2016 - Day Out 01: London

Its a new year and for our first trip of 2016, we are back on the coaches again, our first operator being Whittles and our first location is London.

Its an early start and Mr UKBuses makes his way to Wollaston, with myself meeting him halfway, after meeting up, we make our way on the frost covered pavements up to Wollaston village where we quickly pop into the Spar to get some liquid refreshments for the coach journey ahead. After paying five pence for a carrier bag, we make our way to the bus stop situated on the main Wollaston Island and wait for our coach to turn up. As we get nearer to pickup time, a few more people appear to catch our coach and the coach is running late. I decide to get some "fresh air" and as soon as I light up, yes, the coach arrives and pulls up at 07.50am. We board our Whittles Coach with coach driver, Pete, greeting us as we board, we take our seats, getting comfortable and warming up as we make our way to the last pick up point at Stourbridge Ring Road, before doing another tour of the ring road and making our way to Hagley and then onto the M5 briefly before going onto the M42 and then onto the M40.

We make our way along the M40 and as we reach Junction 8a, we leave the motorway and have a break at the Welcome Break Oxford Services, so we alight the coach and after some "fresh air", we make our way indoors. We decide to have a bite to eat and breakfast is still being served, so we visit Burger King and have a "Bacon Buttie" and I also opt for a hash brown. When our meal is served we are asked if we want any sauces, we ask for brown sauce and get offered BBQ sauce, so we decline and tuck in and our bacon buttie is basically a couple of slices of bacon on a burger bun which already had tomato sauce on it and the hash brown is a load of small mini hash browns. With the breakfast not being as expected, it did go down well and certainly hit the spot. We walk back around to the coach and some "fresh air" is had whilst we wait for the driver to return, see picture right. We board our coach and Mr UKBuses decides to take a couple of fingers off his hand by firstly getting one trapped in the overhead locker and then he decides to take another one out by getting it trapped when he raises the arm rest. Just after 10.30am we make our way back onto the M40 and get to London, leaving the M40 and onto the A40 passing RAF Northolt and passing through White City, just getting a glimpse of the old BBC TV Centre and passing Kensington Palace before alighting at Park Lane.

We are dropped off just by the bus stop where we have to catch our first bus of the day, so after some "fresh air" whilst Mr UKBuses takes a few photographs, our Arriva London service 73 arrives and we tap in for the first time today and also this year, using our Oystercards. We go through the "Streets of London" and after about fifteen minutes, we arrive at Victoria Bus Station where a few minutes are had taking some photographs, see picture left. We make our way through Victoria Railway Station, to get to our bus stop and we catch Metroline's Service 24 from Victoria, which takes about 10 minutes to go round in a circle, and we arrive at Trafalgar Square about 20 minutes later, where we alight. After a few more photographs are taken, we decide to have a drink and some food, so we head to J D Wetherspoon's "The Lord Moon of the Mall", where Mr UKBuses gets the first round in. Whilst he is at the bar waiting to get served, I look around the pub for a table and cannot find one, so food may be have to taken elsewhere. I do wait around the front of the pub and luckily a few people leave and I swoop in for the kill and lay claim to the table. We decide to have some food despite a half hour wait and Mr UKBuses decides to opt for the BBQ Chicken Melt "without the melt", I opt for the Chicken Burger with a free pint. Another round is purchased as I ordered the food.

After a "fresh air" break, I make my way back inside and re-join Mr UKBuses and just after half an hour later, our food eventually arrives so we tuck in. The chips we had were slightly limp and then I went to eat my chicken burger which half of it was rock solid and must have been left on the griddle far too long. After eating what I could, I put my plate to one side and when a member of staff came round to collect our plates he decided to ask the question, "Was everything alight with our meals?", I then demonstrated with a fork, that the fork couldn't even penetrate my burger and after about five minutes away he comes back to the table, he comes back with a full refund for both our meals. Whilst it was not the member of staff's fault about the food, I must congratulate him on the way he dealt with the complaint and how quickly he responded. We finish our drinks off and then make our way around to the Charing Cross Underground Station, where we make our first journey of the day and year, on The Tube.

We make our way onto the Bakerloo Line and go a couple of stops to Oxford Circus, where we alight and make our way onto the Central Line and we make our way to the East End and just after ten minutes we arrive and alight at Bethnal Green Underground Station. We make our way to ground level, and we make our way to the bus stop opposite the station and we catch Stagecoach London service 8 to Barnet Grove, where we alight and make our way down St Matthews Row and into a public house which was once owned by The Kray Brothers, so we enter into "The Carpenters Arms", see picture right, where Mr UKBuses decides to make a dash for the toilet, leaving me to get the round in (which means that I have purchased two rounds in a go as I purchased the second drink at the Lord Moon of The Mall!!), which came to a staggering £8.80 for two pints. We eventually find somewhere to sit, in the hallway next to the carpenter's tool's hanging on the wall (or were they a reference to tool used by The Krays?). We think Ronnie and Reggie were haunting the place as when we both took a "cheers photograph", both came out not in focus, see picture below left.

