The Swinging 60s Shuttle Bus

Rock-and-Roll is not exactly an adjective that springs to mind when you think of Richmond. However when you hop on the Swinging 60s Shuttle Bus, you'll find that leafy Richmond, Twickenham and Teddington are a lot more groovy than you think.

For £3 you'll learn more about the musical heritage of this part of London aboard a vintage routemaster, while listening to 60s tunes and the commentary of a local music lover. Upgrade to an all day hop-on hop-off which will cost you £9. No Oysters allowed!

We picked up the tour from the bus stop outside Waitrose in Richmond, but you can pick it up from any of the 18 stops along the route. The conductor on our bus doubled as tour guide, although we all thought a little bit more info along the way would be very welcome. Apparently on some days, famous rock stars are invited to hitch a ride on the routemaster as well. No such luck on our tour.

The tour takes in many musical sites of course, but there are lots of other historical points of interest along the way as well.

In Richmond, you'll ride by the former Crawdaddy Club where the Rolling Stones and the Beatles both performed as well as the Nandos that used to be the L'auberge Coffee House where many a music legend enjoyed coffee and apparently other stimulants.

In Twickenham it's worth hopping off and taking a stroll on Eel Pie Island where the now burnt down Eel Pie Hotel hosted many jazz and rock gigs and performances in the 60s. It now houses private residences; some quirky, some cute.

You can get to the island from the Thames riverbank in Twickenham on a foot bridge and it's a lovely leafy and quiet place for a little stroll.

In Teddington you'll get a glimpse of the entrance of Bushy Park where Mick Jagger crashed his car. If you fancy a break, you'll find lots of nice cafes and pubs here on the high street as well.

The local historical sites on the Swinging 60s bus tour include places like Ham House, as well as the Marble Hill and Strawberry Hill houses, which are all worth a visit and a gander.

Riding the Swinging 60s Bus was £3 well spent, and even if you're not all that much into the Beatles or the Stones, this part of London is one of the nicest parts of town. And you get to see it on a real vintage routemaster. How groovy is that?

Wanna hop on too? Find more info here.