30 The London Bus

R

oute 27, like

many, has

changed

significantly

since it was

launched more than 100 years

ago, but in one respect it has

remained the same. Then, as

now, essentially it ran from west

to east into central London, then

turned north.

In the past, however, it was

much longer, stretching from

Hounslow in south-west London

to Muswell Hill in the north.

Bizarrely, in the 1930s it headed

briefly south from Hounslow

on a long dogleg through

Twickenham and Richmond,

eventually making its way

north-east towards Kew Bridge,

then turning properly east into

Chiswick High Road.

In 1991 it was cut back

radically. The new western

terminus became Turnham

Green, halfway along Chiswick

High Road, and the northern

stretch was cut back to Camden

Town. Then four years later the

route was extended a short way

north to Chalk Farm, and in

2012 it was extended about half

a mile west to Chiswick Business

Park. This is not far from the

Chiswick roundabout, where the

elevated M4 crosses the junction

of the North and South Circular

Roads.

At around 9miles, the 27

remains a long route, and is run

at a high frequency (every 7 to

10min), requiring around 25

vehicles. London United, now

part of the French RATP group,

has operated the route since

2005, when it took over from

First CentreWest. Currently it

uses six-year-old hybrid-drive

Alexander Dennis Enviro400H

double-deckers. Subjectively,

they are smart, modern and well

turned out.

The route joins the High Road

from Chiswick Business Park,

a modern estate of gleaming

metallic office

buildings, under the

shadow of the tall

and equally gleaming

tower of the British

Standards Institution,

which straddles the Richmond

branch of the District Line at

Gunnersbury station.

Chiswick High Road stretches

a mile-and-a-half from here

to Hammersmith – a broad,

tree-lined thoroughfare

flanked for most of the way by

a mix of upmarket and local

shops. Strictly speaking the

area is divided into separate

communities – Chiswick Park,

Turnham Green, Stamford

Brook, Ravenscourt Park

(each with its own District line

station), but if you’re not looking

carefully they can seem to merge

together.

Look out for two pubs on

the south side. The George IV

at Turnham Green is a noted

live comedy venue and the

Packhorse & Talbot (only yards

away) became the focus of a

cause célèbre in 2014 when

owner Greene King suddenly

threatened to demolish it.

The council intervened and

ultimately created a conservation

area around it. By the way,

don’t confuse it with the Old

Packhorse, half a mile to the west

on the north side of the street.

Also at Turnham Green is The

Old Cinema, opened as a theatre

in 1888, but operating as the

Cinema Royal from 1912 to

1933. It has been converted into

London by Bus

BELOW:

ADH45043, an

Alexander Dennis

Enviro400H,

passing the Old

Packhorse in

Chiswick High

Road.

BELOW RIGHT:

The British

Standards

Institution’s

Chiswick Tower

overshadows

a passing New

Routemaster.

Route

27