1. Northwick Park Hospital Social Hub bus stop

Take a look at Northwick Park underground station before getting on the bus. The tunnel leading to the ticket hall is more like a prison walkway than a public transport entrance but once you climb the stairs to the platforms, you feel a bit more on solid ground. The staircase is rather atmospheric with its elegant multi-paned windows, framed artwork, white-painted boarding and the roof structure. Then onto the platform and find the purple K8 telephone box, one of the few surviving K8s. They weren’t designed for public use – hence the word Private on the side – but only internal station use. Around 11,000 K8 kiosks were installed across the UK between 1968 and 1983 and only 54 have survived, as BT removed them with privatisation. They were all originally painted red but they have been repainted, in particular where they exist at London Underground stations. The iconic kiosk was deemed to be the masterpiece of “swinging sixties” minimalist design and is regarded as the final generation of cast-iron phone boxes ever produced in the UK.

2. Harrow and Wealdstone station bus stop

Despite having been at this stop a few times and in fact, recently on the 182, there was still something to see here. There are currently six platforms at the station – however, there used to be a platform 7. Ask the station assistant and s/he’ll tell you it doesn’t exist but take a peek from platform six and you’ll see what is a reminder – and remainder – of a railway line that has disappeared. It once served trains on the Stanmore branch, which ran from here to Belmont and Stanmore Village. The passenger service closed in 1964, but the old platform survives, with the former track bed now leading towards the Belmont Trail (more of which later).

Outside the station is an interesting sign but you do wonder where the Wombles are … (only people of a certain age will get this and you’re almost sure to be British!). The station building, dating from 1911-12 is rather impressive. Built for the London & North Western Railway, the red-brick building has some lovely stone detailing, but it is the clock tower that really stands out. The station is Grade II listed and the original LNWR lettering can still be seen on the building. Also wherever you stand outside, your attention is grabbed by the mural that runs the extent of the external bridge.

3. Belmont Health Centre bus stop

This is the stop to see the Belmont Trail. It’s hard to imagine trains running here now, but the Belmont Trail follows the route of a railway that once linked Harrow & Wealdstone with Stanmore. The branch line opened in 1890, although Belmont station itself didn’t open until 1932. The railway was never a particularly busy one and, with passenger numbers declining, the line eventually closed in 1964. The track was removed a couple of years later, leaving the old railway route to gradually take on a completely different character.

Today, the Belmont Trail is a leafy walking and cycling route, with trees, shrubs and areas of grass providing a wildlife corridor through the area. There is still the occasional clue to its railway past, but for much of the trail it is easy to forget that trains once travelled along this very route. What was once a functional railway has become a peaceful green space used by local people — a good example of how an old piece of London’s transport history can find a new purpose.

4. Belmont Lane bus stop

Round the corner from the stop are some lovely architectural delights. Aberdeen Cottages and Stuart Cottages are both locally listed and date from the period when this area of Belmont was changing from a rural area into a London suburb. Stuart Cottages date from around 1900, while Aberdeen Cottages were built a little bit later. They are a reminder of the early suburban development that followed the arrival of the railway in 1890. Aberdeen Cottages are a particularly attractive pair of large semi-detached houses, with projecting gables and tall brick chimneys, though it’s not easy to get a good vantage point to see them, while Stuart Cottages form a symmetrical terrace that are easily visible from the street.

Further down the road, outside the Canons Community Centre is a quirky folk-art style scrap metal sculpture of a double bass player. The piece has been creatively made using salvaged iron fragments and repurposed tools. The structural core of the body and the instrument is welded together to mimic a musician wrapped around the silhouette of a double bass. The face and hat are cleverly crafted from old shovel blades and flat tool heads. The entire figure is housed inside a tall, arched iron frame, giving the appearance of a musician performing inside a cage or display box. Very droll!

5. Canons Park Station bus stop

Walk to Canons Park and find your way to the George V Memorial garden. It’s a beautifully maintained walled garden with plenty of benches and paths to while away the time, sitting or walking. The site was originally part of the 18th C kitchen gardens for the Duke of Chandos’ estate and was re-laid out as a public memorial garden in 1937–1938 after the estate transitioned into a public park. It features a central square pool surrounded by a raised terrace with steps, formal flower beds and a pavilion. Outside the walled garden, look for the temple folly. Built between 1800 and 1838, the Temple is a classical garden building and has a grand Ionic tetrastyle portico (four columns) with a pediment on the northern façade, and two columns on the rear side.

