please empty your brain below
and miles to go before I sleep ...

How about visiting a park in every borough?

Glad you took the W3 [my local bus and the subject of short story of mine if anyone is interested in reading].

Thank you for bringing a lot of joy to each day, throughout the year. Have a lovely festive season

PJS | 23.12.14 - 7:49 a.m. | #

I'm sure you will think of something. As a train nut, I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed your recent alphabetical bus wanderings and am glad of the quirky variety of your chosen topics. Best of the season's felicitations to you!

Tunnel Bore | 23.12.14 - 7:52 a.m. | #

If you want a mathematical theme for a bus series, multiples of 6 and 11 are relatively poorly represented.

New theme? Well, there are the centenaries of Magna Carta and Waterloo. More First World War (ANZACs, Ypres, Loos, Edith Cavell). In September 2015, Queen Elizabeth will pass Queen Victoria as Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

Andrew | 23.12.14 - 8:30 a.m. | #

How about visiting all of London's football grounds. pro & semi pro, with details of transport links, or maybe all the rugby clubs?
For instance recently you featured Haringay Borough's ground in White Hart Lane, but further along the same road is the ground of London Skolers Rugby League team...Boring for some, I admit, but for compulsive obsessives like myself, great.
Many thanks for this most interesting of all the blogs.

Doug Robinson | 23.12.14 - 8:41 a.m. | #

It's sad that Bus safety didn't improve much in TheYearOfTheBus. 1 KSI per day from a TFL bus collision is way too many.

http://saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.co.uk/

Julian Bond | Homepage | 23.12.14 - 8:49 a.m. | #

How about cycling between the 10 least used docking stations?

al | 23.12.14 - 9:02 a.m. | #

Or complete the transport map and go for Londons (non-tube) rail network. Yes I know it will probably bring you back to Sutton again but you might find something interesting out there.

Aidan | 23.12.14 - 9:50 a.m. | #

I've enjoyed coming along for the ride. Some of the routes have been familiar to me, others venturing into unknown territory.

Sticking with the transport theme, is there scope to link up all London's airports (including closed ones like Croyon, Hendon, etc) ?
Apologies if you've already covered this topic.

But thanks again for your engagingly compulsive blog posts. Have a well-earned Christmas rest.

Petras409 | 23.12.14 - 9:55 a.m. | #

@julian Bond
That statistic needs some context - how many of those collisions were the bus driver's fault. How does the figure compare with other forms of transport (and taking mileage into account). The sheer number of them on the road means that if you hit - or are hit by - something, there is a good chance it will be a bus.
Buses are driven by people with a higher standard of training than average drivers, and have a drivinbg position rather better positioned than other large vehicles to observe pedestrians and cyclists.

| 23.12.14 - 10:27 a.m. | #

The South Circular by bus awaits.........
And you keep promising yourself the 465 to Dorking.

As for an "all-enveloping pointless London-based quest", what could be more literally all-enveloping than your tour of all the London-bordering local authorities - so far about 30% complete? Come to think of it, the Mole Valley District is up next, and the 465 would be an excellent (and cheap) way of exploring it...........

timbo | 23.12.14 - 10:38 a.m. | #

How about Tunnels! Road tunnels that is not train ones.

Stephen | 23.12.14 - 10:42 a.m. | #

Have a wonderful Christmas break, DG.

For myself, I don't mind if you stick to your eclectic range of transport and heritage themes. But I also enjoy the office-politics, the family bits, and the general insights into how members of the human species interact. And memories of the 50s, 60s and 70s would also go down very well. (Decades, that is, not ages!).

| 23.12.14 - 11:01 a.m. | #

Loved the buses - Merry Christmas DG! Highest point of every borough was also epic. What about finding the geographical centres of every borough?

Kevin | 23.12.14 - 11:41 a.m. | #

@Stephen
"How about Tunnels! Road tunnels that is not train ones. "
As it seems DG doesn't drive, this will be difficult to complete. He would be able to add the 108 and 521 to his bus collection (as well as doing the X80 in the other direction), and has already done the A10.

