Routes 212 and 233 Revisited by RFSunday 17th February 2013Prepared by Ian Smith, 21st February 2013.233: Finsbury Park to Northumberland Park Station: RF486RF486 pulled round onto stop B in Wells Terrace. The bus station supervisor, asked Peter to use the special stop in Morris Place instead, so the RF drove away to Lennox Road to go round the block. The crowd surged up to other stop, normally used for Railway replacement services. I did get on again, finding a seat near the back this time.
Again we rumbled north along Stroud Green Road, but instead of going ahead up Crouch Hill we turned right along Stapleton Hall Road. We passed through Stroud Green onto Ferme Park Road, an old-fashioned suburban street pointing towards the Ally Pally on its hill. At Tottenham Lane a wiggle took us onto Elmfield Avenue. At Middle Lane we turned right to run along the south-eastern edge of Priory Park, then a left turn along Priory Road took us along the northern side of the park to the foot of Muswell Hill. Briefly contacting the 212 route there, we turned right to climb up the winding drive to the Alexandra Palace. Peter stopped at the western stop there for a few minutes for photos. Current incumbent on the W3, Arriva's EnviroTrident T219, went past.
With everyone back aboard we headed on, passing over the crest of the hill with its amazing views over London and the lower Thames valley, and rumbled down to Wood Green Station, where we crossed the East Coast Main Line. We trundled on eastwards along Lordship Lane (past the old Eastern National garage, home to the "On the Buses" films), then Perth Road and White Hart Lane. We passed under the 14ft 9in low bridge at White Hart Lane Station, and continued down Northumberland Park to the bus station. Peter warned us to be careful alighting or boarding at the offside stance.
The bus station was busy with modern buses too, not just the W3 but Go-London's Volvo Wrights on the 467 to Euston, such as WVN13 and 51, operating from the newly taken-over depot at Northumberland Park.
233: Northumberland Park Station to Finsbury Park: RF486Many photos were taken, and the blinds wound round for the return trip.
We climbed back from the Lea Valley, up past White Hart Lane Station and Wood Green, and toiled up the steep hill to the Alexandra Palace, early home of the BBC. It is easy to see why they chose this site for their transmitter: from up here the whole of London is laid out to view, down as far as Tilbury and Gravesend. Peter paused RF486 at the bus stop on the bus road below the terrace while people took time to admire the view - and the bus, of course. T208 (LV) passed by on an eastbound W3.
Most people reboarded here, apart from a few who walked or ran along to the next stop in order to take pictures. We paused at stop R to pick them up.
We trundled down the bank, and back on the circuitous route round the east side of Crouch End, back to Finsbury Park, where we looped via Lennox Road direct to the stop in Morris Place, ready for the next 21 journey...
Photos by Ian Smith. Click on any of them for a larger picture.
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Part Four: RF486 on 212, with RF459
Red-RF
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