On this journey, I travel to South and South East London, covering bus routes in and around the Peckham area.

New Routemaster LT721 of Arriva London’s Brixton (BN) Garage in its Aperol Spritz advertising wrap at Barts Hospital on the 59 before my ride on it to Clapham Park. The route was diverted to the latter point to cover the withdrawn section of the 45 from 1st February 2025.

*The LTs seem to be the most popular choice for all over advertising, as most of their routes operate in Central London. Aperol is an orange and herbs based Italian aperitif.*

Route 59: Barts Hospital - Clapham Park

I began in the City on a quiet Saturday morning, arriving by Underground at Moorgate, then walking via Barbican to Smithfield, where the famous meat market is situated and the only such operation still existing in Central London. Just around the corner, the renowned St Bartholomew’s Hospital, often referred to simply as “Barts”, start point of my first route, the 59. This was diverted away from its previous destination of Brixton Garage in February 2025 to Clapham Park, in order to retain the “round the corner” link from Brixton previously provided by the 45, when that service was rerouted to Morden to replace the withdrawn 118.

The 59 is operated by Arriva from Brixton (BN) Garage using NRMs, a number of which sport all-over advertising wraps, of which I am not a great lover, but nevertheless provide some variety in a sea of red buses. One such vehicle is LT721, sporting an orange based wrap for Aperol Spritz, an Italian liqueur based cocktail, which was the next departure from Barts. Only a couple of us boarded and we had a gentle amble along High Holborn to Holborn Station and into Kingsway, where we began to pick up a few more passengers. Around the northern arm of Aldwych and over Waterloo Bridge to Waterloo Station, before taking a right along Baylis Road to Lambeth North, where we paused for 4 mins at the Bakerloo Line Station due to early running.

Then a straight run along Kennington Road past the Imperial War Museum to Kennington Park, before continuing south along Brixton Road to Brixton Station, where we picked up several short-riders. Up the hill past Brixton Prison to the old Brixton Tram Depot, still in use as an overflow for nearby Brixton Garage. A right turn at the traffic lights and along the short new section via Atkins Road to the Clapham Park terminus at the junction with Kings Avenue. Interestingly, this point used to be referred to as “Streatham Hill Atkins Road” by TfL, before being re-designated as “Clapham Park” some years ago. A decent 50 min run to begin the day.

The 59 number has a long association with South London, but has had three distinct incarnations:

Version 1 - As a long cross-London route from West Hampstead to Chipstead Valley, switched in 1970 to Old Coulsdon. Originally Daily, it became a Sunday only service from 1948 when the 159 took over the M-S operation of the northern section and the 166 the southern section. RT operated for many years, RM and RML types mostly assumed control in the mid 60s. It was withdrawn in 1978 being replaced by the 159 and 190.
Version 2 - The route resurfaced in 1985 between Brixton & Purley to replace the southern part of the 109, with short-lived extensions to Old Coulsdon at one end on Suns only and to Victoria Embankment on Sun mornings and Farringdon St in M-F Peaks at the other end. DMS, L, M and T types all appeared at different times, until the route came off again in 1994.
Version 3 - The current 59 started in 1999 between Euston & Brixton Garage, this time replacing the northern end of the 109. There was an extension from Euston to King’s Cross from 2007 to 2019, but in 2023 the route was diverted to Barts Hospital to replace part of withdrawn Red Arrow 521. The latest change, in February 2025, saw the rerouting to Clapham Park as described earlier.
Intended for low floor operation from the start, L type Olympians sometimes appeared to support the more usual DLAs, later supplanted by DWs. A brief period with HV hybrids from 2016 saw these replaced the following year with the current LTs.

***The 59 was rerouted away from its previous destination of Euston to Barts Hospital in April 2023 to replace the western end of withdrawn Red Arrow route 521.***
***BYD Enviro200EV SEe14 of Waterloo (RA) Garage recalls the old order at the Waterloo terminus shortly before the end.***

*The eastern half of the 521 was replaced by the extension of the 133 to Holborn.*

Part Route 50: Clapham Park - Streatham

In the well-heeled surroundings of nearby Kings Avenue, I swapped to another Arriva London bus out of BN Garage, ES147 on the 50, one of the recently introduced Wright StreetDeck Electroliners. A simple 15 min run to Streatham Station, with a quick driver change at Streatham Hill Station en route.

