Category Archives: Imber

The lost village of Imber

The date is set for Imberbus 2023 !

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We are pleased to announce that this year, we are planning to run the Imberbus service on

Saturday 19th August 2023

when several vintage former London Transport Routemaster buses (plus a few newer ones) will again provide a bus service from Warminster Station to Imber and other isolated locations on the Salisbury Plain between 10am and 6pm.

Once again our event will be a Car Free Day, with the only access to Imber on 19th August being on the buses operating the Imberbus service. These special arrangements successfully eliminated the severe traffic congestion that we experienced around Imber in 2019, but they do mean that there are some restrictions on what you can and cannot do when you get there, details of which will be confirmed during the summer.

IMG_1116-001 (1568 x 1045)The timetable for this year’s service will also be published during the summer and is expected to be very similar to the one used in 2022. Buses will run from Warminster Station to Imber every 15 minutes, with the first bus departing at approximately 9.45am and the last bus returning at around 6pm. Please note that you cannot book in advance to travel on the Imberbus service – just turn up and pay the conductor on the bus, or purchase a ticket from our ticket booth outside Warminster Station on the day.

If you have not travelled on the Imberbus service before and would like to know more about it, please visit our website at www.imberbus.org which contains details about the history of Imber and the background to the service. We have also retained on there, details of the arrangements that applied for Imberbus 2022 plus our popular Frequently Asked Questions page, to give you an idea of what to expect and we will update this information during July, once the final arrangements for this year have been confirmed.

Last year the Imberbus service raised more than £16,000, which was donated to St. Giles Church, the Royal British Legion, Guide Dogs for the Blind, The Garrison Artillery Volunteers, Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust, The London Transport Museum and the Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living. We would obviously like to be able to improve on this figure in 2023 and so we do hope that you will be able to join us in August.

However if you cannot wait until the summer to visit Imber, we understand that St. Giles Church and the road through Imber may be open to everyone over part of the Easter weekend in April (although you will obviously need your own transport to get there on those dates). Further details of those openings are expected to be published on the Imber Church website events page in a few weeks time, but please remember to check this again shortly before you travel as there is always the chance that access to the road through Imber may have to change at short notice if required for military training.

Imberbus is running this Saturday !

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Following on from our previous email, this is a final reminder that year’s Imberbus service will be running this coming Saturday – 20th August 2022.

This year there should be more than 25 vehicles in operation, providing departures at least every 15 minutes from Warminster Rail Station, starting at 9.45am. 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 every 30 minutes during most of the day, and you can board the bus at 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 2022” 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 20th 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.  The Imber Park & Ride site that we used in 2019 will therefore not be in operation this year, but instead there will be some additional parking available at Sack Hill which is on the Warminster to Imber Road. Please see the “Imber 2022” page of our website for more details of its location but remember that there are no toilets at this location and you will have to pay your bus fare in cash if you park there!
  • This year, a wedding at Chitterne means that our buses will not be able to call at that village after 3pm.  We therefore do not recommend parking at Chitterne and if you wish to visit this pretty village, please ensure that you do so in the morning or at lunchtime.  If you want to go there first, there will be a bus running from the coach layby in Warminster Central Car Park direct to Chitterne at 1035.
  • Unfortunately a rail strike is still scheduled for 20th August. However special coaches are now running to our event from Coventry and Stratford on Avon, as well as London, Basingstoke, Weymouth, Dorchester, Bristol and Bath, whilst local buses are also available to Warminster from Bath, Frome Salisbury and other neighbouring towns.  These are detailed on the special “Rail Strike” page on our website but if you wish to travel on one of the coaches we would urge you to book now to guarantee a seat.
  • Our event attracts a lot of people, so social distancing is not possible on our buses.  If travelling in a crowd still concerns you, please delay your visit until after lunch as the buses from Warminster tend to be less busy in the afternoon. Please do not attend if you are showing any of the symptoms of Coronavirus or have been told to isolate. We have every intention of running Imberbus next year, so please do not feel the need to come this year if you feel unwell.

