East Wight MP Joe Robertson officially opened the Isle of Wight Bus & Coach Museum’s annual Rydabus Weekend with a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Dave Stubbins, secretary of the National Association of Road Transport Museums (NARTM).
The 2-day event, held on Saturday 16th May and Sunday 17th May, attracted bus enthusiasts and visitors from across the UK despite unsettled weather conditions.
The museum also celebrated receiving a £2,000 grant from NARTM towards the refurbishment of its 1965 Bristol FLF double-decker. The vehicle has recently undergone restoration work, including the fitting of new cream window rubbers and a repaint into the 1970s leaf green Southern Vectis livery it carried during its service years on the Isle of Wight.
Following the official opening, guests were treated to a tour around Ryde aboard one of the museum’s preserved buses.
Throughout the weekend, a variety of vintage and preserved buses operated trips to destinations including Seaview, Dinosaur Isle, Amazon World, Shanklin, Quarr Abbey, Brading Roman Villa, Briddlesford Farm, Newport and the Donkey Sanctuary.
Southern Vectis’s 87-year-old open-top bus, known as ‘Old Girl’, also made its traditional Sunday appearance to operate the popular Downs Tour.
Alongside the museum’s own collection, several visiting vehicles attended the event, including a 1947 Wilts & Dorset Bristol coach, a low-bridge double-decker from the former King Alfred fleet in Winchester and 2 vehicles from the Cornish Bus Collection.
Other visiting buses included a rare Albion Nimbus, formerly part of the Devon General fleet, and a Bristol LH/Marshall coach in Royal Blue colours. The Bromley Bus Group also brought along a Dennis Dart and Volvo B7TL, both of which originally began service on the Isle of Wight.
A museum spokesperson said the event required significant organisation but ultimately “went without a hitch”.
The museum’s shop and tea bar also proved popular across the weekend, helping to raise funds for ongoing restoration projects, fuel costs and maintenance work at the museum’s 1930s depot.
Among the visitors was Canadian supporter Mike Paolozzi, who described the museum as his “personal Disneyland” and timed a family visit to the Isle of Wight to coincide with the Rydabus Weekend.
The museum’s next major event will be the Wightrider Weekend on 10th and 11th October, when a larger number of visiting mainland vehicles are expected to attend.
The Isle of Wight Bus & Coach Museum is open every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 until 16:00.
It’s a great life on the buses, made my day that has!.
I love seeing the old buses much better than the new
ones.