I was travelling on the W3 the other day past Alexandra Palace, which
has great views across London, and I got to thinking - has anybody
compiled a list of scenic London bus journeys (not the central London
tourist sights, which are well documented)?

My initial contribution - in no way exhaustive - would be:

20 - North Circular Road to Loughton
43/134/263 - Highgate to Archway (this direction only, and only if
you're sitting in the front)
65 - Kew to Kingston
111 - Kingston to Hampton
210 - Archway to Golders Green, though it is compromised by being a
single deck route
251 - Totteridge to Mill Hill (again loses marks for being single
deck)
275 - Chingford Mount to Woodford
307 - Enfield to Cockfosters
W3 - Wood Green to Crouch End

A fairly blatant northern bias, because that's where I live!

Any additions?

Peter

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:47:14 -0700, peter wrote:

Any additions?

R8

--
jhk

On Sep 24, 8:47 am, peter wrote:
I was travelling on the W3 the other day past Alexandra Palace, which
has great views across London, and I got to thinking - has anybody
compiled a list of scenic London bus journeys (not the central London
tourist sights, which are well documented)?

My initial contribution - in no way exhaustive - would be:

20 - North Circular Road to Loughton
43/134/263 - Highgate to Archway (this direction only, and only if
you're sitting in the front)
65 - Kew to Kingston
111 - Kingston to Hampton
210 - Archway to Golders Green, though it is compromised by being a
single deck route
251 - Totteridge to Mill Hill (again loses marks for being single
deck)
275 - Chingford Mount to Woodford
307 - Enfield to Cockfosters
W3 - Wood Green to Crouch End

A fairly blatant northern bias, because that's where I live!

Any additions?

Peter

The route 14 is the famous one - but you specified no central London
routes.
A bit of a cheat, but the rail replacement bus that occasionally
covers the Met from Moor Park or so to Amersham is a great route.
Thanks for those other ones. I'll definitely try some out.

Offramp ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

A bit of a cheat, but the rail replacement bus that occasionally
covers the Met from Moor Park or so to Amersham is a great route.

"Occasionally"...? Seems like most flamin' weekends!

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:47:14 -0700, peter
wrote:

I was travelling on the W3 the other day past Alexandra Palace, which
has great views across London, and I got to thinking - has anybody
compiled a list of scenic London bus journeys (not the central London
tourist sights, which are well documented)?

I think it all depends on your definition of scenic. There are places
that might not be full of green space but which are interesting in terms
of the architecture or "village" feel of the area you're in.

My initial contribution - in no way exhaustive - would be:

20 - North Circular Road to Loughton
43/134/263 - Highgate to Archway (this direction only, and only if
you're sitting in the front)
65 - Kew to Kingston
111 - Kingston to Hampton
210 - Archway to Golders Green, though it is compromised by being a
single deck route
251 - Totteridge to Mill Hill (again loses marks for being single
deck)
275 - Chingford Mount to Woodford

You'll struggle to catch this at Chingford Mount! Either Walthamstow or
perhaps Highams Park. The bit beyond Woodford to Barkingside is not too
bad but more in terms of seeing what that part of London is like.

307 - Enfield to Cockfosters
W3 - Wood Green to Crouch End

A fairly blatant northern bias, because that's where I live!

I don't disagree with your list btw - some good choices.

Any additions?

For a true "country" bus feel - W10 Enfield to Crews Hill. Doesn't run
very frequently but it is like a rural local bus - people wave to the
drivers and there is obviously a regular clientele.

468 Elephant - Croydon.
Some of the "R" routes in Orpington - not used many of them but they do
reach out in the Kent borders. R2, R5 and R8 are possibly the best bets.
146 Bromley North - Downe
246 Bromley - Westerham / Chartwell
465 Kingston - Dorking
3 Oxford Circus - Crystal Palace (interesting at the southern end)
358 Crystal Palace - Orpington
249 Balham - Anerley Station
185 Camberwell - Forest Hill

393 Clapton - Chalk Farm - if you want to see "behind the scenes" of
Clapton, Stoke Newington and Highbury. Not done the bit to Chalk Farm
yet.
19 Battersea - Finsbury Park. Great for a view of different London
"villages". The 137 is also good for this as well.
24 Pimlico - Hampstead Heath.
268 Finchley Road - Hampstead
31 Camden - Notting Hill Gate - an interesting swathe of "gentrified"
inner North London
107 Edgware - Barnet. Gets into the Hertfordshire borders.
313 Enfield - Potters Bar

Possibly the U9 and 331 out at Uxbridge but not travelled on these.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:47:14 -0700, peter
wrote:

I was travelling on the W3 the other day past Alexandra Palace, which
has great views across London, and I got to thinking - has anybody
compiled a list of scenic London bus journeys (not the central London
tourist sights, which are well documented)?

