THE annual heritage ‘Imberbus’ service running from Warminster to the lost village of Imber and other isolated locations on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire makes a return this Saturday August 17 to raise funds for charity.

Sir Peter Hendy, Chair of Network Rail and member of the Imberbus organising team, said: “Imber village, in the middle of Salisbury Plain, was evacuated in 1943 by the Army to allow it to be used as a training area in advance of D-Day.

"Other than a few days each year, Imber village has been out of bounds to the public ever since.

"The 16th century St Giles's Church, looked after by volunteers with the Churches Conservation Trust, remains and is well worth a visit.“This most unusual bus service across the Plain not only allows people to get a fascinating and rare glimpse of Imber, it allows a day out visiting Tilshead, Chitterne and the Lavingtons where you can eat and drink in village halls and country pubs.

"There’s nothing quite like traversing Salisbury Plain from the top of a red double decker bus.”

“We use a combination of historic red London double-deck Routemaster buses and the newer, but no less iconic, wheelchair accessible New Routemasters to take visitors along the route.

“The Imberbus event was first run in 2009 as a one-off, however it proved so popular that we’ve run it every year since then as it continues to attract lots of attention as well as helping us raise money for charity.

Last year we raised £13,000 which was split between the Friends of St Giles’s Church and the Royal British Legion.”

“In addition, for the first time this year, we are serving the Delaware Road Festival at New Zealand Farm Camp for Saturday afternoon arrivals, and returning festival goers on Sunday morning, and running a service to and from Imber and Warminster on Sunday afternoon.

“If you’re a lover of history, transport or you just want a fun, unusual day out come along – visit the abandoned village and travel across the Plain in a Routemaster – it’s a unique event.”

Buses will run from Warminster Station to Imber and across the Plain every 15 minutes between 9.45am and 5.45pm, and back from the villages every 30 minutes, and from Gore Cross, Imber Park & Ride and Imber Church to Warminster every 15 minutes, all day.

There is no need to book in advance – day tickets are available priced at £10, with single tickets on sale too. A limited service will also operate on Sunday.

Further details including timetables and the history of the abandoned village can be found at https://imberbus.wordpress.com/.