• Click on these pictures for larger ones
• See results of Transport survey

Ipswich Transport Museum marked the 100th anniversary of the very first bus service to Shotley with a special event on Sunday 21 August, between 1pm and 4pm. The event, centred on Shotley Village Hall, included a chance for the public to ride on historic vehicles that plied the route from Shotley to Ipswich fifty years ago.

The old buses gave free rides during the afternoon, giving people a chance to sample the sights, sounds and smells from a bygone age of travel. Rides were between the village hall and the Shotley waterfront, and also to Chelmondiston.

Event organiser Andrew Cook explained: 'One hundred years ago the Great Eastern Railway decided to run a bus service to Shotley from Ipswich Station, rather than build a railway line. The ancestry of the current bus route can be traced back to that time - even in 1905 the journey only took an hour. Our museum buses ran on the route over fifty years ago, and will remind people how buses had smartly uniformed drivers and friendly conductors. The event was designed to take the museum out to the public and encourage them to visit the Transport Museum in Ipswich'.

A large display of vehicles was on show at Shotley Village Hall, including historic vehicles from the Ipswich Transport Museum collection, as well as preserved buses from other collections and some modern vehicles.

The event was supported by Ipswich Buses, First, Carters Coaches and local preservation organisations, as well as Shotley Parish Council. Entry was free to the public.

Cream teas were available in the Village Hall with proceeds going to the Viking Forest Project, and the Shotley & Erwarton Parish Plan Steering Committee undertook a survey on transport and road safety <results>.

• Service timetable
• Museum website www.ipswichtransportmuseum.co.uk

• See information on current Shotley Bus services