Monday 18th March 2013 ~ The 13 from Golders Green

Started with a walk up to Stroud Green Library, by Harringay train station, then, at 11.49,  onto Solo OS11 on the W5  to Hornsey Library, where I took out 'A Nos Amours', Sandrine Bonnaire's first film from 1983, which frankly I didn't like much. Round to Crouch End Broadway and on to Gemini-2 VW1385 on the W7  to it's terminus at Muswell Hill. From Muswell Hill it was on to Enviro400 T7 on the 102 across to Golders Green. Then to my main aim for today, a ride on an OmniDekka on route 13.

OmniDekka SLE23 stands at Golders Green bus station waiting to work the 13

Performing the honours was OmniDekka SLE23, which I took for a ride along it's entire route 13 to Aldwych. Legroom is not very generous on these buses! Not on the front seat anyway. They date from 2005 and are due to be replaced in the summer. The route took me via Swiss Cottage, St John's Wood and Baker Street. Departure was at 13.00 and it kept good time as far as Oxford Street where it hit congestion due to the continued closure of Regent Street, and was thus diverted via the east half of Oxford Street, New Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue to Haymarket. By the time I got to Aldwych it was raining and I went into Starbucks for a coffee... After that it was still raining hard and I headed across to Lancaster Place to catch Enviro400 T168 on the 341 to Harringay Green Lanes.