We finish our drinks and after passing a public house close by on the bus earlier, we decide to go off the plan and walk down Cheshire Street and onto Vallance Road, where upon on research we found out that we were standing in front of the building that now occupies what would have been The Krays family home, we walk to the end of Vallance Road and enter The Krays local pub, "The Marquis Of Cornwallis". We have a quick drink here, before we make our way out onto the East End streets and we again catch Stagecoach London service 8, where we alight at Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, looking at The Dominion Theatre for the first time without the giant statue of Freddie Mercury standing outside. We decide to pop into McDonald's opposite for a quick bite to eat and then we get onto our final tube journey of the day tapping in at Tottenham Court Road Underground Station and onto the Central Line alighting at Marble Arch Underground Station.

We make our way back to ground level and we still have half an hour left before the coach arrives, luckily in the area we know that there is a J D Wetherspoons pub just around the corner from our pickup point in Park Lane, so we decide to get in the warmth and visit "The Tyburn" and it is my turn for the round, even though I got an extra round in at The Carpenters Arms, and we rest our feet for a while before making our way back around the corner to Park Lane, where on time, our Whittles Coach arrives and we all board and take our seats ready for the journey back up the motorway. We start our journey back and it is not too long before snoring is heard when Mr UKBuses decides to have a nap. Luckily for the other passengers it is less than hour of hearing the noise as we arrive at Welcome Break Oxford Services where we have a brief break and time for some "fresh air" before we board again.

We leave the services and it is back up the M40, M42 and M5 with Mr UKBuses having another nap, before leaving the motorway and making our way back through Hagley, before arriving in Stourbridge, the first drop off point at around 08.15pm. Mr UKBuses makes sure that people get off quickly so that we can carry onto Wollaston where at about 08.20pm we arrive and alight. Luckily for Mr UKBuses, National Express West Midlands service 276 is running a few minutes late, but it does arrive and he boards for his short journey back home. I bid goodbye and have a quick nightcap in Graham's Place and The Unicorn before retiring back home and getting a well deserved sleep.

Despite the cold chill, the weather was kind to us and a good first day out of 2016 was had, thanks to Pete, our coach driver and Mr UKBuses for the plan, speaking of Mr UKBuses, his bald spot did make an appearance in the cold weather:

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot lurking at London Victoria Bus Station.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot nearly getting run over by a Borismaster at London Victoria Bus Station.

Bald Spot 3: The winter sunshine is reflected by the Bald Spot at Trafalgar Square.

2015 - Day Out 16: Return from London

Its our final morning in London and we wake up for the last time this year at Travelodge Docklands hotel and enjoy our last breakfast before making our way back to the West Midlands.

After making sure everything is packed, I make my way downstairs for some "fresh air" before Mr UKBuses surfaces and we make our way into the Bar Cafe where we fill up with a large breakfast to ensure we are full until we get back to the West Midlands. With a table chosen it is time to get our food and Mr UKBuses spends a few minutes again at the coffee machine and I think today he has got the hang of it. Whilst he is messing about with the coffee machine, I make my way to the food and load my plate up with bacon, sausage, beans and hash browns and make my way to the table. Mr UKBuses gets his plate filled up and we eat our breakfast. With my main breakfast out of the way, it is time to wash it down with some more apple juice and a few yoghurt's. Whilst Mr UKBuses finishes his breakfast off, I go outside for some "fresh air" before making my way back in. It is nearly time to leave and we make our way back to the rooms and make sure that everything is packed. I say goodbye to my room and make my way down to reception and check out. Time for a quick break of "fresh air" whilst waiting for Mr UKBuses and he checks out and we make our way to East India DLR station saying goodbye to Travelodge Docklands, see picture left.

We climb the stairs for the last time this year and tap in and make our way to the platform where after a few minutes we catch our DLR train to Canning Town, where we change onto The Underground and onto the Jubilee Line where we board a packed train. Luckily we do get chance to sit down for a few stops before we alight at Green Park, where we change onto the Victoria Line and catch our final tube this year to Victoria station where we alight and tap out. We make our way to ground, where Mr UKBuses asks if I want some "fresh air", only because he wants me to look after his bag whilst he goes around Victoria bus station to get a few photographs. Mr UKBuses has been gone for a while and expecting him to come around the corner, he pops up behind me as he has been in the station to get an extra OysterCard for when he comes down with family. Its time to say goodbye to London and we make our way to Buckingham Palace Road, where after a few minutes waiting at the bus stop, we board a London General service 11 bus. We don't have to go to far before we arrive at our stop and we alight at the same stop that we caught our first bus from on Friday, so you could say that we have come full circle and now is the time to leave London.

We are at Victoria Coach Station, see picture right, it is a bit different this time as we have to go in the main departure building and after getting some liquid refreshment for the journey back, we find out where we have to depart from. Once we find out, we make our way to Gate 14 and have a rest before our journey. With the coach due to arrive soon, I decide to get some "fresh air" leaving Mr UKBuses looking after the luggage this time. I make my way back to gate 14 and we still have about fifteen minutes to wait. A young girl comes running around the corner trying to get out but as the doors are locked she starts to panic but eventually she does get the attention a member of staff and luckily she does get to board her coach, a few seconds before it was about to drive off. It is nearly 11:00am and our coach is ready to board, we show our tickets to the driver who loads our luggage and we board our National Express Coach, this time taking the back seat as the front seat was unavailable due to a passenger deciding to leave his luggage there and using the seat opposite!

