My Bus To School From Hatch End To Pinner Grammar School

A Memory of Hatch End.

My bus to school, Pinner Grammar, went from this stop in Uxbridge Road in the centre of the picture. It was a red London Transport double-decker route 209 that took us all the way to Cannon Lane between Pinner and Rayners Lane. If we missed it then the 98b would take us towards Eastcote which was most of the way and we would jump off at East or West Towers and run the last mile to school taking a short cut through the junior school as fast as we could and ignoring the shouted complaints of the junior school staff!  On days when we got to the bus stop early we would idle away a few minutes gazing in the window of "Signal Service" at the very latest transistor radios! On the opposite pavement was Hatch End telephone exchange and nearby was Whitworths sweet shop run by Frank Whitworth, our family's neighbour in Hillview Road. I used this bus stop for my school years between 1956 and 1963 although in the better summer weather I often cycled the three mile journey instead. I remember the bus fare was tuppence ha'penny each way when I started in the first form. I was shocked when it went up to 3d !!  My mother would give me the week's bus fares on a Monday and if I rode my bike to school I was allowed to keep the bus fare. Sometimes coming home from school I would walk the first half mile or so to "The Whittington" which would save a ha'penny off the fare. Mind you I need to do this as I had to pay for all the upkeep on my bike - I could never quite manage to mend my own punctures so I would push the bike to the cycle shop in Pinner where I had to pay four shillings to get it mended! Happy days!!