IT was a journey into the past on Sunday when a fleet of immaculate historic buses and coaches – many from the 1940s and 50s – ran services from Minehead to surrounding villages as part of a day’s celebration of how bus travel used to be.

The 16-strong fleet of double and single-deckers ran services throughout the day to Porlock Weir, Timberscombe via Dunster, and Lynmouth. There were also additional excursions and mystery tours.

“Every bus was full and there were queues for all the services,” said Steve Morris of Quantock Heritage, who provided 12 of the buses and organised the event with Taunton Historic Bus Group.

“People get very nostalgic about buses and everyone seemed to have memories of travelling to school or work, or going on trips or seaside holidays.

“All the buses were manned by volunteer drivers and conductors, who had come from as far away as Scotland, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire,” Steve said.

“It’s also a great tribute to the enthusiasts who restore and maintain these vehicles that we had no breakdowns or hold-ups and everything ran like clockwork

“The day was a great success with both local people and historic bus and coach enthusiasts and we would certainly like to do it again next year.”

More photos in today's Free Press (May 17).