Just after 11:00am, we depart Victoria Coach Station and make our way through the streets of London and I follow suit as a fellow passenger takes his shoes off, so I take my boots off. After about 40 minutes we make a stop at Golders Green Underground Station, where a few more passengers board and then we make our way out of London and onto the M1 Motorway. Mr UKBuses decides to have a nap so he misses out on passing through Milton Keynes and Coventry and just before Birmingham, he wakes up just in time to alight when we arrive at Birmingham Coach Station at 13:50pm. With our luggage, we make our way to the bus stop and this time catch a National Express West Midlands service 60 bus from Digbeth to the Bull Ring where upon arrival, I forget we are not in London anymore and try to make my way to the non-existent central doors. After finally getting off our bus, we make our way around to Birmingham Moor Street Railway Station, where a late running train means we are able to board and get to Stourbridge a bit quicker.

We make our way through Birmingham Snow Hill, Jewellery Quarter, Smethwick Galton Bridge, Rowley Regis and Cradley Heath before arriving at Stourbridge Junction just shy of 14:30pm. Mr UKBuses has a lift, but I decide to pop into Stourbridge so I can visit the bank and also have a post-trip pint at JD Wetherspoons, "The Chequers Inn", so after saying goodbye to Mr UKBuses, I make my way to Platform 1 where I don't have to wait long for the Stourbridge Shuttle, where upon arrival at Stourbridge Interchange, I make my way to Stourbridge High Street and have a relaxing pint. On my way back to Stourbridge Interchange, I spot a Hanson's Service 250 coming down the High Street, so quickly make my way to the bus stop where I board and catch the bus into Wollaston, where after another quick pint of Batham's at "The Unicorn", I make my way home where I give my legs a well deserved rest.

Another great break was had in the Capital and a big thankyou to Mr UKBuses, as the break wouldn't have been possible without the planning by Mr UKBuses. Speaking of Mr UKBuses, his bald spot made an appearance over the weekend:

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot makes an appearance at Canning Town Bus Station.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot makes another appearance at Canning Town Bus Station.

Bald Spot 3: The Bald Spot pays tribute to "George" outside the Copthorne Tara Hotel, Kensington.

Bald Spot 4: The Bald Spot ready to catch the coach at Victoria Coach Station.

2015 - Day Out 15: London "Remembrance Sunday"

It is time to go to Whitehall and pay our respects for all the fallen on Remembrance Sunday, so with poppies at the ready, we make our way through London.

We are up early and get down to breakfast just before serving starts. The same thing happens as yesterday, drinks, table, loads of bacon and then yogurt. After a few minutes of letting our food go down, we are ready to leave and we make our way from Travelodge Docklands and catch the Docklands Light Railway at East India DLR Station, changing at Canning Town onto the London Underground and onto the Jubilee Line. We arrive at Westminster Underground Station at 09.00am and after tapping out with our Oystercards, we make our way onto Bridge Street, which is closed to traffic and make our way down to Parliament Street, where it is fenced off and we have to make our way through security. Luckily the police are nearby as Mr UKBuses is nervous as he has to takes his wallet out and pass it over to the security team. I head through the metal detector first and do not set it off and have my belongings passed back to me. It is now Mr UKBuses turn and he is visibly shaking as he does not have his wallet on his person, but he is keeping an eye on it as he passes through the metal detector, which does not go off and he is relieved when the wallet and other belongings are passed back to him, the wallet is quickly put back into its right place.

Security check over, we make our way towards Whitehall, where as we are slightly earlier than last year, we have no problems with getting stuck in the crowds on the way and we easily get to a spot that is a bit closer to the Cenotaph than we did last year, see picture above left. We do have a bit of time to wait before the proceedings start and as we get to 10.00am, the crowds are getting busier and we are getting enclosed in, so it was good that we actually timed it right to get here this year. The cameramen take their places, with a static one and a boom camera situated in front of us, see picture right, with the boom cameraman being the same person that was in front of us last year at The Lords Mayor Show and Remembrance Sunday, is it a case of him following us about or us following him about? Luckily we got some liquid refreshment before we entered the secured area, so we keep our throats lubricated, especially in my case with my cold, ready to sing when the service starts. The bands start making their way to the Cenotaph and start playing Rule Britannia and other songs including the solemn "Nimrod".

It is just before 11.00am and the dignitaries, politicians and the Royal Family, including Her Majesty The Queen, take their places. Big Ben strikes which starts the service with a two minute silence, followed by the last post, laying of the wreaths, prayers and the National Anthem, which I do attempt to sing with what voice I have left. With the service over and my back seizing up, we decide to have a rest in the nearby "Red Lion", see picture right, so we take a few steps and luckily there are a couple of seats available. With Mr UKBuses being sympathetic about my back, he sends me to the bar to get drinks, which are only soft ones as beer is not yet being served. It is just before 12.00pm and the bar starts serving so a London Pride is purchased and we rest our feet (and my back) for a while so the crowds can get out of Whitehall. After another pint, and just after 01.00pm, we decide to make our way and surprisingly we don't get held up in a middle of a blockage and get straight out of Whitehall and into Parliament Square with no problems. 

