ABOVE: Fastrack SEN 61 (LS66 SUL), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, is on the final approach to Bluewater Shopping Centre's Bus Station, working Fastrack route F from Greenhithe, Ingress Park. The registration reveals that this bus was new to Sullivan Buses. All photos in this article were taken on Good Friday, 18 April 2025.
On "This Day" Last Year...
3 April 2026
On Good Friday, 2 April 1999, every news bulletin on Classic FM was talking about how it was the "first anniversary" of the Good Friday Agreement (for trivia lovers - actually a pair of agreements). This had me screaming at the radio because, as everyone knows, Easter falls on a different date each year. The "anniversary" that Classic FM was determined to mark that day was over a week premature, as the agreement(s) were reached on Good Friday, 10 April 1998. I've been bottling that one up for 27 years - at last I have found peace!
In the spirit of Classic FM's loose interpretation of anniversaries, as another Good Friday comes around (today as this is published), I thought I would describe what I was doing on "this day" a year ago. By which I mean Good Friday, 18 April 2025.
My bus journey begins in Woolwich, only 45 minutes from my West London home thanks to the Elizabeth Line. It may only be 10:15 but the place is already busy.
ABOVE: Stagecoach London 12295 (SN14 TXP), an ADL Enviro400H, approaches the stop near the Woolwich Elizabeth Line station on a working of route 422. Over the road is an ADL Enviro400 MMC on route 472, which became briefly famous (notorious?) at the start of 2026 when it was turned into Superloop route SL11.
It's a decent morning and I am awaiting the route 96 bus to Bluewater Shopping Centre. Operated at the time by Stagecoach London, the bus turns up at 10:29. This ADL Enviro400 MMC is already quite busy, and I wonder whether the people on board are heading to Bluewater.
For those who do not want to mark the religious significance of this day, an extra shopping day seems to be the default. In fact, London has become such a busy place on Good Friday that Transport for London (TfL) many years ago upgraded to a universal Saturday bus service on Good Friday, rather than the normal Bank Holiday default of a Sunday service.
The 96 heads east out of Woolwich; one of about 10 routes to head down to Plumstead. It's only once we venture through East Wickham, towards Welling, that the 96 has the road to itself (bus-wise). But that is only a short stretch before we meet the B16 route (Kidbrooke to Bexleyheath).
ABOVE: Go-Ahead London Central E232 (YX61 DSV), an ADL Enviro400, deputises for the single-deckers more usually found on route B16 in Broadway, Bexleyheath.
All those people that I thought were heading to Bluewater turn out to be heading to Bexleyheath - the bus thins out drastically at this point and is much quieter for the rest of the run.
On to Dartford, which is just outside the Greater London boundary. On a weekday service, one would start to see more non-TfL buses immediately. But with TfL on a weekday service and everyone else pretending it's Sunday, it's still red buses that dominate.
ABOVE: TfL buses on roues 96 & 428 on Westgate Road in Dartford. The Home Gardens Footbridge that links the Railway Station and the buses to the main part of the town can be seen in the distance.
There's a Church visible as we leave Dartford - the Holy Trinity Parish Church - constructed around 1080 AD on the site of an earlier Saxon Church, and Grade I listed. What jumps out for me here is the off-centre clock (and there's an equivalent on the opposite side of the tower as well). That must be very unusual?
From here, the 96 runs to Bluewater with a brisk non-stop section, calling only at the Darent Valley Hospital. I'm curious as to why the 96 hasn't been reclassified as a Superloop service, given that (a) TfL is a little obsessed with these services at the moment, and (b) a non-stop section on an otherwise normal stopping service is a characteristic of both the SL4 (Canary Wharf to Grove Park) and SL6 (Russell Square to West Croydon) services.
There's a view of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge across the River Thames:
We reach Bluewater Shopping Centre after a run of 63 minutes. Built in an old chalk pit, it's a striking presence that employs 7000 people and welcomes over 28 million visitors per year (although the purchase of one newspaper and a bottle of water by this visitor is not exactly going to bolster the profits much)!
There used to be an Enquiry office at the Bus Station, with essential 'facilities' also provided. Both have closed now. Facilities are available in Marks and Spencer (and all over the Shopping Centre of course). Bus enquiries? Not sure what you're supposed to do now for those...
ABOVE: Stagecoach London 19811 (LX11 BKA), an ADL Enviro400, is prominent in this view of Bluewater Bus Station.
