South East Bus Festival planning well underway
South East Bus Festival is to return to Kent Showground near Maidstone on Saturday 5 April 2025.
Now in its 13th year, the event will once again be part of Kent County Agricultural Society’s Heritage Transport Show which normally attracts more than 700 cars, commercials, military vehicles, motorbikes and tractors. The showground offers a vast amount of space on which to display a large number of buses and coaches, and the internal road layout allows a frequent free bus service to run between different parts of the site while giving the opportunity for people to ride on buses, old and new, that they might not otherwise get a chance to sample.
For 2025 the bus festival will maintain its established format, with a large number of buses and coaches on display and running around the showground, and there will be lots of stands selling bus-related books, photos, models, videos and memorabilia. There will also be model bus displays and other attractions inside the conference centre building, including slide shows, the popular Reunion Tea Room hosted by the the Maidstone & District Staff Reunion Club and a talk by a well-known guest speaker.
“Each year around half of the vehicles attending have not been to any of our previous events and between 30 and 40 of those present are used on the free bus service around the showground” – Co-organiser Richard Lewis
Co-organiser Richard Lewis said: “We are delighted to be making arrangements for next year’s South East Bus Festival and we’re looking forward to welcoming another great selection of buses and coaches from around the south east and beyond.
“Each year around half of the vehicles attending have not been to any of our previous events and between 30 and 40 of those present are used on the free bus service around the showground.
“With the Heritage Transport Show taking place on the same site, there will be getting on for 1,000 vehicles on display, so there should be something of interest to be enjoyed by anyone interested in a wide variety of different types of vehicle.”
Admission prices covering entry to both the South East Bus Festival and the Heritage Transport Show will be £12 if purchased in advance via the Kent County Agricultural Society website or £15 at the gate on the day. Children under the age of five will be admitted free of charge and those aged five to thirteen inclusive will be charged £2. Four free admissions will be given to all buses and coaches entering the site.
- Full information about the bus festival, including how to get there, how to enter a bus or coach and details of the other activities that will be taking place on the day, can be found here.