Harlow, Heathrow and (My) Hunney

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Following Caroline’s post on Friday she has followed it up with one on Saturday with more details, and today (Sunday).

So, anyway, I’d agreed to meet Caroline at Heathrow in the evening, and it was a bit of the opposite to the previous week. I’d fancied a go on a Saturday-only bus route, and I wanted to have a bit of fun on the way to meet C.

I left the flat after a long lie and a late breakfast, and walked to the bus station for Richmond’s Service 43 (Royston – Chrishall) that crosses over into Cambridgeshire and Essex. This particular journey is unique, as it then continues via Berden to Bishop’s Stortford as Service 10, and returns early evening (Saturday is a market day in both Royston and BS). So, I took the 43/10 through from Royston to Bishop’s Stortford Interchange…





… and I was the only one going through! There were only two passengers (plus me) on the 43 section, but another 13 (plus me) were on at various points. When the second group got on the 10 at Chrishall, they all said hello to each other, and one of the woman looked at me, smiled, and said ‘Hello to you too, even though I don’t know who you are’, which was nice. They then started discussing one of their husbands recent surgeries… I was tempted to join in at this point, but decided against it. Upon arrival at Bishop’s Stortford, I snapped various vehicles, and I’d scheduled myself to do the Arriva 333 to Harlow at 1453. After looking at the boards, the Arriva 510 was due in a minute later, and was more-or-less the same, a bit more main road, and a larger vehicle. I said I’d take whichever came in first, and here it is… Arriva Volvo/Wright 3858 on Service 510 to Harlow.



Stepped on board, and found three versions of the same timetable… the 510 A5 leaflet in the usual Arriva The Shires style (but a lighter blue), a 1/3 A4 promotional flyer, and a new one on me, an A7 version of the promotional guide too, so grabbed a few upon boarding.

So, Harlow for just over half an hour, and I managed a bite to eat, as well as this Galleon/Trustline Optare Excel, still in livery of Diamond Bus, but with Trustline fleetnames and legal lettering…


…I finally managed to get a picture of one of the S M Coaches Irisbus Daily LoGo/Unvi’s…


… and this Marshall bodied Dart of Galleon/Trustline …


… before going for the 1500 724 from Harlow to Heathrow Airport, and the usual Arriva GreenLine fare of a Mercedes Citaro, 3906.

We had this for an almost three-hour trip, which I’d never done end to end before (OK, I’d got off at LHR Central, not T5, but close enough. There was a reason, keep reading!) A little quieter than I was expecting, but a pleasant trip through Ware, Hertford, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, The Galleria, St Albans, Garston, Watford, Rickmansworth, Maple Cross, Denham, Uxbridge, then along the Uxbridge Road past the RAF base, down Hillingdon Road, turning right at the traffic lights just before the row of shops that Steve P used to live behind, down Stockley Road, over Stockley Park (but catching me by surprise when I spotted bus stops for the A10 and U5 services on the main road at Stockley Estate – turns out they’ve built a new ProLogis Park there), and into the squeeze at Heathrow Central, partly caused by building works at the new Heathrow East (terminals 1 & 2). It was interesting to see some of the changes on route over the years, especially as I’d not been in Uxbridge for a couple of years at least. Proof that I made it to LHR CBS in one piece…


… and now, here is National Express (Operations) SP 04 HRL ex-Travel Dundee/Tayside Greyhound Volvo/Plaxton Paragon former Citylink coach, at Heathrow Central on the RailAir to Woking. As you can see, the destination display is not working…


… which means, somehow, that it is now showing a long-gone Citylink service number on the back end…


… Now, I was feeling rather peckish after that trip, so thought about popping to a local takeaway in nearby Hayes (Town), that was easy enough to get to from here, and back in time for C’s flight arrival (let’s not forget the reason I was here, after all!) Simple enough, 140 from the bus station to Hayes, Fairey Corner. Except there was a bit of a gap in service, and the first to arrive then took off Not In Service back to Harrow Weald garage. So, the next to come along was this Metroline Volvo/Plaxton President…


… as I was getting ready to board, I dropped the piece of paper with C’s flight details printed on it, but someone pointed this out to me nicely and chattily. I said that I didn’t need it right now, but I was coming back here later… I guess it was probably not so funny when you explain it… but anyway, nice enough. We all clambered on, I went upstairs, and I got off at Fairey Corner. There was another 140 behind us, as well as Transdev London United DP70 on the H98 (as usual).


Now, in the background, you can see a row of shops. Look for the orange Orlando sign. I’ve been there a few times in the past (used to temp not too far from here!). The original couple that owned it were real characters (think they were Australian), but they sold a long time ago now (before I transitioned, as I remember new owners were in place here in 2003). Anyway, they do this huge ‘snack’ of two burgers, cheese, onion rings, salad and sauce, in 12” French bread, with chips thown in, for £4.50. Didn’t think I could do it justice, but I finished it! Managed most of their chips, but forgot their BBQ is more like Chilli Sauce… still, I was stuffed after all that!


So, anyway, after devouring all that (oink oink is right!) I waited at the bus shelter beside the florists, for buses heading south. As I was waiting, this Asian mother noticed the handbag (she had a red one herself, and mine was the usual red tartan), and asked where it was found. I was able to proudly tell her it was a gift from my girlfriend, and then pointed out where I’d got it. We then chatted about such things briefly. I was waiting here for any bus to Harlington Corner (ideally a 140, which would continue through to Heathrow), and the first to come along was a rather busy DP70 on the H98 (see above), which had been up to Hayes End and back in the time I was munching! Crossed over Bath Road at Harlington Corner, and took similar DPS521 on the 285 (wholly within the Freeflow Heathrow scheme boundary around the Airport, so no fare payable).


Terminal 2 next, and I remember C pointing out the Andalucia adverts inside, so I snapped it up…


… then, had an iced coffee in Costa (T2 branch are making quite a bit out of us this month!), and waited for C’s plane to land. The flight was due to arrive at 2115, allow 40 minutes to get through baggage reclaim, and then we had a coach at 2210 (although I did have several back-up plans in mind, if it was late). Never mind, as the flight arrived at 2107. This meant that a well-tanned Caroline came out into the concourse at T2 Arrivals around 2140, and spotted me right away (with ‘CAROLINE’ and ‘MOUSE’ written on two BAA chauffeur cards!). We had plenty of time to make the coach, and here’s C in Central Bus Station waiting area… (slightly shaky, but I turned off the flash, as we had people around us)


So, that was it. C managed her backpack across to a very quiet 787 (the same coach that brought us here a week before), and we piled in. A few passengers, but not really a lot. Anyway, got to Royston just a few minutes behind our arrival time of 0016, and back home to the flat. It did feel good to have her around once again, even if she’d put on a little weight during the time! That won’t be long in shifting though. Very good day out, thoroughly enjoyed it. While C may have not planned for coming home at this point, it is still good to have her back! Now, she’s having a siesta…

Anyway, you can see all the pics here.