At 01.05pm, we make our way onto the Underground once again, checking in at Westminster Underground Station and onto the Jubilee Line, alighting at Bond Street and with no James in sight we change onto the Central Line where we go to Notting Hill Gate and onto the District Line where we alight and go back to ground level at High Street Kensington. The drinks at the Red Lion take their toll on us so we have to make a quick dash to the McDonald's opposite the Underground Station. After our unplanned break, we make our way to another filming location and we head to the Copthorne Tara Hotel, see picture right, which was used in the "George and Mildred" film. I have never seen the film but Mr UKBuses says there is no difference to the scene and I confirm this after seeing a clip on Youtube. After a photograph is taken, we make our way back to Kensington High Street, where after a few minutes wait, we board a London United service 9, which is a Borismaster but according to the plan should have been a Routemaster Heritage bus. We arrive at Charing Cross and decide to go off plan and instead of busing it back to the hotel, we decide to go Underground once more and tap in at Charing Cross Underground Station and board a Northern Line train to Waterloo, changing onto the Jubilee Line back to Canning Town and then back onto the DLR to East India, arriving back at the hotel just after 03.30pm, where we decide to freshen up and have a rest, well I try to as when I come out of the shower, I didn't hear that the cleaner had come into freshen my room.

With my shock (mine or the cleaners?) over, I make my way down to the hotel bar to have a quick drink before meeting back up with Mr UKBuses, after meeting up we walk around the corner to get a bus that we have seen parked up at the terminus in Nutmeg Lane many times on all our visits to Travelodge Docklands and have never caught, so we board a Stagecoach London service 277 which takes us to Mile End, where we head past the Mile End Underground Station and wait for our next bus which is a Tower Transit service 25, where we alight at Whitechapel and have a pre-meal pint at our London Regular, "The Blind Beggar", see picture left. With the drink finished, we make our way back outside and catch another Tower Transit Service 25 bus, which takes us to Bank, where Mr UKBuses makes us alight a stop early and we have to discover our eating place, we do eventually find our J D Wetherspoon's "The Crosse Keys" and upon entering, the door is locked and discover that the pub closes at 06.30pm on Sundays! With us feeling hungry we decide to have a look for the nearest Underground Station, where we can make our way to another Wetherspoons which we know would be open.

We find Monument Underground Station and tap in and board a District Line Train to Victoria where we tap out and make our way to J D Wetherspoon's "The Willow Walk" and after finding a table, we order food. Mr UKBuses decides to opt for a Chicken Tikka Masala for a change and after a rather disappointing menu choice, I choose a Chicken Burger. Luckily it doesn't take long before the food arrives and whilst Mr UKBuses enjoys his curry, I find my burger very dry and have to leave half of it. Disappointed with the food, we drink up and make our way to Victoria Bus Station where we board a Metroline service 24 bus to Westminster. We go back Underground for the final time today and jump on the Jubilee Line taking us back to Canning Town, where we change onto the DLR to East India, arriving back at the hotel for 09.30pm. I say goodnight to Mr UKBuses, who retires to his room, I have a couple of nightcaps in the hotel bar before going back to my room and pack my case ready for the journey back tomorrow.

Another good day was had, with another good service being held for Remembrance Day at The Cenotaph in Whitehall. Despite the change of plan, the evening was a success also.

2015 - Day Out 14: London "On The Buses"

Our second day in London and today, we will be "On The Buses", visiting a few filming locations used in the Elstree Area.

Its our first full day in London, normally we would be going to the Lord Mayor's Show, but due to the falling of Remembrance Day Sunday on different weekends, we will not be attending the parade this year. This means that this morning we have a little lie-in, so at 08.30am, I head downstairs and meet up with Mr UKBuses for breakfast. With us checked in to the breakfast room, we make our way to get some apple juice before getting a table and then the best bit, getting loads of unlimited food. With my plate stacked up of bacon, sausage, baked beans and hash browns, I dive in, Mr UKBuses is still working out the coffee machine and the toaster, so I'm about a quarter of a way down my breakfast. With breakfast finished, I have found out where they have moved the yoghurt's to, and eventually get through four of them to fill me up for most of the day. With breakfast over, it's time for a quick freshen up before leaving the hotel and as is tradition on the Saturday of our London breaks, it has started to pour with rain.

We make our way to East India DLR Station where we just go one stop to Canning Town, where we tap out and I hear a click of a camera on the escalator, which I'm sure it wasn't the girl behind who did not enjoy the fact that someone was taking a photograph right behind her by the look of her face when I turned around. Out of the DLR / Underground Station and into the bus station where we get a good opportunity to take a few photographs, see picture above left, before we board a Stagecoach London service 323 bus at 09:48am which takes us through an industrial estate and also pass a Stagecoach London bus depot at West Ham, which isn't too far from the hotel. We arrive at Mile End, where a walk around the corner to Mile End Underground Station, we board a Tower Transit service 25 bus at 10:12am which takes us to Aldgate, where we alight so that we can take some more photographs at Aldgate Bus Station. When we arrive the bus station is closed looking like it is for refurbishments and this once busy plot of land is now eerie as it is so quiet, we do have a walk around the outside of the bus station where it was once a bustling place.

