X5 is an express service that links Loughton with Harlow to one side and Romford to the other side. The number of buses is limited and the stops are restricted (buses only use the stops mentioned below in the route’s timetable). As the route covers a long distance and the buses run every two and a half hours on average, the delays are expected during a rush hour and possible at any other time of the day.

It’s expected that attractability of the route X5 is going to grow because a simple travel to both Harlow and Romford has been long thought by the Loughton residents. Both of those towns have excellent shopping facilities (the huge shopping centres and large outdoor markets - something that we sometimes miss in Loughton and this fact has its positive as well as negative effects) as well as leisure centres, cinemas and hospitals. The parking in Harlow as well as Romford is not free and the petrol is expensive nowadays, so the bus ride may seem like a good idea if you’re not going to be put off by the ride fare or the probability to get delayed due to the large gaps between the buses.

I went from Loughton to Romford and back once and during the outward journey everything was fine but on the way back the bus has arrived 40 minutes late. This is not a fault of a driver but rather a consequence of the busy road traffic in Essex and the luck of local speedy routes in the triangle Harlow - Loughton - Romford. The cost of the return ticket was around 5 pounds.

Below is the X5 bus timetable as it is at the moment (August 2011) and it may change in the future. Considering how bus routes in Essex come and go and considering the economic situation and the cuts that Essex County Council faces, it’s always wise to check that a bus route still exists and the timetable is still valid before making any travel plans.

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Sometimes even those Loughtoners who live and work in Essex, go shopping to Waltham Cross, Harlow or Romford and go on holidays abroad or up North, have to go to London. It’s very good that we have the London Underground, which have been serving us and our parents and grandparents since 1856 but it’s not always the viable transport solution. That is because sometimes it simply doesn’t work. Delays, cancellations, signal failures, people under trains, leaves on the track, ice on the track, scheduled maintenance and closures sadly happen very often as England is not Japan and trains in this country don’t work and probably will never work as everyone expects them to.

Other situations that may “prohibit” the use of the tube are heavy luggage, a pregnant wife, small kids, many points on the route and other things each of us may be dealing with. At the end of the day it could simply be a desire to take a car for a ride and see whether one can still navigate the London roads. And this is of course where the car comes into play.

Obviously when driving to Central London during the week and before 6pm, be prepared to get stuck in the traffic and spend a fortune just to pay for parking and to pay the congestion charge. For all-day parking we’re looking at around 20 pounds while the congestion charge will set a driver back by 10 pounds (the price information is valid for 2011).

On weekends and in the evening it’s much more tolerable. Most Controlling Parking Zones (CPZ) in Central London have the parking restrictions lifted after about 6 o’clock in the evening or 6:30pm. Some have restrictions on Saturdays but in my experience it’s always easy to find CPZ with no Saturday parking restrictions, which is close to one that does have those restrictions. Westminster, Camden, Islington, Southwark and other Central London councils have clear maps of their CPZs and they can be easily found on councils’ websites.

Below are four most common car routes from Loughton to Central London that I often use and recommend to everyone.

Car Routes from Loughton to Central London

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Not a long time ago I wrote in LoughtonEssex.co.uk about Loughton High Road makeover and what has happened as a result. Now, it’s Debden turn: the work has been started on Debden Broadway to put a new road surface and new pavements. At the moment, the work is far from over but I can already see that nothing good will come out out of it.

The number of parking spaces is to be reduced again

The first thing is that the number of available parking spaces available on the Broadway itself will be reduced dramatically and this is a bad news. In 2008, the car parks on the North and on the South of Debden Broadway (Burton Road and Vere Road) have become chargeable. That was done under a good pretense to improve the parking availability and allow people who live nearby to park more easily. In reality, nothing has changed except that everyone except local residents now has to pay for parking during the working days and even on Saturdays (on the North of the Broadway).

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The first proper this winter snow has today finally arrived to Loughton. As usual, it has brought London underground problems and crawling cars on the roads with it but it’s worse it because it also brings a lot of joy to all people, especially to the children.

It happens every winter. It happens once. It never happens twice. I am still talking about the snow in Loughton. It may snow several times a year during the winter but the “real” snow that does not melt during the day only occurs once a winter. At least it has been during the last ten or so years when I’ve heard about this weird fact from someone and began to take notice.

I don’t know what this phenomenon is caused by but it’s true. So I think that it would be possible to check the effects of the global warming just by checking the snowfall in Loughton i.e. how many times a year, what’s the intensity, what’s the the duration and so on.

But in the meantime I’m very glad we have the snow this year because it is something different. With the snow on, the town looks different too - it looks peaceful and clean, relaxed in a way, like on the old postcard. It’s a shame I have had to go work today and won’t be able to photograph this “rare adverse weather condition”, which turns out to be just fine, nice and unusual weather effect. Someone would not get to work today, some won’t get to school, some would feel colder than usual and someone’s car wouldn’t start, but all in all it’s fun, isn’t it? I mean to see the snow in your own Loughton, not Sweden when on the weekend getaway and not France when skiing there on the mountains.

So enjoy it if you can and while you can - go for a walk in the woods with kids, start a snowball fight, build a snowman. You can also clean your car and your driveway from the snow. All in all, be outside, breathe the clean snowy air and simply be happy because in Loughton it’s only snowing properly once a year.