June challenge I.(c) Buses: From West Croydon to Elmers End

[nou]

Like we did in 2014, in 2013, and in 2012, bob and I made simultaneous attempts at Theme I: Buses, subtheme (c) (get on the first bus that comes along, stay on for n stops, get off, repeat), starting from the same stop, with me taking n=5 and him taking n=6.

In 2012 I ended up in Cheam, which is a few miles southwest of Croydon out towards where London stops being London; in 2013 I ended up in Putney, which is several miles northwest of Croydon and very nearly on the other side of the Thames; and in 2014 I actually crossed the Thames into north London. Unfortunately 2016 was much less exciting.

It was so unexciting, in fact, that I can't actually bring myself to do a full writeup. My buses took me along a road that I'm thoroughly familiar with, out to a bland shopping mall, then (thanks to a one-way loop with a stop served by buses in both directions) all the way back along the same route to my starting point, then along residential streets to Crystal Palace (a 9-minute train ride from my house), then through Sydenham (a 12-minute train ride from my house, and a place where I spent an entire day the other week; indeed, one of my stops was directly opposite the cafe I had lunch in), and finally terminated at Elmers End, which is a place that has nothing in it aside from a direct tram back to my starting point. Four hours, to get basically nowhere.

Here's a map of my journey, and here's my photoset on Flickr.

Comments

[squirmelia]

Sorry to hear it was so dull!

[nou]

Thanks! Hopefully next year will be better.

[spiralsheep]

I suppose one unexciting journey out of four is statistically probable, especially as you get to know the area better, and you did manage to cap Simply Alarming Security and that interesting ?utilities? building (or surface ventilation but that seems unlikely).

If I got on the only bus that passes my place then it'd take more than nine stops before there was even the slightest chance I'd end up on a different route.

[nou]

Yes, thanks, you're right, I did manage a couple of relatively interesting pictures. The 1954 OS map shows an electrical sub station on the site of the interesting building, so I guess we have an answer there!

I think I'm going to do this again from the same stop next year, but maybe the year after that I'll swap to the one across the road and see how that goes.