The old buses festival at Stroud College

Helena heard that the Stroud Vintage Bus Gala was being held again, this year at Stroud College, which has an ideal turning circle with a large pick-up/drop-off facility. We were a bit late in getting there, but there was still plenty of activity and many old buses taking visitors for free rides up the valleys in the wonderful old vehicles.

Some of the buses were static all day with many very keen discussions being held. Helena pointed out that those who’d brought the vehicles were obviously great enthusiasts and that they may not have met each other for several years because of the pandemic. She heard a lot of Brummie accents, which is not surprising since it is only an hour away  up the motorway. It must have been a very attractive option to visit Stroud and be able to have rides on old buses up and down the Five Valley’s local bus routes.

Buses appear to have come from Devon, Southampton, Surrey, Hampshire, Bristol, Wolverhampton as well as from just up the road. My blip features on the right a Bristol L5G, one of two of this type at the gala today. This one had just dropped off the passengers following their return from a trip up one of the valleys. The other bus is numbered 2382 and I found a picture online of it in service at Stroud Bus Station in 1962.

There was an even older single decker bus, with a more curved shape, which was very similar to a coach we used when travelling to play away matches for the school rugby team in the mid 60s!

LHT 911 is a Bristol L5G bus. It was built for Bristol Tramways in 1948 and given their number 2388. Oringinaly fitted with an Eastern Coach Works body, after just two years this was replaced by a second-hand Bristol-built body that had been taken off an older chassis. It was sold in 1966 and entered preservation in 1973.