The No. 88 Bus, Clapham, London

Two fat ladies!

A handy bus for sneakily getting up to Camden from the Pimlico area if you miss the 24. The 88 is very much a “1st reserve” bus route for this Qyper (it gets you where you need to go, although the mucking about on Portland Place and up via Great Portland Street station lacks the intrigue of the 24’s progress up Tottenham Court Road).

And if your goal is to get south of the river, I’ll concede that the 88’s propensity to go to the great hub of Vauxhall, and onwards down to Clapham Common is of benefit provided you’re not in a vast hurry.

Take a look at the picture. There she is folks, the majestic no. 88 double decker. I take this bus everyday, twice sometimes, so i thought it apt that i review it!

Our story begins in sleepy Acton Green in the summer of 1950. A maverick names Jonathan Jones pushed for this route to extend all the way to Mitcham and then had the audacity to ask for a Banstead Hospital extension on Sundays. I know, this man defines the word “Hero”. In Late 1990, Jonathan Jones is no longer part of the story i’m afraid, the route was extended to Clapham Common in the South and Camden Town in the north and in the last 18 years (apart from the addition of a night service) the route has changed very little.

The journey time from Clapham Common to Central London is approximately 25 minutes (40 mins to Camden) and the bus snakes through Stockwell, Vauxhall and Westminster on the way into town. If you’re a tourist staying south of the river, this is a great way to get your bearings and see sights such as The Thames, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliment, The Cenotaph, Trafalgar Square and of course the hippes and punks of Camden market. The bus gets very full between Clapham Common and Stockwell during rush hour, but it’s relatively easy to find a seat on most legs of the journey.

A great route and even though it is 10 minutes slower than the tube, it is a much better way to get to work in the morning!