6. St Lawrence Church bus stop

There’s so much to say about St Lawrence Church in Stanmore – but to do it justice, you really need to visit there yourself. Its stone tower dates from c. 1360 and the main body of the church was rebuilt in a Continental Baroque style in 1714-16 for James Brydges (later, 1st Duke of Chandos). The interior walls and ceiling are covered with paintings. The composer Handel was employed by Brydges in 1717/18 as his composer-in-residence. This resulted in a number of works including the Chandos Anthems. The church is believed to be where the Chandos Anthems were first performed.

At the east end of the church is the organ, which has been deemed to be an instrument of historic interest by the British Institute of Organ Studies. It is assumed to have been played by Handel. The surviving parts of the original 1716 single-manual instrument were used as the reference point for a reconstruction in 1994. 

Towards the end of his life, Brydges had lost much of his wealth, but in 1735 he had a mausoleum built attached to the east end of the church. Burials here include the 1st Duke of Chandos and his namesake James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos. The centrepiece is a quite magnificent Baroque monument to the first duke and his first two wives.

7. Mill Hill Circus bus stop

Cross over the road from the stop and round the corner is Lawrence Farm House, a late 17th/early 18th C red-brick building and is the last remaining vestige of the area’s ancient farming history, which, from manorial records, went back to 12th C. The house is Grade II listed and retains some lovely period details, including its steep tiled roof, sash windows and round-arched entrance with fanlight. The proposal to demolish the building in 1969 was met with instant outcry. After a long struggle the building was bought in 1976 and renovated and is now used as offices.

At 127 The Broadway and round the corner from Lawrence House is a former bank – this attractive red-brick corner building was a Lloyds Bank for at least half a century. Council records show alterations to the bank in 1962, and it was still operating here in 2013. The branch finally closed in 2016 and the building is now home to Domino’s Pizza. Its elaborate chimneys and prominent bay window make it an unexpectedly grand survivor on the Broadway.

8. Aerodrome Road/Colindale Gardens bus stop

This is an interesting stop. Between 1917 – 1919 the pioneer aviator Claude Grahame-White built Aeroville, an historic housing development for his aircraft factory and aviation workers. It’s a group of 30 houses designed by the company architect Herbert Matthews. The development was intended to be much larger, but the end of WWI and the sudden cancellation of government aircraft contracts meant that this was the only part ever built. The houses form a quadrangle around a central garden and have an attractive neo-Georgian, almost country-cottage appearance. The housing is a reminder of just how important Hendon was to the development of British aviation: by 1917 the Grahame-White factory employed around 1,000 people and covered 50 acres.

A few minutes’ walk from here is Jenner House – the surviving Grade II-listed administration building of Colindale Hospital, which opened in 1898 as an asylum and to care for London’s long-term sick. The hospital site was later largely redeveloped, but this lovely building survived and has been tastefully restored. The government expanded the site’s use in 1907 to begin manufacturing vaccines, which explains the later commemorative naming after Edward Jenner, the pioneer of the smallpox vaccine. Luckily, the hospital survived both World Wars despite sustaining damage from several bomb attacks and only closed as a hospital in the 1990s. Since then, it’s been converted to residential flats but has kept the façade and other original features.

The theme for this route seems to be transport – the bus stops at various underground stations and there is a link to past railways and past aerodromes. I thought I knew the places that the bus travelled through, but it seems I had plenty of pleasant surprises, probably number one being Aeroville. I confess that for once I didn’t go to the end of the route (at Brent Cross) – there was never an imperative to do so and I’ve come to realise that I don’t always have to religiously travel from terminus to terminus. It’s good enough to enjoy the route and to find places along the way. As the numbers get higher, it’s anyway going to be more difficult to find new things to see so for the time being, I’ll continue to do my pre-research and do the best I can to capture hidden gems.

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

• Northwick Park station
• Canons Community Centre