Route History

New service

GOLDERS GREEN  -  Whitestone Pond  -  Highgate Village -  Hornsey Rise  -  Finsbury Park  -  Seven Sisters Road  -  Manor House  -  Amhurst Park  -  STAMFORD HILL Rookwood Road
Daily except evenings
New service

37769 seen on the first day at Stamford Hill Ian Ware's Transport Photography

 

 

Garage

HK Ash Grove
Crew Changeover point at Golders Green
Startiing or finishing duties travelled by Northern Line to Old Strret and 55 to garage

TAKEN FROM WATTON WANDERINGS

NEW Route 310:  Finsbury Park - Golders Green - Stamford Hill - Finsbury Park

A brand new route is a bit of a rarity these days, but 1st September saw the introduction of route 310 between Golders Green and Stamford Hill which, according to TfL, is to provide a direct link between the Jewish communities in these two areas.  

Whilst new services of any kind are to be welcomed, this one is a bit of a disappointment.  No new territory is covered, the route simply following parts of the 210 and 253/254. The route is experimental for 1 year and operates about every 20 mins Daily between around 0700 - 1900.  The route is out to consultation which may result in changes - perhaps a different route could be followed between Archway and Finsbury Park, or the service diverted north or south of this point.  A short extension from Stamford Hill to Stoke Newington would provide some more new direct links and make it a bit more useful.    

The only interesting feature is that the service goes under the low bridge at Finsbury Park Station, the first regular bus route to do so since the M-F Peak service to Stroud Green on the 236 was withdrawn in 1982.  Prior to that, the Sunday services on the 210 and 236 were linked in the late 60s / early 70s, first under the former number and later under the latter, with buses running through under the bridge on that day.

On a personal level, seeing the number "310" on the front of a TfL bus seems strange, as to me the 310 is a long standing and still existing former Country Bus route between Hertford and Waltham Cross, which once went through to Enfield!

Another problem with the new service is that there are no stops particularly convenient for Finsbury Park Station, as neither of the Bus Stations are served.  Ideally, there would be stops under the low bridge, but there are no convenient points due to the cycle lanes, so would require road works.  I left the station and walked around the corner to the park gates, where the nearest pair of stops are situated in Seven Sisters Road.  

Stagecoach are the operator of the new 310, using Enviro 200 MMCs out of Ash Grove (HK) Garage and first to arrive was 37535, bound for Golders Green and still bearing "RM" codes from its former home at Rainham Garage.  As I boarded, most other passengers alighted, so just 4 of us made the "round the corner" link, which in this direction involves a circumnavigation via Blackstock Rd, Rock St and back along Seven Sisters Rd before swinging left into Stroud Green Rd and under the famous low bridge.  Anyone wanting to alight at Finsbury Park and missing the stop opposite the park gates has a long walk back from the next stop, which is not until Tollington Park!

From this point, we simply followed the 210 all the way to Golders Green, via Archway and then up Highgate Hill, where the abandoned stand of the former 271 at Highgate Village, which I noted now has some flower tubs installed in it.  On via Kenwood and across Hampstead Heath on a murky and misty morning - real "Lord of the Rings" type weather.  Then down hill past the Bull and Bush to Golders Green, terminating opposite the Hippodrome after a 35 min run.  Not a busy run - passengers on and off throughout, but barely into double figures at any point - a situation repeated on my subsequent runs.

As we were slightly early on arrival, I was able to step up a working and board the bus in front for the return trip, formed of fellow Enviro200 MMC 37533.  By my estimation, we were around 5 mins late on departing Golders Green, with around 10 on board, all abstracted from the 210.  Some passengers were clearly bewildered by the new route number and several asked the driver if he went to this or that stop.  Incidentally, TfL had provided good information on this occasion, with new route number tiles, timetables and an explanatory poster in place on most if not all of the stops served.

Back the way we came, over Hampstead Heath to Highgate Village, then down to Archway and through once more to Stroud Green.  Once again over the new stretch under Finsbury Park low bridge, but this time a straight left into Seven Sisters Road, most alighting at the park gates.  Only 3 passengers including me travelled through, the other 2 leaving the bus at Manor House.  I was the sole passenger travelling the whole route from Golders Green to Stamford Hill, which took us 45 minutes, somewhat less than the padded schedule allowed.

Having just missed a return departure, there was a wait of over 15 mins for the next one, which was unsurprisingly formed by 37533 once again.  Also, as with the journey in the opposite direction, those that joined us were almost entirely due to there being a bit of a gap in other services, in this case the 253/254.  After a 10 min trip, I arrived back at Finsbury Park having completed the rounder, where all except a couple of passengers alighted.

One final and amusing point on the route - the on board announcements kept referring to the "3 - 1 - Oh!" rather than to the expected "3 - Ten".  Unusual as the 210 has always been called the "2-Ten" by i-bus announcements, for example, so a break with the norm for some reason!