The Blandford Express

Wilts & Dorset double-decker buses were red and Hants & Dorset double-decker buses were green and both companies operated in Blandford. This was during an era when there was a proper bus network in Dorset. Bus timetables rarely changed from year to year and apart from Summer Saturdays there were few problems of traffic congestion in the county. With their open platforms at the rear, each double-decker had both a driver and a conductor. Between Salisbury and Weymouth via Dorchester there was a daily (no.34) hourly service operated jointly by Wilts & Dorset and Weymouth based, Southern National. Blandford’s bus station could be found just south of the Salisbury Road railway bridge and right next to a fish & chips shop. Hants & Dorset ran two routes to Bournemouth. One from Blandford was via Corfe Mullen ( 10) while the other (24 ), originating from Shaftesbury, journeyed via Blandford and Wimborne to Bournemouth. However, the latter took an interminably long time to...

Bere Regis coaches no longer ply their journeys along the highways and byways of Dorset but they are not forgotten. Thousands of now grown up ex-Dorset school kids remember them as this company took them regularly to and from school. Down some of the county’s lanes on such journeys, low hanging branches could be a particular hazard. Nicknamed the ‘ brown bombers’, because of their distinctive brown livery, others remember Bere Regis & District coaches for their remarkably low fares. Founded in 1929 and trading for over 60 years, the company was, at one time, one of the largest independent coach businesses in the country. In the 1960s, it had over 90 vehicles. Bere Regis & District’s business model enabled it to offer some fares at up to 50% below other companies. Many of the vehicles were second hand and therefore were beginning to come towards the end of their working lives. Engineering staff would take parts from one vehicle to ensure another remained roadworthy. It was s...

                                                                          Bere Re gis & District Motor Services was a privately owned company that operated between 1929 and 1995. Its brown coloured coaches, known as the ‘ Brown Bombers’ were a familiar sight around Blandford for many years. From its depot in East Street, the company offered its bargain basement-priced coach trips. Mystery tours were a popular Bere Regis speciality when customers would be taken to an unknown destination by a route that was designed to confuse. The aim was to leave the passenger’s discovery of the journey’s end to as late in the trip as possible. A lady from Blandford, who worked as a glove maker, decided to take a well-earned week’s holiday in Bournemouth. As a treat, she booked herself on a Bere Regis mystery tour....