The London Bus That Goes to Slough

The 81 at Slough Bus Station with it about to depart for Hounslow

The 81 is a London bus (operated by TfL) which goes from Hounslow, in West London, to Slough which is over 4 miles outside the Greater London boundary. This makes it the London bus route that travels the furthest west with second place being the 117, 203, 216 and 290 which terminate at Staines Bus Station. The 81s western most bus stop (and westernmost TfL stop) is called Queensmere Centre and is the first stop after leaving Slough Bus Station.

Slough

The 81 starts its journey towards Hounslow at Slough Bus Station using stop 1. Slough Bus Station consists of 17 stops with 1-10 inside the bus station, 11-13 along Brunel Way next to Slough Station, and stops A-C and G on Wellington Street. From Slough Bus Station you can, allegedly, get to High Wycombe, Maidenhead, and Amersham but the frequency and reliability of non-London buses is certainly not the best. Slough Bus Station is just outside Slough Rail Station which has services to London Paddington, Windsor, Reading, and Didcot Parkway with these run by GWR and TfL Rail (which will eventually become the Elizabeth Line).

Queensmere Centre bus stop which is the furthest west TfL bus stop

The furthest west you can be on an (in service) London bus is between Slough Bus Station and the Queensmere Centre bus stop just before the left turn from William Street to High Street. This point is just over 20 miles from Trafalgar Square but is in fact not the furthest possible place you can be on a TfL operated bus from Trafalgar Square. Technically the furthest location is on the TfL operated 608 school bus at Shenfield High School, and second is the non-school bus 465 in Dorking.

The A4

An 81 in Colnbrook just off the A4

The 81 after leaving Slough swiftly joins the A4 (towards Slough the 81 stays on the A4 until the moment before getting to Slough Bus Station) with the 81 following the A4 for a large proportion of its route. The 81 diverts from the A4 twice on its route: the first to serve Colnbrook and Longford, and the second after Henlys Roundabout which allows the 81 to reach Hounslow and its Bus Station where it terminates.

Heathrow

An 81 in Longford which is just outside Heathrow

The 81 passes just north of Heathrow Airport through the local towns and villages (and carparks). Whilst the airport gets very close the 81 doesn’t travel to any of the terminals and doesn’t have easy links to the airport (except maybe by bus) with no rail or underground connections until Hounslow West. The 81 serves Colnbrook and Longford which are small villages that are set to be destroyed when Heathrow's third runway is constructed. The Heathrow expansion is opposed by the local residents with many signs expressing this opinion throughout the villages.

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