We cross the road and enter Aldgate Underground Station, where we board a Metropolitan Line train which is quite freaky when you first get on as you can see all the way down the train, see picture right, we only have a couple of stops to go before we change onto the Northern Line at King's Cross where we travel to Edgeware, tapping out at 11.31am. When we leave the station, the rain is falling down quite heavy now, so I decline to take any photographs, but Mr UKBuses attempts a couple and he does catch a perfect bad weather shot. We are on the hunt for Stand B, so we head over to the entrance of a shopping centre and after some "fresh air", we can't find our stop, so we make a dash and go on the hunt for the stop. We eventually find out that the stop is a couple of minutes around the corner in Station Road. It looks as if we miss our planned bus, but four minutes late, it turns up at our stop and at 11.49am, we catch our London Sovereign Service 292, after about 10 minutes, luckily the rain has stopped and we alight at our first filming location from the "On The Buses" film and at Ripon Park, Manor Way, we make our way down the street.

After a couple of minutes walk, we stop outside of the launderette, see picture left, where in the film, Blakie is accused of pinching someones washing - "Oi, he's got my knickers!" - and nearly getting arrested for it. With a photograph taken to mark our visit, we make our way back up to the bus stop and on time at 12:15pm another London Sovereign Service 292 bus turns up, so we board and go past the launderette once more, after a few minutes, we arrive in the main Elstree / Borehamwood centre and alight just past the Elstree Studios where we see signs for the audiences of Celebrity Juice and Strictly Come Dancing to go to when they come to watch the shows being recorded. It is starting to rain again so we make our way to Shenley Road and decide to keep undercover at J D Wetherspoons "The Hart and Spool", where we partake in a couple of Doombar's. Mr UKBuses has only had a few sips when he thinks he has seen Trevor, out of "Trevor and Simon". We do get quite cosy and do not realise what the time is, we have gone off the plan as we drink up and still have to visit a couple of "On The Buses" filming locations to visit.

We make our way down Shenley Road and on our first corner we have visited one filming location as when the bus turns into Whitehouse Avenue, this is shown on the opening credits to the "On The Buses" Film. We have only a little walk to make back up Shenley Avenue, where we cross the road and turn into Clarendon Road and straight away, we can see the next location which was used as Stan's House in "On The Buses", see picture right, we make our way up to the end of Clarendon Road, and we also pass an entrance to the BBC Elstree Studios, which means that the Queen Vic and Albert Square are close by. We make our way closer and I take a picture of Stan's house and as I'm also preparing the shot, I got accused by Mr UKBuses of taking a bald spot picture, I'm not being sneaky, I notice a green bridge behind "Stan's House" and realise that another building that is not in the picture just right of the bridge is a building used in Eastenders, so we have found two filing locations in one place! We need to catch up on the plan, so we decide to head back to Shenley Avenue, where we wait for a bus to the railway station. When our bus turns up, we are only about twenty minutes behind schedule, at 13:57 we board Metroline's service 107 and are only on the bus for a couple of minutes as the station is around the corner.

We alight at Elstree and Borehamwood Railway Station and tap in, making a quick visit to the facilities and we can catch the 2:08pm Thameslink train until it is cancelled and we have to wait fifteen minutes for the next journey, which also turns up a further 5 minutes late. We do eventually get the train and it is good timing as the rain is starting to fall down quite fast again. We arrive at Kentish Town where we change back onto the Northern Line Underground and get off at the next stop and come back to Ground Level at Camden Town. We tap out and go round in circles before we find our stop and wait a few minutes before our Metroline Service 24 turns up and we make our way to Trafalgar Square having to stop a couple of times for a few minutes as the bus was running early as "the traffic is dead". We decide to give Trafalgar Square a miss and travel straight down to Whitehall, alighting by the Cenotaph, where we will be tomorrow. Mr UKBuses decides he desperately needs to use the facilities at The Red Lion, so I wait outside whilst having some "fresh air". By the time Mr UKBuses returns, he had time for a crafty pint, we make our way to Westminster Underground Station where we tap in and jump on the Jubilee Line to Canning Town and then onto the DLR to East India, where we head back to the hotel, a little bit earlier than planned and we go to our rooms for a bit of rest and freshen up.

We meet up in the hotel bar in the evening and Mr UKBuses is not feeling very well, so we decide to have a meal at the hotel, Mr UKBuses opts for fish and chips and myself Lasagne. Considering that a few residents were in the bar and were also having food, the service was quick and we didn't have to wait long, I only popped out for "fresh air" and the food was ready. This was our first time trying food at Travelodge Docklands,  considering it is about four years we have been using this hotel, we have missed out. With food over, I finish my drink and Mr UKBuses retires to his room, I decide to pop out into London for a while and just after 7.00pm, I make my way to East India DLR Station and make my way to Tower Gateway. Tapping out at Tower Gateway, I have a walk to Tower Bridge and it is lit up in the London darkness and so were the many buildings lining the River Thames, see picture left. I carry on with my walk across Tower Bridge and have a rest at the appropriately named J D Wetherspoon "The Pommelers Rest" and I did get a rest whilst waiting to be served as it took a while even though there were not a lot of people at the bar. I do manage to drink my beer, but considering there was a cask marque on the wall, the beer wasn't that well kept. After finishing my drink, I decide to leave as I didn't want another long wait.

I make my way to the bus stop opposite when I see a bus coming and decide to catch Arriva London's service 78 bus across Tower Bridge and alight at Tower Gateway and make my way past the Tower of London to another nearby J D Wetherspoon, "The Liberty Bounds". At least in this Wetherspoon's, the service was loads better and so was the beer. With the pub getting a bit more busy, I decide to finish my pint and make my way back to Tower Gateway DLR Station, where I catch my DLR and alight at East India and I make my way back to the hotel, arriving back just before 9.15pm. I decide to have a couple of nightcaps in the hotel bar and seeing as we have an early start tomorrow morning, after some "fresh air", I make my way to bed just after 10.30pm and watch a bit of television before dropping off.

