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.

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 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!

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.