From here, I am swapping Saturday services for Sunday ones. Fortunately, in the case of my next bus, that's not a huge deal. Not an issue at all, actually, as the Fastrack service to Gravesend runs every 12 minutes every day of the week.
This network of local services was introduced in 2006 as part of the Thames Gateway development, and the operation was taken over by Go-Ahead London in November 2024.
At the time of my visit, the Irizar ieTrams intended for the route are not in service, so a selection of former Go-Ahead London buses (and others) has been gathered for the initial operation.
ABOVE: Fastrack MEC 46 (BT09 GOU), an ex-London Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530, stands at the Gravesend terminus of Fastrack route B, with a vehicle that I believe to be SE 125 (YX61 BXA), an ADL Enviro200, behind it.
This journey, which costs £2.00, only takes 23 minutes, and there are never more than six passengers on board. We are going against the flow, though, and it is noticeable that buses in the other direction are much, much busier. The Fastrack network is one I want to visit and review properly at some future point, so watch this space!
From Gravesend I am planning to catch Arriva Kent Thameside route 190 to Chatham. The Sunday Service is half-hourly and I am aiming for the 12:35 departure, which leaves from a bus stop just around the corner from the Fastrack and, conveniently, right outside Gravesend station.
But where is it? Bus drivers in the vicinity are talking about roadworks problems. The real-time display has been implying that the bus will be three or four minutes late, but the countdown seems to stall at "2 mins" for several minutes. It does eventually roll over to "Due" but it's still several more minutes before the bus appears.
When it finally arrives, it brings a substantial load in with it. This is a Wright Streetlite DF, and loading takes a while as well. We leave, 16 minutes late, with 16 passengers and two pushchairs on board.
This is a very busy run across North Kent, via Higham, Strood and Rochester. The bus gets very busy after Strood, and there are plenty of short-distance passengers.
On a single-decker bus it's not easy to get good pictures, especially if you're sitting on the 'wrong' side. Here's the Rochester Bridge, with Rochester Castle in view in the background:
Although I don't know at the time, in a few weeks I will be covering some of the same ground again, as I work my way "around the outside of London". On that occasion I am also on a double-decker bus, so you can read a better description of the route from Strood onwards, and see better pictures, in that article.
As we head towards Chatham, the driver seems to be waving passengers on board without asking them to pay, to get through to the end of the journey as fast as he can. Despite this, and his other best endeavours, we reach Chatham at 13:37, 26 minutes late. I've not noted any particular roadworks or delaying issues, apart from the number of people around, so it's probably just that the Sunday running times are too tight for a Bank Holiday - especially this Bank Holiday. A weekday run, at an extra eight minutes, is timetabled to take 44 minutes - this run has actually taken 46.
ABOVE: This is the only view I have of my 190. Arriva Kent Thameside 4315 (GN15 CXM), a Wright Streetlite DF, has just finished dropping off in Chatham Bus Station at the end of the delayed run from Gravesend.
ABOVE: A general view of Chatham Bus Station, with Arriva buses absolutely dominant. On the right, nearest the camera is Arriva Kent & Surrey 6571 (SK74 AXU), an ADL Enviro400 MMC.
The last ride of my day is the 101 service to Maidstone. Again, the Sunday frequency - 20 minutes instead of the weekday 12 minutes - is no big deal, and I am soon on the way.
Operated by Arriva Kent & Surrey, I also describe this route more fully in my earlier article. As I note in that article, the second half of the route uses a fast dual-carriageway for the run into Maidstone, and I get a sense of flying as I pass the "Running Horse", a Harvester restaurant. But my earlier article doesn't have a photograph of that...
This journey is also a bit slower than it should be, leaving Chatham four minutes late and arriving into Maidstone at 14:50, 11 minutes behind schedule.
ABOVE: Arriva Kent & Surrey 6565 (SK74 AXN), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, stands in High Street, Maidstone.
This isn't the end of my journey, but I have gone as far as I can by bus, on a Sunday service, in the time available.
I am heading for Canterbury. On weekdays, Stagecoach South East provides an hourly X3 service via Faversham (a future "must-do"). But, on Sundays, it only runs between Faversham and Canterbury, and there is no other way to get to Faversham by bus today.
There is a way, actually, but it's convoluted, and takes more time than I have left today. And it is a journey that I will do at some point; I'll report back.
But, in the meantime, the train will have to take the strain the rest of the way!
Happy Easter!
BELOW: A diagram of the route discussed in this article