Another good day was had, especially learning that Stan's House used in "On The Buses" is actually in front of another TV Programme set, Eastenders. Early start tomorrow, so an early night was had.

2015 - Day Out 13: London

Its time for our annual weekend break in London staying at our old faithful Travelodge Docklands hotel, the weekend away will involve a musical and a visit to Whitehall for the Remembrance Day Parade.

I make my way into Wollaston where after getting refreshments for the coach journey, I make my way to the bus stop and at 09:00am, National Express West Midlands service 276 turns up which I board and send Mr UKBuses a text to say that I am on my way. Just over five minutes after, the bus is in Norton, where Mr UKBuses boards and takes his seat and as we arrive at Stourbridge Interchange and after a "fresh air break", we interchange onto the Stourbridge Shuttle and just get a seat as this 09:30am journey is quite a busy journey. After the short distance and three minutes, we arrive at Stourbridge Junction, where we alight and take a few steps to Platform 2, where after a few minutes wait, our London Midland train arrives and we board and take our seats, passing through Cradley Heath, Rowley Regis, Smethwick Galton Bridge, Jewellery Quarter and arrive at Birmingham Snow Hill, where we stay on the train as today we go one more stop to Birmingham Moor Street, where we alight and make our way out of the station and onto Moor Street Queensway, where we make our way to the bus stop and wait for our next mode of transport.

We don't have to wait to long as our National Express West Midlands Service 50 turns up promptly and we board and go a couple of stops before we alight, conveniently outside the Birmingham Coach Station on Rea Street in Digbeth, see picture above left. We have over half an hour to wait, so after a few photographs are taken we make our way inside and take a seat, see picture right We spot that our coach is going to be late, but Mr UKBuses was looking at the wrong screen, he was looking at Arrivals and not Departures. We don't have a lot longer to wait, so I make my way outside of the coach station to get some final "fresh air" before we board our coach. Mr UKBuses gets away without being hassled after wearing a National Express Jacket and has a bottle of water to keep him refreshed for the journey ahead, see picture below left. Just before 11:00am, our National Express coach pulls up and after showing our tickets and passing over the luggage, we board and take the seats behind the driver which gives more leg room for the journey ahead.

At approximately 11:10am, we finally leave Birmingham Coach Station and make our way through the City streets and as we approach the Stratford Road, we are held up for nearly half an hour as there are some temporary traffic lights ahead which is causing major tailbacks. Once we pass the temporary lights, and we are surprised that there were two men working and about five looking or as they may class it, supervising, we make our way towards the motorway and we join the M40 Motorway bypassing Banbury and Bicester along the way, Mr UKBuses would not have know this as he was fast asleep. We discreetly leave the M40 and head towards London on the A40 passing closely to the old BBC TV Centre in White City. We eventually arrive at Victoria Coach Station, pulling into the arrivals building at approximately 2:20pm. We have arrived in London and we make our way onto the streets of London, with Mr UKBuses forgetting his map allowance as we go the wrong way towards our bus stop.

After "fresh air", we make our way onto Buckingham Palace Road where after a few minutes wait, we board Abellio London's Service C10 making our first tap in of our OysterCards, alighting at Borough Underground Station. We make our way into Borough Underground Station, tapping in and with this tap, it is also topping up our OysterCards. We make our way down to platform level via the lift, and onto our first tube train today (and this year), on the Northern Line, where the first tube journey is short lived as we only have to go a couple of stops and alight at Bank, where we change onto the Docklands Light Railway which takes us to our destination of East India, where we alight and tap out and make our way to our hotel for the weekend, Travelodge Docklands. We have no problems checking in and I get the first floor room this year after the reception staff take pity and give Mr UKBuses the ground floor room this year. We go to our rooms where, we get settled in and also freshened up before we make our way out this evening.

We meet back in the hotel bar and sample a pint before making our way into Central London. After our drinks are finished we head to the DLR at East India and then head back onto the Jubilee Line at Canning Town alighting at Waterloo. With no Abba in sight, we head onto the Bakerloo Line and alight at Charing Cross and make our way out onto Trafalgar Square. We are feeling a bit peckish now, so we head to J D Wetherspoons "Lord Moon of The Mall", but upon entering and seeing that there were no tables and a lot of standing people we make our way across the road and have to do with a McDonalds to keep us fed. With the food over, we make our way towards Her Majesty's Theatre and decide we have time to have a pre-show drink next door at Riley's Sports Bar. Mr UKBuses has a Bells Whiskey, but nearly ends up with a Bailey's and we have a rest. Nearly time to go and time for a toilet visit before we leave and I spot Damon Hill's race winning Williams F1 car hanging from the roof, see picture right. Mr UKBuses declines a visit as I don't think he wanted his nails done!

