Newton Abbot Travel Club

IMBER BUS DAY 

Saturday 19th August 2023

Whose heard of Imber  Bus Day or even Imber Village.

 

Imber Bus Day is planned for Saturday 19th August this year when several London Transport Routemaster buses (plus a few newer ones) will be the only vehicles allowed to travel through to Imber village and on to other parts of Salisbury Plain. As in previous years, these buses will operate as an ordinary bus service, so there will be no need for passengers to reserve seats or book tickets in advance – just turn up on the day and pay the conductor on the bus or buy a ticket from one of the ticket sellers (last year it was £10)  The bus service is  from Warminster Station to Imber and other isolated locations on the Salisbury Plain between 10am and 6pm. 

Imber is situated on Salisbury Plains, near Warminster in Wiltshire & was commandeered for ‘war work’ in 1943

Given nowhere else to go to Imber's villagers were 'liberated' of their homes in 1943, with just 47 days’ notice, to make way for American troops to train for the liberation of Europe during World War II. With foresight the Ministry of Defence, as it is now called, had before the war bought up the farms and even much of the village itself to make Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire the largest military training ground in the United Kingdom. Thus the villagers were 'just' tenants, so were easily made to vacate their homes and livelihoods, but as they understood it only until the war ended. Shortly before the war began council houses, which can still be seen there, were built at Imber, a sure sign that neither the council nor the villagers, maybe not even the MOD (as it is called today), expected the village to be permanently taken over. However Salisbury Plain remains, even today, too useful a training ground, so the villagers were never allowed back. Even for visitors the road through Imber village is rarely open, even less often now that the MOD is concerned about the safety of visitors who ignore the warning signs not to, and enter at risk old and new buildings now just, apart from the church, used for urban warfare training.

There is very little to see except the surviving church of St. Giles.

I have often fancied going, although there is nothing much to see but it’s more the experience.  If there are another 30+ people who fancy going let me know & I will see about organising a coach trip. 

 

Included in the price

 

Coach travel with pickups, Newton Abbot,

Greenhill Way route Kingsteignton & Exeter Services

 

Coach fare  £30 + your bus ticket from Warminster to Imber.