Heritage Bus Rides Delight Daventry

Daventry Town Council were thrilled to partner with Northampton Transport Heritage (NTH), for the third year running and welcome their selection of classic buses to town, offering visitors free bus tours to mark National Heritage Open Days 2024.

The family-friendly event, on Saturday 7th September 2024, allowed residents to become tourists and see Daventry and its' neighbouring villages from a different perspective whilst experiencing the magic of the beautifully preserved buses.

The heritage bus tours recreated former Local United Counties & Midland Red Bus Routes and took in several villages, including Badby, Staverton, Braunston, Welton or Ashby St Ledgers and Weedon.

Passengers could travel the whole journey and return to Daventry or have the flexibility to hop on and off at the village stops; all trips were free of charge. Additionally, visitors could purchase optional programmes as a souvenir of the day, with the profits of the sales going towards the upkeep and maintenance of the vehicles. The buses departed from Market Square, Daventry and 3,590 passengers hopped aboard in total by close of play.

The bus tours coincided with Daventry Foodies' Market and Daventry Museum's Heritage Open Day celebrations, so visitors were treated to a full day of activities and attractions within the town.

Daventry Mayor, Cllr. Karen Tweedale, enjoyed exploring the buses and remarked: "Thank you to Northampton Transport Heritage for a wonderfully nostalgic day for visitors to soak up. My husband (Mark) and I had a great time viewing the beautifully preserved fleet of buses and chatting with the brilliant team of NTH volunteers running the event. I saw lots of happy passengers enjoying their free rides and met many transport enthusiasts who travelled especially to visit the stationary buses. Thank you to both NTH and Daventry Town Council for their hard work behind the scenes to deliver such another success event. The bus rides coincided with Daventry Foodies' Market 2024 and Daventry Museum Heritage Open Day 2024 celebrations which made for a very joyous day in town."

Daventry Town Council look forward to welcoming Northampton Heritage Transport back to town in the future and hopes everyone who attended the event enjoyed the buses as much as we did.