We head next door and after some "fresh air", we make our way into the theatre and after purchasing a drink at the theatre bar, we make our way to the stalls and find our seat and what a view we had of the stage on this visit. The Phanton Of The Opera starts and after about 30 minutes I do have to make my way to the corridor for five minutes as I'm still suffering from a recent cold and felt like I was going to pass out as I was feeling rather hot. After cooling down and seeing what the theatre staff get up to during the show, they were playing a game of chess, I make my way back in and watch the rest of the first half. We have a break and I make my way out for some "fresh air" and a quick drink before taking our seats for the second half. At the end of the show, The Phantom disappears in a chair on stage and considering we were so close, we still can not work out how he disappears. With the show over, we make our way back onto the streets of London and board a London Central Service 12 bus from outside the theatre to Westminster where we alight and head back onto the Jubilee Line at Westminster Tube Station and change at Canning Town onto the DLR for one stop to East India, where upon arrival and feeling quite tired, I say goodnight and get a good nights sleep.

A good start to the weekend. A good and first ride was had on National Express with the coach journey not being as bad as I thought it would be.

2014 - Day Out 12: The Return from London

Date: Monday 10 November 2014

Our last few hours in London, before we have to begrudgingly make our way back to the West Midlands.

I wake up quite earlier than planned of meeting up with Mr UKBuses, so I make my way outside to the front of the hotel for some "fresh air" before going back to my room to have a shower and make sure that everything is packed before we have to check out of the hotel. With everything packed and me ready for breakfast, I make my way down to reception and wait for Mr UKBuses to appear and he appears on time, so he must have purchased a watch before he came to London. We make our way for our final breakfast in London and after a mountainous supply of bacon and a few pots of yogurt, we have five minutes to let our food (and Mr UKBuses to have a last cup of coffee) go down before making our way back to our rooms for the final time. Luckily for me, it is just a case of entering the room and picking up my bags and making my way down to reception to check out. Whilst I'm waiting for Mr UKBuses, I have time for some "fresh air" before Mr UKBuses makes an appearance. We bid farewell to the Travelodge Docklands hotel and make our way to East India DLR station, where at 09:25 we board our first mode of transport for the day and we are already off the plan.

Mr UKBuses should have gone to SpecSavers as instead of going to Bank, which was planned, we are on the wrong DLR train and end up at Tower Gateway. Not to worry, we make our way to the bus stop at the back of the Tower Of London and we catch a Stagecoach operated Heritage Routemaster Service 15 to Charing Cross, similar to the one pictured above left. We don't get too far whilst on the route before we are stuck in a traffic jam due to high volumes of traffic caused by roadworks along the route, we decide to alight, but with Mr UKBuses being in charge of the map allowance, we have no idea where we are and after a nice hike around the streets of London (Mr UKBuses is the old man!), we finally come across an underground station so we get our OysterCards ready and board the underground at Chancery Lane and get the Central Line to Tottenham Court Road where we change onto the Northern Line and arrive at our final destination of the day in London at Euston.

We have a bit of time to spare, so we head to The Doric Arch situated at the bus station, but find out that the pub isn't open and we wouldn't have time to have a final pint in London, so we head inside the station to have a final pint in The Britannia, but this is also closed whilst the station is undergoing redevelopment works. Luckily we know about another pub situated opposite the station and luckily we do get a final pint in London and we rest our legs for a while at "The Royal George". With the final pint supped, we make our way back across the road to London Euston Station, having a last "fresh air" break in London and as soon as we discover which platform we are departing from, we board our train and at 12:03 our Virgin Train takes us from London Euston to Birmingham New Street, stopping at Rugby and Coventry along the way.

We arrive at Birmingham New Street and we only have a couple of minutes to get to Platform 5b, where we board the London Midland train to Smethwick Galton Bridge, there is no time for a "fresh air" break as we have to rush up two flights of stairs to get to the platform where another London Midland train turns up to take us to Stourbridge Junction. This is where I say my goodbyes as I have to go into Stourbridge Town to visit the bank (Mr UKBuses wiped me out when it came to the rounds!!!) and also seeing as we have arrived back home to Stourbridge I do have a commiseration pint at J D Wetherspoons "The Chequers Inn" before getting National Express West Midlands Service 276 back home.

Another cracking weekend was had in London, big thanks goes to Mr UKBuses who made the plans for a superb weekend away. Speaking of Mr UKBuses, here is his bald spot:

Bald Spot 1: The bald spot is seen lurking around Canning Town Bus Station.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot is seen lurking around another bus station, this time at Aldgate.

Bald Spot 3: What a black horse, The Bald Spot makes an appearance at The Lords Mayor Show.

Bald Spot 4: The Bald Spot is trying to make an appearance on the BBC at The Lords Mayor Show.

2014 - Day Out 11: Remembrance Sunday Parade

Date: Sunday 9 November 2014

Out last full day in the capital, which will see us attend the Remembrance Sunday Parade taking place at Whitehall.

Its our third day in London and we have an early wake up call this morning as we decide to have breakfast early, I meet up with Mr UKBuses in reception and he is on time again, and we make our way to the breakfast room (otherwise known as the bar) where after a problem where the hotel staff were thinking we were trying to get a free breakfast, we fill up with loads of bacon, washed down with a load of yogurt (and coffee in Mr UKBuses case), giving five minutes to let the food go down before I go back to my room to get my scout uniform on ready for the Remembrance service at Whitehall. With me suited and booted, we meet up at reception with Mr UKBuses on time again and take the short walk to the East India DLR Station where we catch the DLR one stop to Canning Town, where we change the mode of transport and go underground onto the Jubilee Line to Westminster, where we alight and make our way to ground level and are opposite Big Ben.

