Monday 17^th January 2022 

Took northern Line to Kings Cross then H&C to Hammersmith. Picked up the number 9. As I now always get on at the start of the route, I can take my pick of seats. I go upstairs and at least for the first leg of the journey, can always get a front seat so I can watch where we’re going.

First stop for me today was to visit Marcus Garvey Park (North End Road stop). The park is named after Marcus Garvey, a civil rights campaigner who had lived round the corner. It’s pretty small and it’s mainly for kids to play. There is allegedly a tribute to local black history but it wasn’t obvious to me!

Back on the bus to Edwardes Square, a beautiful residential Georgian square (The Design Museum stop). The houses are lovely and a few of them have had famous residents over the years. I found four – number 11 had been the home of Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, author and humanist. Number 16 had seen Sir Roger Bannister live there; 19 was the home of Ugo Foscolo, the Italian poet and number 27 had been home to Frankie Howerd, comedian. The gardens in the centre of the square are reputed to be worth visiting but they are only open to residents.

As I was so near, I decided to go to the Design Museum. They had an exhibition about Terence Conran which showed him from Restauranteur to Designer to Entrepreneur. It was a lovely celebration of his life and the museum paid a great tribute to him.

Hopped back on the number 9 to Prince of Wales Gate in Hyde Park. Here I saw the plaque for the Great Exhibition of 1851, showing the exact site of the exhibition. The area covered was huge and the building was called the Crystal Palace so when it was dismantled and taken to south London, they renamed the area Crystal Palace (see bus route 3)

Whilst I was in the vicinity, I visited the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain – it’s calm and peaceful and right next to the Serpentine with plenty of ducks and swans gliding along. Also, a sculpture by Simon Gudgeon called Isis is just near the fountain. It’s commonly known as Serenity and it’s utterly beautiful.

Next stop was to see the Bomber Command Memorial which is situated at Hyde Park Corner, on the west side of Green Park. It’s a wonderful tribute to the aircrew who died during the first and second world wars. In the immediate area is also the Commonwealth Memorial Gates which commemorates the soldiers of the commonwealth who died fighting with the British in the two wars.

Final stop of the day was at Trafalgar Square to see what was on the Fourth Plinth. At the moment it’s a sculpture called The End by Heather Phillipson. It’s a giant swirl of whipped cream, a cherry, a fly and a drone which suggests both exuberance and unease, responding to Trafalgar Square as a site of celebration and protest.

Finished the route at Aldwych/Bush House, having had one of the best journeys to date.