I hadn’t been on a bus for the past few weeks due to Bank Holiday and illness so I was really looking forward to today’s outing. And I wasn’t disappointed.

1. Festing Road

The number 22 starts at Putney Common – not far from the start of the 14 – but the weather conditions today were quite different. First time without a coat and it felt great!I just went one stop to Festing Road and walked round the corner to Leaders Gardens and the Festive Walk. The gardens are small but lead on to a wonderful walk along the Thames and Putney Embankment and they are also the start of the Putney Sculpture Trail.

2. Wandsworth Bridge Road

From here I went back on the 22 to Wandsworth Bridge Road stop and called in to Eel Brook Common. It was here in the late 19th century that Fulham FC (then an amateur team) used to play their home games. Over the road from the common is a blue plaque commemorating the illustrator Ralph Steadman at 101 New Kings Road.

3. Beaufort Street

Next stop was at Beaufort Street where I found the Fetter Lane Moravian Church. The church was founded in 1457 in Bohemia and the original chapel in Fetter Lane was registered in 1742 in England under the Toleration Act. It was destroyed by enemy bombing in 1941 and was re-established in the 1960s in Chelsea.

4. Hyde Park Corner

Back to the bus and alighted at Hyde Park Corner from where I walked in the underpass to get to Old Barrack Yard. In the late 18th century, barracks were here for the Grenadier Guards. It’s possible that some of the buildings around the arched entrance to the yard, are part of the original stables. There is a leaning lamppost in the middle of the yard and at the southern end, is a lovely looking pub called the Grenadier.

From here, I walked round the corner to St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, venue for famous weddings (e.g. Jennie Churchill, Winston’s mother) and a beautiful Victorian church. The tiled panels around the walls of the nave depict scenes from the life of Jesus Christ; the 14 Stations of the Cross that intersperse the tiled panels, show scenes from the Crucifixion story.

5. Berkeley Square

Back on the bus to Berkeley Square. As it was lunchtime by now, the square was filled with people eating lunch and enjoying the sunshine. The square itself is now a mixture of shops, offices, residential properties and clubs (for example Annabel’s). At number 50 is the former home of George Canning with its reputation of being a haunted house. 45 Berkeley Square is the former home of Clive of India.

6. Margaret Street/Oxford Circus

My final stop was at the end of the line at Oxford Circus and I walked round the corner to Cavendish Square, currently home to the Underbelly Festival. Within the square is a statue of Lord George Bentinck (his mother was a Cavendish, hence his statue in this square) who had been a Governor-General in India. Also in the gardens is the stone base remains of a statue of William, Duke of Cumberland. He was the son of George II and had a nickname of Butcher Cumberland owing to his harsh suppression of the Jacobite uprising in 1745.

Having had a few weeks’ break from my bus journeys, it was really good to be back and very fortunately, had glorious weather to accompany me. Especially as most of the places of interest today were outdoors. Today’s unexpected gem was the garden at Fetter Lane Moravian Church – it’s great to find things that are hitherto unknown (to me, at least)