Danger2As 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 strongly 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 in Imber Church! We therefore strongly advise you to wear sensible footwear, bring plenty of drinks with you and slap on lots of sunscreen!

IMG_1116-002 (1393 x 1349)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 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.

Imberbus is still running on 20th August !

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This year, the Imberbus service to the lost village of Imber will be running on Saturday 20th August and despite the possibility of a Rail Strike on that day, it is already promising to be a popular event with the only access to Imber being on one of our buses.

We have at least 25 old and new Routemaster buses lined up to provide this year’s service which will run every 15 minutes from Warminster Station to Imber from 9.45am onwards. On arrival at Imber, some buses will then carry on to our interchange point at Gore Cross, from where they will continue twice an hour throughout the day either to Tilshead and Chitterne, New Zealand Farm Camp or Brazen Bottom and Market Lavington.

In addition to the 16th century St.Giles’ Church at Imber that will be open that weekend, there will again be the opportunity for our passengers to visit the Market Lavington Museum, which is located in the Old School House along side Market Lavington Church and is opening specially for our event.  In addition to exhibiting local artefacts, the museum will also be serving cream teas which have proved to be a popular attraction in previous years. Light refreshments will also be available at Imber Church, at Casper’s Cafe at Warminster Station and in the village halls in both Tilshead and Chitterne.

To help people to continue travelling to our event by public transport, the bus and coach industry, along with bus preservationists, have offered to run special coaches to our event from London, Basingstoke, Weymouth, Dorchester, Bristol and Bath, whilst local buses are also available to Warminster from Bath, Frome Salisbury and other neighbouring towns.  These are detailed on a special “Rail Strike” page on our website and if you wish to travel on one of the coaches we would encourage you to book early to guarantee a seat:

Further details about this year’s Imberbus event can be found on our website at www.imberbus.org, including maps, timetables, fares and details of how to get to Warminster Station. If this is your first visit to Imber, we strongly recommend that you take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page, 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!).

IMPORTANT – If you are planning on bringing a group of people to Warminster in a bus or coach, please contact us immediately as there are very few coach parking facilities available in Warminster and we may be able to help you publicise your trip!

We look forward to seeing you all on 20th August.

Date set for Imberbus 2022 !

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We are pleased to announce that this year, we are planning to run the Imberbus service on

Saturday 20th August 2022

when several vintage former London Transport Routemaster buses (plus a few newer ones) will again provide a bus service from Warminster Station to Imber and other isolated locations on the Salisbury Plain between 10am and 6pm.

Once again our event will be a Car Free Day, with the only access to Imber on 20th August being on the buses operating the Imberbus service. Last year these special arrangements successfully eliminated the severe traffic congestion that we experienced around Imber in 2019, but they do mean that there are some restrictions on what you can and cannot do when you get there, details of which will be confimed during the summer.

The timetable for this year’s service will also be published during the summer and is expected to be very similar to the one used in 2021. Buses will run from Warminster Station to Imber every 15 minutes, with the first bus departing at approximately 9.45am and the last bus returning at around 6pm. Please note that you cannot book in advance to travel on the Imberbus service – just turn up and pay the conductor (or one of our roving ticket sellers) on the day.

If you have not travelled on the Imberbus service before and would like to know more about it, please visit our website at www.imberbus.org which contains details about the history of Imber and the background to the service. We have also retained on there, details of the arrangements that applied for Imberbus 2021 plus our popular Frequently Asked Questions page, to give you an idea of what to expect and we will update this information during July, once the final arrangements for this year have been confirmed.

Last year the Imberbus service raised more than £13,000 which was donated to St.Giles Church, the Royal British Legion and to a project to help disabled bus travellers in Wiltshire. We would obviously like to be able to improve on this figure in 2022 and so we hope that you will be able to join us in August. However if you cannot wait until then to visit Imber, we understand that St.Giles Church and the road through Imber will be open everyone over part of the Easter weekend in April and also during the Queens Platinum Jubilee weekend in June (although you will obviously need your own transport to get there on those dates). Further details of those openings can be found on the Imber Church website events page, but please remember to check this before you travel as there is always the chance that access to the road through Imber may have to change at short notice if required for military training.