 2 talk? talk 2 Jesus) and a hairdresser called 'Dye-ing for a Cut'.  The Territorial Army's 289 Parachute Troop, whose HQ was on our route, has a long history, including supporting the Royal Horse Artillery, an odd mixtures of the ancient and modern when it comes to methods of warfare.  Although we passed signs to Romford Greyhound Stadium, we sadly did not get close to it, nor indeed sample its many delights. 

We reached Romford Station, busy with shoppers, at 12.25.  Much of the 70 minutes of the ride had been in a straight line, but with plenty of shop-and-people watching to keep us entertained.