Tuesday Variety

 For Whom The Road Tolls

The only road toll remaining in London is the splendid example illustrated above. Please note that the posh toll booth is no longer occupied by a posh toll collector, it is all electronic now. Cards only including a bulk buy multi card!

Tolls (actually one toll, £1.50 for cars) do not apply on Christmas Day, evening and overnight. The tollgate is in the middle of a fairly lengthy road so you can access side roads and properties as far as halfway, then turn and exit the same was as you entered. Cycles and motorcycles can use the chicane by the black and white post ...

... and thus pay nowt!

To find this exciting anachronism we start at Crystal Palace Parade bus station ...

... where once stood the famous Crystal Palace - untill its spectacular and total conflagration.

A few yards north we bear left ...

... into College Road.

Here we might meet a service 3 bus ...

... before turning off College Road into ...

... College Road. Only we can't because it is no entry. But at the end of this College Road we turn left into ...

College Road!

Coinfused.com?

Coming in from the left along Ringwood Drive, we might espy single deck route 450 which wends its way back to the main road.

There is a 450, turning out of the other end of Ringwood Drive, away from College Road. Both routes can be gleaned from an extract of the Mike Harris bus map.

But on Mike's map, there appears to be another bit of College Road leading northbound to Dulwich Village and North Dulwich, the home of the P4!

Confused.com - even more!

That is because College Road is continuous from the Crystal Palace end all the way to Dulwich. On the way it passes the prestigious (and very expensive) Dulwich College ...

... for the sons of wealthy gentlefolk!

The missing bit of road (below in yellow) ...

... is a private part of the "Dulwich Estate" and restricted by the above toll gate, enjoying no road public transport - banned by a width restriction at the toll!

Maybe the road is not good bus territory.

But College Road does have rail public transport at the fascinating Sydenham Hill station. 

It has a typical suburban service of a train every 15 minutes from Victoria to Orpington ...

... supplemented by a dash of peak hour extras. Here is part of the timetable, omitting Victoria and London Bridge to save space.

The station has a large double arrow on College Road ...

... and a small car park. But "where's the station?", we hear you cry.

You enter this creepy tunnel ...

... through the dark and dangerous forest; then you step tentatively down several staircases ...

... before joining a footbridge ...

... and descending to the platforms.

It is quite an adventure and there are no lifts.

It is even more of an adventure from the western side of the tracks.

Here, there is no indication that there is a station!

But as you teeter down the slope, some stationness comes into view.

Here we glimpse something of the Sydenham Hill collection of walkways and footbridge stuff.

Amazingly, the whole lot still retains its roofs. Could that be because of the influence of the posh people of College Road? 

Surely not!

Of course, once upon a time, Sydenham Hill had Eurostar trains ...

... going very slowly towards Waterloo. But they didn't stop!

Today fbb celebrated being 80 ...

... but far more importantly, is hugely privileged to have been a Christian for 66 years, with serving God as a priority. O.K., not always the highest priority for which forgiveness was often necessary. BUT ...

"All things work together for those that love God and are fitting in with His plans!" (Paul's Letter to the Romans, Chapter 8 verse 28.

Far too often people blame God when things don't go their way - but equally often, those who complain about God's ineffectiveness are simply not fitting in with His plans.

Highlights of the day will be a steak dinner at home and slice(s) of Mrs fbb's delicious coffee cake. Then partying will continue at full tilt until about 2130 - bed time.

fbb in full-tilt party mode

Rumours are rife that No 3 son is sending a box of cheese where, to quote the publicity, "the aroma will break out of the box"!

 Next Gasworks blog : Weds 26 Feb