London Transport Bus 213A

Proving once again that you can find just about anything you desire on the internet, someone has created a blog about the London Transport 213 bus route.

The 213

The 213 played a vital role in my adolescence. I rode it regularly during 1966 through 1970.  I was a schoolboy at the time.  From the stop on Coombe Lane, just west of Traps Lane, I could catch a 213A to Kingston or New Malden, depending on my mood. Too young to drive, this was my escape hatch from the safety of home and parents into the rather scary outside world of actual English kids that I couldn't meet at school. The possibilities seemed limitless. But to be truthful, my trips usually ended at the Kingston public library, Bentalls or wandering along New Malden High Street and browsing in Cannings book shop. 

I live in the US now. But in 2003 I returned to England for the first time in over 30 years. To my amazement the bus still ran the much same route. Once more I boarded the good old red 213A omnibus at New Malden train station, headed north to my old neighborhood and then west to Kingston town center. Reliving me childhood, I was. I did the same thing again in 2013. 

I fully recognize that this will make me sound incredibly old to some readers. To them, I say this: watch your back. Beware the passage of time. The years will slip by quicker than you expect. Soon you will find yourself searching for web sites like 213bus... reminiscing about things that happened 40 years ago.... blathering on as I'm doing now....