But how about visiting all the river crossings - again, the upstream ferries he did recently could be expanded.

timbo | 23.12.14 - 11:43 a.m. | #

Seeming as it the "Year of the Bus" and Christmas is upon us...how bout being one of small band of Christmas "Day" bus users? Yes it can be done...has to be timed right but last buses run for approx 1hr after midnight 25th. Think last year there was about 400 journeys logged on Oyster for 25th December.

OnTheBus | 23.12.14 - 12:33 p.m. | #

What about London Overground as a new quest/feature?

Kim | 23.12.14 - 12:41 p.m. | #

What about seeing how far a black cab will take you into south London?

Running Correspondent | 23.12.14 - 12:55 p.m. | #

This is a wonderfully eclectic blog, so keep it coming DG. Thanks for all your work to keep us lazy buggers entertained.

Another vote for the train network next year, but I'm not sure what theme you could use to link them.

Chris | 23.12.14 - 1:21 p.m. | #

its been a while since you did anything about public conveniences! Ones nearest to where i live just opened as a cocktail bar!

What ever you choose i am sure you will make it worth reading about - merry christmas and all the best for 2015

michael | 23.12.14 - 2:29 p.m. | #

Quests that spring to mind : oldest church in every Borough, Regents Canal end to end (with a supplement for other waterways of interest)a park in every post code and the always enticing "Monopoly Board".

Love your writing; rich, insightful and the pen portraits of the people you meet bring your travels to life. Especially Lewisham.

matthew | 23.12.14 - 3:12 p.m. | #

visiting all of london's coffee shops (that could take a while)

or town halls?

or charity shops?

dave | 23.12.14 - 3:34 p.m. | #

Could try a day with as many different modes as possible. Lets see...bus, tube, train, boat (i.e RiverBus), cycle hire (even if only for a short distance...and you got to one day surely), tram, taxi (again not too far...), maybe the cable car (again) and oh i sure left something out...

E | 23.12.14 - 4:00 p.m. | #

I rather suspect the tube and rail network will get its fair share of DG treatment next year. There are several changes coming up which will undoubtedly be placed under the DG microscope. There will also be some changes to the bus network alongside that may also warrant attention.

PC | 23.12.14 - 4:07 p.m. | #

How about, to complement your 'Borough Tops' project, you could find the point in each borough lowest below (or closest to) sea level. Obviously in many riverside boroughs (such as my own), that could easily cover quite a long geographical area, which I recall you making a report on for the Southwark and Tower Hamlets random boroughs. Always great as always to read and enjoy, never feel as if you're overdoing anything.

Rotherhithe | 23.12.14 - 4:28 p.m. | #

I'd like to see a series on old utility buildings (water, electricity etc) of London.

I'd also like some more info on the bus-caused deaths referred to by the earlier commentator... why so much publicity for cycling deaths and so little for bus?

Blue Witch | Homepage | 23.12.14 - 5:57 p.m. | #

And the big five-o to look forward to next year...so a trip on the number 50 bus.

Working Class Hero | 23.12.14 - 6:59 p.m. | #

Oh, that's a good point. So come to think, my suggestion earlier about reminiscences of the 1950s won't work too well...

Malcolm | 23.12.14 - 8:00 p.m. | #

Film locations would be a nice one !

Seasonal Greetings to you DG !

Splashy | Homepage | 23.12.14 - 11:44 p.m. | #

The bus journeys were always interesting to read, sometimes no doubt less so to do. Please don't give up on them altogether.

Bob Lindsay-Smith | 23.12.14 - 11:45 p.m. | #

Well Done DG. superb effort to travel on all those buses and then report back to us on all the details.

Someone mentioned visiting coffee shops. how about visiting pubs in London with transport related name? there must be a wide variety?

Jon Allen | 24.12.14 - 3:22 a.m. | #

You could just take the knowledge?

Joe | 24.12.14 - 12:27 p.m. | #

Happy Christmas. Here's to another year of being exactly what it says on the tin. Respect and thanks.

Roehamster | 25.12.14 - 2:58 a.m. | #











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