We make our way to Whitehall and the queue seems quite long, this is because this service commemorates 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War, we soon get past security with no problems (Mr UKBuses did have a problem lifting his wallet back into his coat pocket) and we make our way to a good viewpoint close to the Cenotaph, see picture above left, or so we thought. We get near to the corner opposite The Red Lion in Whitehall and there seems to be a blockage due to some people not wanting to let people get past so they don't lose their place in the crowd. Mr UKBuses soon advances to his spot outside The Red Lion by following a policewoman getting through the crowds, I'm not so lucky and am stuck in the crowds being pushed and shoved from behind by other people trying to get past, eventually nearly 30 minutes later I do get to join Mr UKBuses, that is after some "fresh air", in which a policewoman asked if "I needed that?", my response was a resounding "Yes". Luckily, I get to our spot just before the bands come out and take their place, see picture right, and the music starts just before the service takes place. Where we are standing, we can see the cameraman in front of us, who we were standing behind yesterday at the Lords Mayor Show, I bet he was thinking that we were stalking him!

The service is started by a two minute silence with the cannon being fired and the chimes of Big Ben starting it off, followed by another cannon shot being fired to mark the end of the two minute silence, the service takes place with the Queen and Heads of State and political party leader's laying down wreaths on the Cenotaph, the service is finished with "God Save The Queen" being sung. After the service is finished, we take a couple of steps and head into "The Red Lion", see picture left, where we rest our legs for a bit, we have half an hour to wait before we can have a pint, so a coke is purchased to sup whilst we wait until 12pm. Luckily we get a seat as the pub is now becoming near full as other people have the same idea. At 12pm, we are at the bar and have a pint of "Sea Farers", and after that one is supped we know we have no chance of escape yet as the veterans march is still taking place which is weird as we are watching it on TV even though they are directly outside, so we decide to have another pint with Mr UKBuses shouting at me to get him another pint of "Seaman", in which he gets a few funny looks from the other patrons in the pub. It is just before 13:00 and after a wait outside the pub, we are finally released and we make our way as fast as we can before the crowds to Westminster Tube Station and onto the Circle and District Line to Tower Hill where we alight to a big crowd.

The Poppies on display at The Tower Of London.

After getting close we decide not to wait in the queue to see the porcelain poppies that have been planted around the tower, we do get a glimpse of them over a hedge just about, so we decide to leave the crowds behind and catch a Stagecoach operated Heritage Routemaster on Service 15 from Tower Hill to Charing Cross. We alight at Charing Cross and head straight underground onto the Bakerloo Line for one stop, alighting at Embankment to change to the Circle and District Line from Embankment to Whitechapel for our first joint visit to our London regular (second visit of 2014 for me!) "The Blind Beggar", see picture right, where we give our legs a rest for a while whilst supping a pint. With the drinks finished we cross the road and catch Stagecoach London Service 25 to Aldgate Bus Station where we take a few photographs in the fading light and then board Stagecoach London Service 115 back to the Travelodge Docklands Hotel for a rest.

After just over an hours rest, we meet back down in reception and head to the East India DLR Station where we catch the 17:45 DLR journey one stop to Canning Town interchanging onto the Jubilee Line and catching the underground to Green Park, where upon arrival we alight and change on to the Victoria Line to catch the underground to Victoria. Hunger is starting to kick in now and we decide to go to a J D Wetherspoons that we use quite often at Victoria, "The Willow Walk", where drinks are ordered and eventually we find a table to sit at so that we can order food. Food is ordered but we have waited a long time, so when the waiter passes by I state that we have been waiting nearly 30 minutes for our food, fair play to the waiter who was on his own in a packed pub with everyone ordering food, he soon came out with our meals. With our meals finally eaten and washed down by a pint, we head back to Victoria Bus Station where we catch a BorisMaster Service 38 to Green Park, where we alight so we can catch a bus to Trafalgar Square, the one we thought of does not turn up so we instead catch London Generals Service 19 to Picadilly Circus.

When we alight at Picadilly Circus, the extra pint we had at The Willow Walk has caught up on us so we go on a search for a toilet. After passing Planet Hollywood and Her Majesty's Theatre, we come across a sports bar called "Riley's", we decide to make use of the facilities first before ordering and after using the toilet, Mr UKBuses turned down the opportunity to have his nails done in the loo, we decide not to stay and we head back out onto the streets and we head towards Trafalgar Square and decide to pop into Fullers "The Admiralty" where we have a pint of Fullers "Sea Farer", Mr UKBuses gets the name right this time. We take a seat and rest our legs for a bit and am surprised that the place is so quiet considering it is right opposite Nelson's Column.

We decide to make our way back to the hotel so we have a little walk to Charing Cross where we get on the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus, but Mr UKBuses still needs his eyes tested as we discover that we are going in the wrong direction. A quick change and we end up back at East India DLR Station at 21:15 and head straight to the hotel bar for a nightcap.  The day has taken its toll on Mr UKBuses so he decides to retire whilst I stay up a little longer and have a couple more pints of Budweiser (on draught!) before I retire to bed.

Another superb day was had especially with the serene service at Whitehall and our visit to The Blind Beggar which has changed hands since we last visited in 2014!