Since sending out our last Imberbus email earlier this week, we have had several new subscribers to our mailing list. We therefore thought that we would send the email out again for their benefit, but feel free to press delete if you have already seen it.

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Following on from last month’s email, this is a final reminder that year’s Imberbus service will be running this coming Saturday – 17th August 2024.

This year there will be up to 40 vehicles in operation, providing departures every 10-15 minutes from Warminster Rail Station, starting at 9.30am. Many journeys will be operated by more than one bus, some of which will be wheelchair accessible, so if you have mobility problems, please email us so that we can tell you what journeys we are planning to use them on.

In addition to the regular service between Warminster and Imber, buses will be serving Chitterne, Tilshead, West Lavington, Market Lavington, Brazen Bottom and New Zealand Farm Camp at least every 30 minutes during most of the day, and you can start your journey at Chitterne, Tilshead and the Lavingtons instead of Warminster if you wish – just signal clearly to the driver by putting your hand out as the bus approaches.

Full details of what we have planned this year can be found on the “Imber 2024” page of our website (www.imberbus.org), but we would particularly draw your attention to the following arrangements, some of which are different to previous years:

• August 17th will be a car free day at Imber, so the only vehicles that will allowed on to the military roads will be the Imberbuses themselves.  In addition to the car parks in Warminster Town Centre there will be some additional parking available at Sack Hill which is on the Warminster to Imber Road and also at the Cricket Ground in the village of Chitterne. Please see the “How to get to Warminster” page of our website for more details of their location. but remember that there are no toilets or other facilities at Sack Hill and you will have to pay your bus fare in cash if you do not get on at Warminster Station!
• Direct train services to Warminster are available from Cardiff, Newport, Bristol, Bath, Trowbridge, Salisbury, Southampton and Portsmouth, plus various town in between – for further details, please see the “How to get to Warminster” page on our website.
• If you are driving to Warminster from the West, be aware that the A36 road is closed for repairs between Bath and Warminster, so you will need to take a different route if coming from Bath, Bristol or the M4 motorway.
• We have retained the simplified fare structure so that on Saturday there will be just two ticket prices – £10 for adults and £2 for children.  These tickets will allow unlimited travel on service 23A for the whole day.  Please note that you will need to pay for your tickets in cash, unless you are boarding at Warminster Station where we will have a ticket booth that can also accept payment by contactless card. You will also need cash for purchases at Imber Church and some of the village halls.
• If you live locally to Warminster, this year you can also purchase your tickets beforehand from the Athenaeum Centre on Warminster High Street or the “Iris & Olive” gift shop in the Market Place.
• If you would like to visit Chitterne before heading to Imber, there will be buses running from the coach layby in Warminster Central Car Park direct to Chitterne at 10.20am. If you are not sure where that is, click on this link to see the walking route from the train station.
• This year there are also two Imber / Imberbus related exhibitions taking place in Warminster at the same time as our event. Please visit the Exploring Warminster page on our website for more information.

As Imber is in a military area that is normally closed to the public, facilities there are extremely limited and there are restrictions on where you can wander when you arrive. If you have not attended our event before we would therefore recommend that you read the Imberbus FAQ page on our website which provides important information on where you can and cannot go, where you can get something to eat and also the location of public toilets (which are few and far between on the Salisbury Plain!). 

Please also bear in mind that the Imber plain is a very exposed location with very little shelter or shade except inside Imber Church! We therefore strongly advise you to wear sensible footwear, bring plenty of drinks and an umbrella with you, and slap on lots of sunscreen!

We hope that you will be able to join us on Saturday and if you would like further information about our event, please check out the other pages on our website – www.imberbus.org. We would also be keen to see any photographs or videos that you take on the day – particularly if they would be suitable to replace those currently in use on our publicity or website. Please feel free to get in touch if you think you have any that might fit the bill.