THE annual Penzance Vintage Bus Day will be taking place on Sunday, April 21.
Two charities, the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust and the Cornwall Bus Preservation Society, have organised a day of free vintage bus travel centred on Penzance Bus Station.
More than 30 buses and coaches have entered; the oldest dates back from 1947 while the most modern is from 2013, showing how buses have developed. All the buses go out and back from Penzance with destinations spread from Helston to Land’s End, Loggans Moor to Mousehole, also including St Buryan, Perranuthnoe, St Just, St Ives and more.
Mel Williams, chairman of the Cornwall Bus Preservation Society, explains: “The vehicles at the Penzance vintage bus event are being brought at their owners’ own expense so visitors can experience bygone travel.”
The day begins at 9.30am with a cavalcade of the buses and coaches into Penzance from Long Rock, up Market Jew Street, on to Alexandra Road, then back along the Promenade and over the Quay to the Bus Station.
The first passenger trips will leave Penzance Bus Station at 10am with the last return journey setting out at 4.15pm and all services scheduled to be back by 5.17pm. Well-behaved dogs are welcome as travelling companions.
Feeder services will run into Penzance from Camborne and St Ives, but this year the departures will be earlier (8.45am from Camborne and 8.55am from St Ives) so that passengers arrive in time to see the spectacle of the cavalcade. Feeders return at the end of the day leaving at 5.30pm.
A 44-page Souvenir programmes are available and can be purchased from Sullivan’s Diner (opposite Penzance Bus Station) or online at www.tvagwot.org.uk
As well as timetables and details of vehicles attending, the programme looks back illustrating the ways bus liveries changed from around 1984 through to 2004, explores some remote locations once served by buses, offers a whole new perspective on a bus shelter, and comes right up to date showcasing the work of the volunteers preserving the vehicles and maintaining them.