***Transport UK’s Enviro200 fleet no 8337 of Walworth (WL) Garage, seen at New Cross Gate Sainsbury’s, after my ride aboard it from Streatham on the P13.***

*This batch of short single doored vehicles shares the route with a few MMC versions, but all are due for replacement by new electrics on contract renewal in 2026.*

Route P13: Streatham - New Cross Gate

At Streatham Station, I crossed the road to the bus terminus beside the large Tesco store which stands on the site of the famous art deco Streatham Ice Rink, opened in 1931 and closed in 2011, replaced by a new Ice Arena on a new site to the south.

My next route was the P13, one of the Peckham Locals, which these days is not so local but a long meandering route! This is operated by Transport UK out of Walworth (WL) Garage, using Enviro200s, mainly fairly elderly short single door examples, but with a few newer MMC versions joining in. The route has recently been retained on retender from late 2026 with new electric single deckers promised in due course to replace the veteran diesels.

I had fleet no 8337, one of the older batch, with surprisingly few takers on departure from Streatham Station, although more joined us along the High Road. After Streatham Hill Station, roadworks forced us into a narrow northbound lane on the southbound carriageway, before we turned onto the first of the “back street” sections along Downton Avenue and Hillside Road. Parked cars in the narrow streets were an issue, particularly when meeting a van or bus coming the other way! Emerging onto Christchurch Road, we made our way to Tulse Hill, before continuing along Thurlow Park Road to West Dulwich. At Dulwich Common, a pleasant interlude of greenery, with rugby games in progress at Dulwich College and in the adjoining sports fields.

A traffic queue up to the lights at the junction with Lordship Lane, then once through, more narrow back doubles and along Underhill Road to East Dulwich, where we served the station and then the double run to Sainsbury’s. Crossing Dog Kennel Hill, the site of quadruple tracks back in the days of trams until the early 50s, we continued through the housing estate roads until we emerged at Peckham Rye. After serving Peckham Town Centre and double running through the Bus Station, we made our way via Queens Road Peckham Station to New Cross Gate, arriving at the Sainsbury’s terminus after a run of 1h20m, almost 10 mins late on the schedule due to general traffic congestion and delays along the narrower parts of the route.

The P13 started in 1988 as a midibus route operated by SR types between Peckham and Pepys Estate, marketed as “Peckham Hoppa”. In 1991, the service was diverted to Surrey Quays, with the Pepys Estate section replaced by the 199. Three years later, there was an extension at the other end to Forest Hill, replacing part of the withdrawn P2. Further adjustments were made in 1995, with another extension added to Streatham Garage via a section of withdrawn 115. The end of the century saw a conversion to DRL type Darts in 1999.

Low floor conversion came in 2001 with LDP Darts, but in 2004 a new contract saw the route pass from London Central to Travel London (later Abellio and then Transport UK). It was at the time of this change that the northern end of the route was altered to run to New Cross Sainsbury’s, with the P12 taking over the Surrey Quays leg instead. Initially, Darts were used, but this changed to the present Enviro200s in 2011.

***Go Ahead London Enviro200 SE159 of Peckham (PM) Garage rests at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre on the P12 before my trip to Brockley Rise.***

The P12 was retained by GAL on re-tender in October 2023 on the basis of new electrics but, due to delays in installing charging infrastructure at PM Garage, only a couple of SEe types per day appear thus far.

Route P12: Surrey Quays - Brockley Rise

From New Cross Gate, I had intended to take the Overground one stop to Surrey Quays, but due to engineering work, no trains were running and I had to walk to nearby New Cross Station instead. However, once aboard the train, it was a simple 5 min journey.

Walking to the Shopping Centre opposite Surrey Quays Station, my next ride was on the P12, another Peckham Local which has expanded over the years. This one is operated by Go Ahead London from Peckham (PM) Garage, but despite a new contract specifying electrics from October 2023, only a couple of such vehicles per day normally turn out, the balance of the allocation remaining with the existing diesel Enviro200s. Apparently this is due to awaiting installation of charging equipment at the garage, with a portable charger being used in the meantime for one or two vehicles.

As I arrived, so did SE159, and I had a short wait whilst the driver took his scheduled break. A good number of shoppers returning home joined me when I boarded and soon we were off, looping around the nearby retail park and calling at Canada Water Bus Station. A bit of a queue to get out onto Lower Road Rotherhithe, but then straight round to Jamaica Road. Turning into Southwark Park Road and into the contortions around Bermondsey, we faced severe traffic delays due to several sets of temporary lights with one-way working, plus additional traffic and extra passengers due to Millwall playing at home, which gave us a full and standing load!

