Chepstow Classic Buses

[90sWereBetter]

Does anyone know anything about this company, as incredibly they are using Bristol VRs on Glastonbury shuttle services this year! They appear to be farm worker vehicles rather than preserved VRs given their condition.

Looking on the Rob Sly website, they still have 16 VRs in their fleet, which must be the largest concentration of Bristols anywhere in 2023.

Bristol VR CJJ 677W 230623

CJJ 677W : Bristol VR + ECW body of Chepstow Classic Buses. Departing from Castle Cary Railway Station with a load of passengers for Glastonbury Festival. CJJ 677W was new as East Kent 7677. Station Road, Ansford, Castle Cary. 23-06-2023

www.flickr.com

Bristol VR UFX 856S 230623 A

UFX 856S - 'Sunny Jim' : Bristol VR + ECW body of Chepstow Classic Buses. Arriving at Castle Cary Railway Station to collect another load of passengers for Glastonbury Festival. UFX 856S has a convertible body and was new as Hants & Dorset 3375, then passed to Southern Vectis as their 504. It...

www.flickr.com

 

[Lucan]

They are based in the Bulwark Industrial Estate in the southern part of Chepstow. There is usually a collection of superannuated buses around their premises.

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www.google.co.uk

 

[Hullian111]

I, for one, want to know what's going on behind this!

Chepstow Classic Buses R292HCD

Former Stagecoach Volvo Olympian Alexander at the Bath & West Showground between duties for the Glastonbury Festival.

flickr.com

Ex-preserved Stagecoach Olympian, but which? I know Chepstow Classic Buses is no stranger to taking on ex-preserved buses; might this stripes Olympian be an ex-heritage fleet vehicle?

 

[Strathclyder]

Does anyone know anything about this company, as incredibly they are using Bristol VRs on Glastonbury shuttle services this year! They appear to be farm worker vehicles rather than preserved VRs given their condition.

Looking on the Rob Sly website, they still have 16 VRs in their fleet, which must be the largest concentration of Bristols anywhere in 2023.

Bristol VR CJJ 677W 230623

CJJ 677W : Bristol VR + ECW body of Chepstow Classic Buses. Departing from Castle Cary Railway Station with a load of passengers for Glastonbury Festival. CJJ 677W was new as East Kent 7677. Station Road, Ansford, Castle Cary. 23-06-2023

www.flickr.com

Bristol VR UFX 856S 230623 A

UFX 856S - 'Sunny Jim' : Bristol VR + ECW body of Chepstow Classic Buses. Arriving at Castle Cary Railway Station to collect another load of passengers for Glastonbury Festival. UFX 856S has a convertible body and was new as Hants & Dorset 3375, then passed to Southern Vectis as their 504. It...

www.flickr.com

Say what you will, those VRs owe nothing to nobody!

It took me a second to remember why the name Chepstow was ringing a bell in the context of the bus world, then I remembered that they have buses - mostly B10s of various ages - based at Lathalmond in Fife (the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum site) which have seen use on the SVBM's open days/weekends on shuttle services to Dunfermline in the past (attached images are my own); I believe they're also used as farm worker buses. In addition, two open-toppers (Atlanteans LDX 75G & SVG 627G) owned by them are regularly used on trips to the Forth Bridges on the museum's open weekends:

 

[jammy36]

Chepstow Classic Buses is run by David Hoare who is well known and long active in the bus preservation world. I think the festival shuttle from Castle Cary station to the Glastonbury Festival site is run by Alan Peters' ABus with vehicles hired in from Chepstow Classic, Centurion Coaches, Steve Lester, Dan Shears, and other local operators and preservationists.

As well as supplying vehicles for the Glastonbury Festival shuttles Chepstow Classic also operate a race day shuttle service at Chepstow, a school bus service to Wyedean School (for which I think a couple of Dennis Tridents are owned) and of course wedding and event hire using a fleet of preserved classic buses. The income generated from the Glastonbury Festival work helps towards the running of the preserved fleet. I believe some are also stored at Winkleigh when not in use.

@Hullian111 The Olympian in Stagecoach stripes is G105AAD which I believe is/was preserved by Thomas Daubney. I think one of Thomas's other preserved Olympians (G103ADD) was also being used.