I guess the RV1 riverside bus would be the obvious one...

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

347 Romford Market - South Ockendon covers some pleasant semi-rural mileage

I echo the 275 recommendation - a slightly odd route, but (away from
Walthamstow) often a brisk ride through changing vistas.

What about some of the routes in the Purley/Warlingham/Woodmansterne areas?
This is fairly hilly territory, and I've often thought I could enjoy a ride
on the top deck around these parts, but never made time for it. In fact, any
route recommendations in this area?

Chris

On 24 Sep, 09:56, Paul Corfield wrote:
For a true "country" bus feel - W10 Enfield to Crews Hill. Doesn't run
very frequently but it is like a rural local bus - people wave to the
drivers and there is obviously a regular clientele.

465 Kingston - Dorking

Bit OT, but for a real country feel, just go one change beyond the
465. Change at Dorking for the Post Bus to Ockley or Coldharbour (8
seater, varies return route to suit regulars) or on a Fri get the
Ranmore service (picks up elderly passengers for Dorking on the way
out to Ranmore, to save them having to cross a busy road). Or one more
step - Postbus Dorking to Forest Green then to Broadbridge Heath -
every 2nd and 4th Tue. Free Tesco bus from there to Horsham and 93 to
Dorking.

Jon

On 24 Sep, 22:15, "Chris Read" wrote:

What about some of the routes in the Purley/Warlingham/Woodmansterne areas?
This is fairly hilly territory, and I've often thought I could enjoy a ride
on the top deck around these parts, but never made time for it. In fact, any
route recommendations in this area?

Try the 409 from East Croydon Station. It's a long lived survivor from
LT Country Bus days and still goes to East Grinstead, miles out in the
country, albeit via a very slightly different route these days. It's
surprising how quickly you leave behind the very urban feel of Croydon
as it trundles through leafy suburbs and heads off through very
sparsly populated areas and zig zags across Surrey picking up various
towns otherwise unserved by any buses at all. It even at one point
back-tracks on itself along the same road in the Farleigh area! It's
usually a single deck vehicle, although double deckers are sometimes
used - despite the fact that it it usually only has a couple of people
on board. Allow yourself plenty of time as it must be one of the
slowest ways of getting anywhere, which is why almost no one uses it,
apart from the fact that it only runs once an hour and stops running
at about 6p.m. and not at all on Sundays. Welcome to public transport
outside London!

Peter

Paul Corfield wrote:

Possibly the U9 and 331 out at Uxbridge but not travelled on these.

The 331 is a pretty good route, but again loses points for being a
single decker.

It's also one of the "Beyond the Fringes" routes that strays outside
Greater London as it passes through Denham.

Denham: Scene of much annoyance as the Post Office/Mini Market will
quite happily sell you a Zones 1 to 6 Travelcard (valid on the 331
throughout the route), but if you want to get the Chiltern Railways
service into Marylebone, rather than the 331 to Uxbridge and then the
Met or Piccadilly, it'll cost you an extra £2.80 for the privilege, as
it's outside the zones.

Mind you, if it was up to me (which it isn't), I'd extend the Z6
boundary to include Denham, just to get rid of that anomaly.

And on the subject of Denham and anomalies, who's going to decide what
counts as a "local" bus service for the purposes of free bus travel for
over 60s from next April?

Green Line Route 724, which generally uses Single Decker buses in the
usual Arriva Turquoise livery, could class as either, depending on the
journey being made, as it runs through from Harlow to Heathrow Airport,
via Ware, Hertford, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, St Albans, Watford,
Rickmansworth, Denham and Uxbridge, with an end to end journey time of
nearly 3 hours.

Cheers,

Barry