Sun day buses

It's not often I post about my own news, but I had a such splendid vintage day out at the Castle Point Transport Museum yesterday I thought I'd mention it on here. The CPTM has appeared on this blog before - as my local museum it often has events on between April and October and yesterday was their end-of-season show.

The weather couldn't have been better (they have a track record of enjoying very good weather at this event - I can't remember a dud year) and the crowds turned up in their droves. I've never seen it so busy! For various reasons it's been a couple of years since I last went so I was pleasantly surprised at the improvements that had been made to the museum, such as a model railway layout and a new café. In my old school next door was a large display (again, the biggest I'd seen on the site) of classic cars from all over the country.











































































Of course the main attractions were the vintage buses that make up the bulk of the museum's exhibits and many which also travelled far and wide to be there that day. There are usually so many that they congregate at a large car park and playing field by the seafront and four or five act as ferry vehicles taking people to and from the museum and park. Here is one about to pick up people heading back to the museum, plus a couple more of a similar vintage:


The combination of late summer sun, myriad vintage cars and buses and a typical seaside atmosphere conspired to make this a thoroughly enjoyable day and if you're ever in the area between April and October it is a highly recommended visit. I left a happy chap at 4'o'clock with this memento (an official Michelin model of a 1939 Citroën TUB van) and the resolve not to leave it another year before I visit again.