london routemistress

Discovering the lesser-known parts of London by bus

London by (Bus) Numbers

Discover previous little-known areas of London by bus

Important to note: All the places I visit are free of charge to the public

Hi to you all!

My name is Helen Lewis aka London Routemistress. At the end of 2021, I decided I needed some adventure back in my life and owing to Covid restrictions, couldn’t easily travel abroad. So my thoughts came nearer to home – and I decided to explore the London I live in (but wasn’t brought up in) and have come to love. So what’s the best way to travel around the city? By bus if you want to see the “real” London …. so I made up my mind to start at number 1 (New Oxford Street to Canada Water) and find the not-so-well-known parts of the capital over the coming weeks, months and hopefully years.

At first I thought I’d just do part of each route and did exactly that for numbers 1 and 2. I then realised that in order to be true to what I was hoping to achieve – exploring the whole of London – I had to start at the beginning of each route and end at the terminus. This has meant that at times, it’s taken me up to an hour and a half just to reach the start of the route but it’s definitely been worth it.

The way I’m doing it is this:

Every weekend I research the bus route that I will do the next Monday, this being the day I’ve set aside to travel. The idea is to get on and off the bus at specific pre-assigned/designated stops in order to visit places of interest, that are little- or even not- known to the majority of people.

I visit between 4 and 6 places, and they will vary according to the route. Sometimes I will see memorials, historic buildings, museums, cemeteries, parks and gardens. I generally don’t pay to enter places, mainly because I don’t stay long enough to justify an entrance fee. I make a note of anywhere I think deserves a follow-up visit for which I’d be happy to pay.

So join me in my London adventure and explore the city with me – either here by reading my weekly blog, or find me at the start of the next London bus route.

Remains of the Manor House of Edward III at Rotherhithe (Bus Route C10)

  • Bus route 178

    1. Calderwood Street bus stop Before getting on the 178, walk to Woolwich Town Hall, a rather grand building, designed in the Edwardian Baroque style and opened in 1906. As well as its imposing entrance, there’s a 40m high Italianate clock tower outside. Inside is just as impressive. You enter from the street and come…

  • Bus route 177

    1. New Cross Gate station bus stop Some of this route has inevitably been covered in others but it’s worth getting out at this stop to see the plaque for the Woolworths V2 Memorial. On the site of what was once Woolworths in New Cross Gate (and is now Iceland) is the plaque that states…

  • Bus route 176

    1. Sydenham station/ Kirkdale bus stop First stop is at Kirkdale where the bus stops very near the Greyhound pub. It was at one time a Georgian hunting lodge back in the 1720s, being first documented in parish records in 1726. Greyhounds were bred for hunting, using their speed and keenness of sight. During the…

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