The route runs from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico via Camden Town, Mornington Crescent, Warren Street, Goodge Street, Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, St James Park and Victoria. As far as records can trace, since 1934 the route has pretty much stayed the same with no adjustments or changes being made. It is the oldest unchanged route in London. The frequency is every 10 minutes, increasing to 12 minutes during the evening. Additionally, it runs 24 hours a day.
In terms of operator history it's been back and forth. Since introduction it was operated by Arriva London, transferring to Metroline in 2002, then to Go Ahead London in 2007, returning to Metroline again in 2012 before going to Abellio London in 2019. Upon it's return to Metroline in 2012, it was allocated New Routemasters (the irony is that they are not even that new anymore) being the first London bus route (of many) to convert. The route operates at Battersea (QB) garage so I imagine it isn't too far to get to Pimlico.
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| Two New Routemasters stand at the Hampstead Heath terminus in South End Green awaiting their journeys on route 24 towards Pimlico. Photo taken by Maggie Jones Photo taken during: April 2016. |
The route begins at South End Green in Hampstead Heath, close to the Royal Free Hospital. Hampstead is not the largest of areas but does have housing which is quite expensive. There are 6 bus routes in the Hampstead area, one being a night bus and 4 running during the day (apart from route 24 of course as that runs day and night). Hampstead Heath also is close by and if you have time and want to wander around, then it's definitely worth exploring - it's a large park and contains a number of ponds. I haven't been inside it myself but I saw alot of people walking towards there. Certainly a peaceful area for sure, alongside the cafes, restaurants and off licence stores nearby.
I arrived at the bus stop at around 3:00pm in the afternoon, with the bus coming around from the stand (which was a tight turn) to let us onboard. I took my seat upstairs and we were on the move. Departing away, we took a left hand turn onto the one way Agincourt Road, leading us to the outskirts of Gospel Oak. On the right hand side a school and a church made an appearance as we twisted left and right before it became straight again. So far, the route had felt residential aside from the occasional off licence stores appearing now and then, although there was an interesting mix of buildings. The 46 bus route has followed us since we began at Hampstead Heath, after the stop Prince of Wales Road at the junction it heads it's own way while we remain on Ferdinand Street. The housing section was over (for now at least) turning left at the junction onto Chalk Farm Road.
The next area of interest is Camden Town, Camden Market made an appearance on the right while the day to day shops is on the left, notably this area can get particularly busy on weekends (due to Camden Market) around this area and it certainly was the case when I travelled today being Sunday. Taking a left hand turn, avoiding the main touristy bit onto another one way road. I would say this bit is the more quieter end of Camden Town, mainly being housing and a couple of railway bridges. After the Camden Gardens bus stop, the road turns into four lanes and we take the furthest one towards the right. Now on Camden Road, a Sainsburys store made an appearance while stopping at Camden Town station, served by London Underground Northern Line. The station gets really busy and this is where the bus started, to fill up a bit with tourists and local passengers. We twisted left heading towards Mornington Crescent, along with more housing looking largely identical to each other. At the end of this road, we went right with the sign ahead directing us towards Central London and Euston. The left hand turn followed at the second junction heading away from Camden. Mornington Crescent seemed bit more quieter than the bustling Camden though it still contained a decent amount of shops and restaurants. We navigated through Harrington Square Gardens (essentially a one way road) which was in the middle, the next bit containing many buildings and construction work for HS2 (High Speed 2 - a railway project).
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| Onboard route 24, on approach to Tottenham Court Road. |
Entering into Central London, Warren Street station (served by the Northern and Victoria lines) appears after crossing the busy Euston Road junction, this is where it starts to get touristy. Now we are on Tottenham Court Road (the name of the road not the area yet), and pretty much a mixture of shops, restaurants and eateries. Further down is Goodge Street station (served by the Northern Line) passing through an array of traffic lights that so close to each other. Approaching another station, Tottenham Court Road (served by Central, Northern and Elizabeth lines). Since the Elizabeth Line now passes through here it has become a very busy station, right on the heart of Oxford Street. Venturing south on Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square is our next point of interest the bus I was riding still full with passengers. The station is served by the Piccadilly line. You will get the usual horde of tourists between here and Westminster, notably demonstrations take place. Trafalgar Square is a very famous tourist area that people love to visit and there seemed to be an event going on with food stalls and music to entertain the crowd. You can also alight here for Charing Cross station (Bakerloo and Northern Lines), and for Southeastern services at London Charing Cross heading towards Kent. Continuing onwards to Whitehall for Horse Guards Parade, before reaching Westminster and Parliament Square not long after. Navigating through Parliament Square, the bus decided to go past Westminster Abbey and St James Park, the office buildings and shops making an appearance.
Victoria. One of the last busy areas we pass through in Central London. Passing Westminster Cathedral, the bus stop for Victoria station (Circle, District and Victoria Lines), is immediately twisting left, opposite the Apollo Theatre. Heading to the main London Victoria station, served by Southern and Southeastern, you can get train services towards South London, or even further towards Kent and Sussex. The bus emptied out here which was a relief, as I pretty much had to endure a packed bus since Camden Town! A few twists and turns led us to Wilton Road, essentially a backstreet section of Victoria. A Sainsburys shop had appeared to the right of me, one those shops that I pretty much went to a few times in the past. The scenery began to change again with an eventual left turn, passing through more housing, it felt quite posh though this time. Pimlico. Passed through St George's Square, where you can alight for Pimlico station (served by Victoria line). Getting close now but at the next set of traffic lights we turned right, this road featuring a mixture of housing, a few shops and parked cars on both sides of the road. This route seems to like twisting and turning, as a left hander followed at the next traffic lights, though I could see the railway bridge and Battersea Power Station across the River Thames. The lights went green, we made the final left hand turn onto Grosvenor Road, the terminus of the route arriving at 4:15pm.
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| Battersea Power Station seen across the River Thames. |
Was quite the journey to make but happy to have done the route, I would say it's perfect if you like touristy routes, as this route covers the main ones. It took me around 75 minutes to do end to end, so not too bad considering the length is 7 miles in total. This route was actually proposed in recent times to be withdrawn by Transport For London (TFL) as part of their consultations they do. It managed to avoid being axed so it survives... for now.
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| Battersea Power Station seen in the distance. |
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| Grosvenor Road, at the first bus stop for route 24 heading towards Hampstead Heath. |
If you want to kill time, then yes I recommend the route - preferably during the quieter times of day such as early morning.
Thanks for reading and happy riding!