 

[M803UYA]

Chepstow Classic Buses is run by David Hoare who is well known and long active in the bus preservation world. I think the festival shuttle from Castle Cary station to the Glastonbury Festival site is run by Alan Peters' ABus with vehicles hired in from Chepstow Classic, Centurion Coaches, Steve Lester, Dan Shears, and other local operators and preservationists.

As well as supplying vehicles for the Glastonbury Festival shuttles Chepstow Classic also operate a race day shuttle service at Chepstow, a school bus service to Wyedean School (for which I think a couple of Dennis Tridents are owned) and of course wedding and event hire using a fleet of preserved classic buses. The income generated from the Glastonbury Festival work helps towards the running of the preserved fleet. I believe some are also stored at Winkleigh when not in use.

@Hullian111 The Olympian in Stagecoach stripes is G105AAD which I believe is/was preserved by Thomas Daubney. I think one of Thomas's other preserved Olympians (G103ADD) was also being used.

Going a little further back, when Rubicon launched their Bristol open top tour in the mid 1990s, Bristol FLF 841 SHW and Leyland Atlantean DBA228C were on hire from Chepstow for use on the tour. Other buses have been hired out at different times - there was 507 RUO a Devon General AEC Regent V open topper.

The VRs came a little later, in the early 2000s and have been used on/off at Glastonbury ever since. There have been connections for some time with Winkleigh and Lathalmond hence why some vehicles are kept there.

 

[jammy36]

Other buses have been hired out at different times - there was 507 RUO a Devon General AEC Regent V open topper.

Yes, I think 507RUO was on loan from David Hoare's Chepstow Classic to Warrick Hulme's Rubicon Classic operation between 1999 and 2003.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Nothing new though, those VR's have been doing shuttles for a few years, the same batch were also out last year, most are VOR (vehicle off road) until Glastonbury, put out on shuttles then stored again.

The Jurrasic Sightseeing VR is a beast, love seeing this each year, such a meaty exhaust note.

I was driving shuttles for Centurion with our own Chandlers coaches, and whilst parked up had a look in the VR. Driver said one of the VRs is active all the time and is spare and does some school runs, kids don't know how lucky they are!!

Wasn't just VRs and Olympians on shuttles, 1950s Vintage Bus Hire bought a Leyland Atlantean along too

 

[theblackwatch]

I was alerted to the use of VRs on Glastonbury shuttles on a Facebook post and then a Google search, probably unsurprisingly, led me here.

It's amazing to see such buses still in service, albeit only on special workings. Presumably these VRs which are use on 'Glast-Ex' shuttles do either nothing or very little the other 51 weeks of the year?

 

[heart-of-wessex]

It's amazing to see such buses still in service, albeit only on special workings. Presumably these VRs which are use on 'Glast-Ex' shuttles do either nothing or very little the other 51 weeks of the year?

I had a look in the Jurrasic VR when it was parked up, chatting with the driver who volunteers with Chepstow Classic for Glastonbury, and he said there is one VR that is spare and does the odd schools, I thought the Olympians did that, but otherwise yes they are off the road until then, keeps the mileage down.

But I did see 3 of these VR's on Friday heading over the Severn Bridge towards Bristol, I can only assume they were going to Winkleigh

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Jul 2023 ==

Also here is a video I did in 2019 of Glastonbury Festival buses and coaches, featuring most the Chepstow Classic fleet, the East Lancs Vyking that appears is theirs as well

 

[father_jack]

I had a look in the Jurrasic VR when it was parked up, chatting with the driver who volunteers with Chepstow Classic for Glastonbury, and he said there is one VR that is spare and does the odd schools, I thought the Olympians did that, but otherwise yes they are off the road until then, keeps the mileage down.

But I did see 3 of these VR's on Friday heading over the Severn Bridge towards Bristol, I can only assume they were going to Winkleigh

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Jul 2023 ==

Also here is a video I did in 2019 of Glastonbury Festival buses and coaches, featuring most the Chepstow Classic fleet, the East Lancs Vyking that appears is theirs as well

XJJ 653V, XJJ 659V, XJJ 658V and at least one unidentified VR are being used at Nibley festival north of Yate this weekend.