After disgorging most of our clientele and crawling past the football ground, we eventually made it through to Peckham Town Centre, where things quietened down - but not for long. Reaching Peckham Rye, the driver announced we were on diversion due to roadworks blocking the route at Brenchley Gardens. Therefore, we missed out the whole loop via Nunhead Lane, Ivydale Road and Brenchley Gardens, instead proceeding direct via the 63 route along the length of Peckham Rye and Forest Hill Road to Honor Oak. This at least enabled us to make up some time on our late running and we were finally able to get up a decent speed to Honor Oak Park Station and on to Brockley Rise. Total trip time was 1h10m, less than 10 mins late, but we had been nearer 20 mins down at Peckham.

The P12 was another “Peckham Hoppa” midibus service beginning in 1988 on a circular route between Peckham & Brockley via Nunhead using SRs. In the late 90s, these were replaced with DRL Darts, some of which were given names after characters in the BBC Sitcom “Only Fools & Horses” including “Del Boy”, “Rodney”, “Uncle Albert” and “Cassandra”, as the series was supposedly set in Peckham. In 1999, the loop working was abandoned and the route extended to Brockley Rise.

In 2001, low floor conversion to LDP Darts occurred, then in 2004 came the northern extension to Surrey Quays in place of this section of the P13, referred to earlier. Then, in 2011, the current SE class Enviro200s replaced the LDPs.

GAL Enviro400H MMC EH192 of New Cross (NX) Garage on stand at Brockley Rise on the 172 before my final ride of the day to Aldwych. SE159 on the P12 behind is the bus on which I arrived at this location.

*The 172 is another route awaiting new electric buses following retention by GAL on retender earlier in 2025.*

Route 172: Brockley Rise - Aldwych

At the time-honoured stand at “The Chandos”, Brockley Rise, we pulled in conveniently behind my final bus of the day on Route 172. This was one of the usual hybrid double-deckers on the service, another GAL bus, EH192 of New Cross (BX) Garage. The route was retained by the incumbent operator earlier in 2025 with new electrics intended in due course but, as with many such contract renewals, the existing vehicles continue for the time being pending installation of sufficient charging facilities at the depot.

The kindly driver let me and another passenger board a few minutes prior to departure time to shelter from the rain, but soon we were away towards Crofton Park, calling at the strangely named “Brockley Jack” bus stop - after a nearby pub which reputedly takes its name from Jack Kade, leader of the 1450 Kentish Uprising, reflecting the fact that this area was once a rural part of Kent before becoming subsumed by the growth of London in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Continuing through early suburbia past Brockley Station, we joined the main Lewisham Way and continued to New Cross Gate Station, before passing the home garage, although not stopping for a driver change on this occasion.

The route then continued straight along the Old Kent Road, passing the retail site near the canal bridge which was once the location of Old Kent Road (P) Bus garage, closed in 1958 after cuts following the infamous Bus Strike of that year, although nothing of the garage now remains. A busy run over this section with afternoon shoppers, although we sped up past Bricklayer’s Arms and lost most of our load at Elephant & Castle. A quieter journey from here via Waterloo Station and over the bridge once more to the terminus at Aldwych, busy with matinee theatre-goers. A reasonable run of 55 mins from the start.

The 172 is another route number which has been used more than once:

Version 1 - Archway to West Norwood via Central London in extremis but with different terminals along the route on M-F, Sat & Sun over the years. Crew operated with RT / RTL for many years, then RM and DM from the 1970s. After various cut-backs, was withdrawn in 1985.
Version 2 - Willesden Garage to Euston on M-F only from 1987, replacing part of the 176. OPO with M types. Cut back at the northern end to Kilburn Park in 1988, but withdrawn in 1990, replaced by the 206.
Version 3 - Grove Park / Catford Garage to Elephant & Castle / Moorgate from 1992, replacing southern section of the 141. Initially operated with L & T types. The northern terminus became Liverpool St from 1992, in which year began a short lived Sat Shopping Hours extension to Bromley North, which only lasted until 1994, when the route was shortened to run Brockley Rise to Liverpool St on M-F only, the 171 taking over the Catford Garage section. The City terminus was amended to St Paul’s Station in 1999, with daily operation restored in 2000. NV class Olympians then took over, but low floor operation came in 2001 with PVLs.
Go Ahead lost the route to Abellio on retendering in 2011, who used Trident Alexander ALX400s and later on Enviro400s. 2017 saw a further rerouteing from St Paul’s to Clerkenwell Green and in the same year the service reverted to GAL using EH hybrids this time. The final change saw the withdrawal of the Clerkenwell to Aldwych section in 2019 as part of a package of revisions affecting Central London routes.

From Aldwych, I made my way along Kingsway to Holborn Station, where I joined the Underground for the journey home.

Watton

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Another String to my Bow

Swapsies in Haringey