Looking for bus-related places to visit in London

[retro.kid]

Hello.

Thought i'd keep this separate rather than post in the existing London bus thread as i'm looking for some London Knowledge.

Visiting London from Scotland Thursday - Sunday this week.

Planning to visit London Transport Museum + London Bus Museum. Any other "bus-y" types of interest to visit?

Central London - where would be the best place(s) to head for best choice of modern bus photography?

Best Regards.

 

[Snow1964]

There is nowadays very little in way of bus running days, and when they happen tend to be just outside London (because of the ULEZ low emission zone). I think the next one is route 81 (Hounslow-Slough) on 12th June

The LT museum at Acton is interesting, but is only open few days a year, next one is Sat 2nd July

Stockwell bus garage (the one with huge concrete arched roof) is open on 11th June

If you want to do photography then there are usual high volume locations : Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Marble Arch etc. However most are too busy for photos so choose somewhere quieter like Aldwych. If you want more variety then somewhere like Canning Town bus station (adjacent to station) might be worth a visit.

I suspect most of the enthusiasts will be trying out the new Elizabeth line, and exploring its stations, rather than looking for buses for next few days

Ians Visits is a good website of what is coming up

Things to do in London in May 2022

Top things to do London during May including theatre, exhibitions, lectures, heritage, geeks, and special one-off events.

www.ianvisits.co.uk

 

[Roger1973]

LT Museum website says there are 'depot discovery' tours at Acton on Friday 27 / Saturday 28 May, which is probably not quite the same as a special event.

 

[busesrusuk]

Quite a few options for photography in central London. whilst traffic can be an issue certain places are fine. Marble Arch has been mentioned and a very popular spot it is to. If you arrive around 1.30 you will have no problem getting pics of buses heading south into Park Lane. No issues with traffic when buses are turning left out of Oxford Street; its more of a challenge for buses coming round from the Edgware Road, Lancaster Gate direction as you can get bowled by general traffic but you do get gaps. You will get most common vehicle types of a number of operators as well as Nat Ex, Megabus, Flixbus and Green line coaches to. As time goes on you can move around Marble Arch to get nearsides as buses come up from Park Lane and go left around the gyratory. Traffic can be an issue here to but again you will get some decent shots. If you want advert buses you will see plenty here. As an idea of volume a quick look at LVF now suggests there are approx 40+ buses going round Marble Arch in the next 30 minutes so plenty to choose from!

Alternatively, after a spell at Marble Arch you can head for Parliament Square which is fine around 3pm.

If you are around Sunday morning (less traffic) then St Pauls cathedral is good for sightseeing buses, this spot is fine from about 11am.

If you want more suburban stuff (and quite a few electrics and a few smaller operators then Kingston town centre is good in the AM - about 30mins on train from Waterloo. Many images from these spots and more can be seen on my flickr site but here are a handful from the spots mentioned above:

London Utd LT70 May22

Parliament Square, May 2022

www.flickr.com

Metroline LT644 Apr22

Marble Arch, Apr 2022

www.flickr.com

Arriva Shires 7212 Apr22

Marble Arch, Apr 2022

www.flickr.com

Metroline VWH2416 Mar22

Marble Arch, Mar 2022

www.flickr.com

GAL LT928 May22

St Paul's Cathedral, May 2022

www.flickr.com

London Utd BCE47065 Mar22

Kingston Bus Station, Mar22

www.flickr.com

Hope that helps...

 

[vlad]

Planning to visit London Transport Museum + London Bus Museum. Any other "bus-y" types of interest to visit?

If that's the London Bus Museum at Brooklands (near Weybridge), bear in mind it's in the middle of a larger museum dedicated to vehicles (including aeroplanes) in general. Unless buses are your only interest you will spend all day there!

 

[retro.kid]

Perfect! Thanks for all the advice - much appreciated

Yeah - Brooklands is my plan for Saturday - looks bigger than I thought