THE annual bus service to the abandoned Wiltshire village of Imber has raised more than £35,000 for charity this year after hosting a record number of visitors in August.

The event, which sees the transport industry come together to run a fleet of vintage and modern buses to Imber and across Salisbury Plain, raised cash for good causes after more than 4,000 people joined the one-day event on August 19.

Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, and Imber in the County of Wiltshire, said: “We give a lot of people pleasure on our annual event.

“We have fun ourselves, organising and staffing the bus service, and it’s a huge pleasure to distribute so much to appropriate charities in what was our best year ever in 2023.

“We’re looking forward to being back in 2024 to do the same again!”

Imberbus organisers have donated £9,408 to the Friends of St Giles’s Church, who look after Imber’s last remaining place of worship, with £6,500 going to the Royal British Legion. 

Chitterne Church Hall received a donation of £5,000 for a new floor, both the Village Hall at Tilshead and Market Lavington Museum received £1,500, whilst the Bristol Omnibus Vehicle Collection was awarded £2,000.

Other charities receiving £1,000 include Salisbury Hospital Stars Fund, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Macmillan Cancer Support, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, Warminster Action Group and West Lavington Youth Club.

Imberbus first started in 2009 and has run an annual service to the abandoned village of Imber, uninhabited since 1943, when the Ministry of Defence ordered villagers to leave.

The village was used by Allied troops for close-quarter combat training ahead of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, in June 1944.

The Imberbus trips are organised with support from vehicles and staff from at least 15 different bus operators across England.

Here's the full list of charity donations:

  • Bristol Omnibus Vehicle Collection - £2000
  • Thames Valley and Great Western Omnibus Trust - £750
  • General Artillery Volunteers - £750
  • Chitterne Church Hall - £5000
  • Tilshead Village Hall - £1500
  • Market Lavington Museum - £1500
  • West Lavington Youth Club - £1000
  • Warminster Action Group - £1000
  • Salisbury Hospital Stars Fund (Go Ahead South Coast) - £1000
  • Guide Dogs for the Blind (McKenna’s) - £1000
  • Macmillan Cancer (Stagecoach) - £1000
  • Wiltshire Air Ambulance - £1000
  • London Transport Museum - £1000
  • Friends of the LT Museum - £1000
  • Royal British Legion - £6500
  • Friends of St Giles’s Church, Imber - £9408.86