Heritage Bus Ride
Commercial Road Bus Stops, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4PU
Free rides on Heritage buses (or very similar ones) that have served Guildford in the last 60 years.
Saturday 14th September - will see short round trips running from the Town centre (departing from Bus Stand 21 on Commercial Road, next to the Bus Station) to serve the Dapdune Wharf River Festival and then the Upper High Street on a circular route, every 30 minutes from 1100 to 1600.
Sunday 15th September - will see a longer one way (anti-clockwise) route out to Watt’s Gallery, returning via the villages of Compton and Shalford to Guildford also running every 30 minutes from 1030 to 1630.
Times departing Watts Gallery - 1045, then every 30 minutes until the last bus at 1645.
Allow 50 minutes for the round trip.
To mark the Safeguard Coaches Centenary this year, some special trips will also be made on the Safeguard bus routes A & B (as the 4/5 were in the 70s/80s) to Park Barn using a Safeguard bus from that era. These will be at 1400, 1450, 1540, and 1630.
The buses intended to be used are a 1950s London Transport “RF” type, examples of which operated in Guildford from the 50’s to the early 80’s. There will also be a Safeguard bus from the 70/80s era, and Alder Valley/London Country "Leyland National” bus from the same decades.
All services will depart from Stand 21 at Guildford Bus Station on both dates.
Buses will serve any official bus stop on the routes - please indicate clearly if you wish to board or alight.
Please note; if the bus is full, we are unable to take standing passengers.
Guildford has long been an interesting place for bus services; with the post war years being the busiest times. It was where London Transport’s Country operations (Green buses rather than red) met with operators such as Aldershot and District, Safeguard, Yellow Buses, Blue Saloon, Tillingbourne- to name just a few. And of course, the Dennis factory in Guildford once employed hundreds of locals and built buses for the world, as well as ones for use in Surrey!
Timings & Tours
- Saturday 14 September:
- 11:00 – 16:00
- Sunday 15 September:
- 10:30 – 16:30
Location & directions
Commercial Road Bus Stops, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4PU
- Contact on day:
- Richard Kirwin
- Telephone number:
- +447811603985
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
Please note that as these vehicles are heritage ones, they are not easily accessible and wheelchairs cannot be carried. Folded buggies are allowed.
Additional information
Members of the public attend this event and travel on the buses entirely at their own risk. Neither the organiser or any vehicle owners can accept any responsibility for loss or damage to personal property, or any form of injury either inside or outside of the vehicles. Please respect the vehicles, most of which are elderly, privately owned, and have been restored and maintained at considerable cost to their owner(s). No Smoking, Drinking, or Eating is permitted, and please take care with bags and rucksacks to avoid damage to seats etc. No Standing Passengers are permitted at any time, this is an insurance condition. While every effort will be made to ensure the timetabled service is operated, breakdowns or road delays are always possible (especially in Guildford!), so we cannot be held liable in the unfortunate event of a service being cancelled or delayed. We will do our utmost to ensure this is avoided however - we know how frustrating it is when a bus doesn’t show up!
