1. Dagnam Park Square bus stop

Before getting on the bus, have a quick walk round the green next to the stop. It’s Stratton Road Woodland and though it’s nothing special, it’s rather nice that there’s an open green space bang in the middle of a residential area.

2. Chippenham Road bus stop

From the stop, walk round to St George’s Church. The church started out as a local mission in 1939 and the current building was officially opened in 1953 to serve the developing post-war estate of Harold Hill. As people needed to be rehoused after the East End of London was bombed and homes destroyed in the Blitz, housing estates all around this area were built and communities formed. The church is modern and bright and very welcoming. I met the vicar who was happy to spend time telling me about the community and how they have a whole host of activities for all ages and stages. Whilst I was there, a regular Thursday morning drop-in was taking place.

On your way back to the bus stop, pop into Harold Hill Library. As with the church, the library came into existence as a result of the burgeoning new community in the 1950s. The state-of-the-art building is currently displaying a wooden model of the planned regeneration project taking place in Harold Hill.

At the bus stop is a war memorial stone for those who perished in not just world wars I and II but also the Korean War and the Falklands War. The plaque states “This memorial is dedicated to those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom. May we the people of Harold Hill enjoy lasting peace and remember them with pride”. It’s a large stone made out of pink granite and is a constant and poignant reminder to all who pass by, of the ultimate sacrifice these people made.

3. Balgores Lane bus stop

As a direct contrast to the previous stops, take a brief walk to Crossways where on the corner is a cheerful mural entitled Optimus Primed. It features a towering (Transformer) Optimus Prime hoisting a traffic warden into the sky, painted right next to an actual parking meter (not seen in the image here). It was created by artist RYCA and was apparently completed in just one day.

The surrounding area is also of interest – it’s part of the late-Edwardian Gidea Park Exhibition Estate which was built as a garden suburb. It was made up of 159 fully-furnished houses and cottages each funded by the architects who designed them, in either the Arts and Crafts or Art Nouveau styles. When finished, an exhibition was organised to showcase the dwellings for prospective buyers and a competition was held to find the best building. The best detached houses were awarded Class I status, which would allow the property to be sold for £500 (a fortune at the time), while Class II buildings were marketed for £375. The buildings were judged on their utility and economy of management and maintenance.

Mea culpa – I didn’t look up the winners of the competition before I visited the estate so I didn’t get to take photos of the winning properties. The whole concept of the garden suburb and competition was the brainchild of Liberal MP Herbert Raphael, after whom a nearby park is named. He had been inspired by Hampstead Garden Suburb which had been established by Henrietta Barnet in 1906.

4. Repton Avenue and Rom Valley Way bus stops

The day was only marred by the torrential rain that meant more time on the bus and less time walking and finding places to see. So the next two stops had to be seen from the top of the 174. Near the Repton Avenue bus stop is Raphael Park (named after the instigator of the Exhibition Estate) and Black’s Bridge. By all accounts, the park is large and has a lake, bandstand and numerous sports pitches. It was formed as part of the parkland surrounding Gidea Hall and bestowed to the public by Raphael himself.

Black’s Bridge has been awarded Grade II status for its special historic interest. It was built in the late 18thC and was inside the parkland at Gidea Hall. In 1714 Gidea Hall was sold to Richard Benyon, governor of Fort St. George in Madras, India. He enlarged the house around 1766 and extended and redesigned the grounds. In 1802, his grandson, also Richard Benyon, sold Gidea Hall to Alexander Black and it is he who is remembered in the name of the bridge, and the lake, known as Black’s Canal.

Near Rom Valley Way bus stop is Oldchurch Roundabout Park which is exactly what it says – a park in the middle of a roundabout. The Old Church Roundabout is on the site of Romford’s original settlement. It takes its name from a 12th-century chapel dedicated to St. Andrew, which was first recorded in 1177 and abandoned by 1410 when the town’s focus shifted to the market centre. The park itself is admittedly very small but it makes for a more pleasant view – especially from the top of the bus! – than the usual concrete or bland roundabouts.

5. Crow Lane bus stop

Round the corner from the stop is Romford Cemetery, one of the better maintained cemeteries in London. It has two ragstone chapels, which are joined by a Gothic porte-cochère (a covered, drive-through entryway attached to a building). One is a memorial chapel that houses a Book of Remembrance. There is also a permanent exhibition here entitled Lives Remembered. It tells the stories of 80 historical residents who are buried in the cemetery, including notable local figures and police officers killed in the line of duty.

6. The Chase bus stop

The bus stops just about outside the Farmhouse Venue. It was once the Farmhouse Tavern and had been standing empty for a decade or more until permission was given to restore the building and turn it into the lovely grade II place that it is today. It’s in the grounds of Eastbrookend Country Park and has beautiful gardens – I imagine it’s a perfect location for a wedding or other celebration.

Eastbrookend Country Park is an easy stroll from here and it’s definitely worth the walk to see the vast area it covers. It consists of meadows and wetlands, a lake and a discovery centre with a café. As you would expect, it’s a site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. You can pick up a leaflet that gives information for a self-guided circular nature trail that begins and ends at the Discovery Centre. If you’re lucky, you’ll see and hear skylarks, catch a glimpse of butterflies, bees and dragonflies and wander through the woodland and meadows. At the lake, you’ll see geese and swans – and just hope you go on a sunny (or at least rain-free) day.

7. Thames Avenue bus stop

Yet another outside space to see here. Beam Parklands is located where the River Wantz meets the River Beam. The parkland’s main function is to act as a flood defence, protecting neighbouring homes, schools and businesses from flooding. For a few days each year, after heavy rains, some parts of the site will be underwater. The day of my visit was just one such, so there was a lot of water to be seen. Along the rivers and floodplain are wildlife-rich reed beds, shallow ponds and marsh areas. Unfortunately, it’s not possible at present to walk along the paths as the entrance gates are all locked but it is possible to see them from the main road and bridge.

Over the road from the parkland is Beam Park apartments. These are rented through the London Living Rent scheme and tenants are required to have a minimum income of £48,500 for a one-bedroom flat or £55,000 for a 2-bed place. Presumably out of reach of many would-be tenants but they are in a lovely location, opposite parkland and with the river flowing through the grounds.

8. CEME Innovation Centre bus stop

This is the end of the route and where you’ll find CEME, The Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence. The centre was developed as part of the Beam Reach area of the Thames Gateway regeneration and provides serviced office and workshops for engineering, training and technology businesses in East London. Its grounds are pretty and some of the buildings are stylish, with the river Beam (for some reason, also known as the river Rom) running along one of the borders of the site. It’s not really a tourist destination but as an end to the route (or the start), it’ll get you absorbed in the surroundings.

Considering that much of this route overlaps with the 173, I was pleasantly surprised to find new places to explore. It was a real shame that there were a few torrential downpours but the key for me is to be creative and not mind deviating from my planned itinerary. Perhaps the most surprising stop was at the Gidea Park Exhibition Estate where it’s possible to see a variety of different styles of house. My regret is that I hadn’t discovered who had won the competition – in fact, in carrying out my post-route research, I found that there were several winners, in different categories. I did notice that a lot of this route not only overlaps with the 173 but also both of them coincide with the 175 so I might have to do something different when I go on that route. I’m curious as to why TfL runs all three routes in more or less the same place.

Toilets that are open to the public and free of charge:

• St George’s Church
• Harold Hill Library