Wading back in

 I’ve been thinking about picking up the virtual pen again for a while. 

It’s a bit tricky to write about bus industry issues because I work for one of the UK’s biggest operators, which has its own comms machinery for which I have the utmost respect, on projects which are mostly commercially confidential. So this may all be a bit haphazard but we’ll see how we get on.

I'm sure I'll find a way to wax lyrical about heavyweight industry issues in due course, but to get things off to a gentle start I'm bringing out my inner bus enthusiast, with a report of my visit to the Bedfordshire town of Biggleswade last week, for the annual Vintage Bus Running Day organised by the United Counties Preservation Group (UCPG).

This year was the fourth such event and I’ve failed to attend any of the previous due to diary clashes. But I spent most of my childhood in Bedfordshire, United Counties buses were a huge part of my life and I’m getting to an age where nostalgia counts as a hobby. So I was particularly keen to make it this year, and I’m very glad I did!

While I’m unashamedly a bus enthusiast (I prefer “bus geek” for professional reasons but tomato tomato) I attend very few such events - maybe one or two a year. There is a non-negligible minority of the enthusiast community that exhibits some very strange behaviours that I find uncomfortable to be around. But I absolutely admire the time, money and effort committed by preservationists in protecting our heritage.

The best bus events are those held in locations accessible to the general public. Many children find buses fascinating, but family circumstances mean they don’t often use them. So the joy of a ride on the top deck, or even better the chance to sit in the cab and pretend to drive, is brilliant for keeping buses relevant to future generations. Plus the presence of a wider cross-section of the population helps dilute the disruptive impacts of the wilder strains of our species.

Biggleswade was a triumph on every count. Plenty of families using the buses as something interesting to do for the day; and no evidence of the more challenging members of our community. Just lots of appreciative people with varying degrees of subject interest, but all having a great day.

It felt extremely well organised too. Through a conversation with one of the organisers, and some unintended eavesdropping, I happen to know they had to deal with some unplanned disruption on the day. They did so superbly - most visitors would have been totally unaware.

The stats: Something like thirteen buses provided hourly services on six routes. The buses included two Bristol VRs from UCPG’s own collection plus a variety of visitors, tending towards the more modern end of the preservation spectrum. Spot on for me - all reminiscent of my childhood or places I’ve known and worked.

My first outing was a short round trip to Jordans Mill on one of UCPG’s own vehicles - Bristol VR WRP767J. The VR was the absolute mainstay of my childhood and figured heavily in the first four years of my bus management career at Southern Vectis.

767 is immaculately presented and brought back incredible memories. For the connoisseur, most of my childhood travels were on Series 3 VRs - the Series 2 such as 767 were already on the way out - but there were still a few around and to be honest a ride on a VR is an experience to treasure regardless of such finer points. There are not enough superlatives to describe the sights and sounds of belting through the countryside on one of these machines - 40 minutes of automotive pleasure!

Next up was a ride on a Leyland National. In this case YPL449T, a National SNB with its roots in London Country. Despite living so close to London Country territory, and often seeing these vehicles on family shopping trips to Hitchin and beyond, I actually travelled very rarely on the LC bus fleet. My childhood National memories were of United Counties examples which I remember as being a lot more clattery and whiney than this one. But again, a National is a staple of my generation, not to be missed.

This one left Biggleswade with a full load on route 4, a longer circular route taking in Potton and Wrestlingworth - including a brief swim through a ford at Sutton that I didn't know existed. Apart from the vehicle itself, a highlight was a guy sat on the seat behind me who spent the entire trip briefing his travelling companion on current bus industry affairs, and managing to be factually wrong on almost every single point!

Back in Biggleswade, the remaining item on the bingo card was a trip to Shefford, my home for seven years 1980-1987, spanning my life from the ages of 7 to 14 - precisely the time I was becoming interested (obsessed?) in public transport.

Route 3 provides the running day link to Shefford, and traction for the trip took the form of an East Lancs rebody of an original London Country Leyland Tiger. There was a period in the early 90s when rebodies of older coaches was very fashionable, with the East Lancs EL2000 body being the staple. While the heritage of this particular vehicle holds no particular significance for me, the EL2000 body brings back fond memories of three rebodies of Volvo B10M coaches that we operated during my stint at Buffalo Travel 1991-1995. The interiors are best described as 'utilitarian' but this one is immaculately presented by its owner and it was great again to make good progress through open country roads listening to the energetic whine of the TL11 engine.

At this point I decided to seek lunch, and with apologies to the range of great independent cafes and restaurants in Biggleswade, I couldn't resist the lure of a Wetherspoons with a view - the Crown Hotel being directly opposite the Bus Station which was the hub of the running day.

With a 125 mile journey home and an evening commitment in store, I sadly had to make tracks straight after lunch. Regrets: I have two! The main one was that I was unable to ride the other 'native' VR, UBD757H. Indeed, I was enjoying the day so much I nearly subverted my evening plans to incorporate this, but my intended companions would not have appreciated me placing a Series 1 VR ahead of our friendship (although I think the point is at least debatable)!

The other sadness is that there were so many other great vehicles that I was unable to experience. Partly that was self-inflicted, because I had to leave early, but if I have one piece of constructive feedback for the organisers I'd have loved there to have been a few more routes with a 20-30 minute round trip time to enable a greater range of rides: The routes provided are excellent and well chosen, but most take the best part of an hour. Anyway, here are some examples of what I missed. I hope to put this right on a future visit!

I appreciate it's a niche interest, but I can't stress enough what a great day this was. I pay tribute to the organisers - the effort that goes into mounting an event of this kind is way more than many would appreciate, and the owners. The vehicles were all superbly presented, and their commitment to an event like this in the context of the current price of fuel is admirable.

I’m almost reluctant to recommend it because I don’t want it to become one of those events that outgrows itself, creates unrealistic expectation and becomes unmanageable. But I can’t speak highly enough - the organisers are doing a brilliant job, it was a superb day and well worth the 250 mile round trip. Roll on 12th September 2027!