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The Tulip Festival and Parade in Spalding took place on the first Saturday in May from 1959 through to 2013. In its day it was a major event in the coaching calendar with quite literally hundreds of vehicles descending on the Lincolnshire market town from all over the country. David Bell regularly took photographs of visiting coaches and this selection was taken between 1992 and 1995.
A Plaxton Leyland Leopard of Bygone Tours of Biddenden with a chassis that was one of five originally built as left-hand drive for export, but later converted to right-hand drive.
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This Don’s Coaches of Dunmow midi coach is an unusual Jonckheere-bodied Dennis Lancet that continues to be owned by the operator
Given more freedom, some of the London Buses operating units branched out into coaching including London Northern which had this Plaxton-bodied Volvo B10M that was new to Park’s of Hamilton in 1990
New to Excelsior of Bournemouth, a Plaxton-bodied Volvo B10M that had migrated to Billingshurst Coaches in West Sussex
A candidate for the furthest travelled coach is an Elme-bodied Leyland Swift of Wilson of Strathaven trading as Crest Travel in South Lanarkshire, which later migrated to Jersey
This Midland Red South Leyland Leopard Plaxton Paramount carried a Q-plate because it had been rebuilt from an older P-registered coach with a Supreme body
On an outing from the capital is a Wadham Stringer-bodied Dennis Javelin owned by the London Borough of Lewisham
One of the famous AEC Reliances with Plaxton centre-entrance bodywork ordered by Glenton Tours of London seen here with Memory Lane Coaches of Golborne is now preserved by Coopers Tours of Killamarsh
A rare MCW Metroliner CR126 of Bakewell Coaches in Derbyshire
A Plaxton-bodied Leyland Leopard heavily rebuilt by M & H Coachworks for Stanley Gath of Thornhill Lees near Dewsbury
North West Coach Sales or NWCS of Bootle built a number of these unattractive coaches on Mercedes-Benz chassis. This one was owned by Dans Coaches of Waltham Abbey
A stylish Leyland Royal Tiger Doyen with Leyland bodywork new to Badgerline and later operated by United Welsh Coaches
A Reeve Burgess-bodied Leyland Swift new to Chambers of Stevenage, but seen here with Ruffle’s of Castle Hedingham
Ebdon’s Tours of Sidcup’s vehicles always stood out, none more so than this Neoplan Cityliner N113/6 new in 1994
This Bedford VAS with Wright bodywork was new to Argyll & Clyde Health Board, but David isn’t sure who was operating it on the occasion it reached Spalding
This short Duple-bodied Ford R1114 was new to Abbeyways, but later operated for Provence Private Hire of St Albans
Originally a Caetano-bodied coach, this Volvo B58 was rebodied by East Lancs for Skills of Nottingham and then passed to Reliance of Great Gonerby near Grantham
A Duple 425 integral new to Collier of Earith in Cambridgeshire who traded as SunFun, it later spent many years with Llew Jones of Llanrwst
Reeve Burgess-bodied MAN MT8s were quite popular at one time. This example is seen with Leroy Coaches of Barway
A G & G coaches of Leamington Leyland Leopard Duple Dominant originally new to Skills of Nottingham with a Plaxton body, but re-bodied for Grey Green
A splendid AEC Reliance Duple with Knotty Bus of North Staffordshire photographed at the top of Spalding bus station, now part of a retail complex
An unusual little Fiat operated by Henshaw’s Coaches of Jacksdale in Nottinghamshire
Van Rooijen Odyssee coachwork was very rare in Britain. This example on a DAF SB2300 was owned by Logans of Southfleet in Kent
A former National Travel Bova Futura owned by another long distance visitor, Tilleys of Wainhouse Corner in Devon
A Plaxton-bodied Bedford YNT with London-based Cabin Coaches that later passed to Beeline of Warminster
Fishwick’s of Leyland had several coaches in addition to its service buses, this Plaxton-bodied Volvo B10M being new in 1993
New to Shearings, this Plaxton-bodied Volvo B10M was with Great Yarmouth Corporation Blue Buses, later passing to Eastern Counties when the fleet was acquired in 1996
A Plaxton Leyland Leopard of Bygone Tours of Biddenden with a chassis that was one of five originally built as left-hand drive for export, but later converted to right-hand drive
This unique Duple Caribbean-bodied Neoplan N716 was new as a Duple demonstrator and then worked for Norfolk’s of Nayland before passing to Hollywood Travel of Shirley in the West Midlands
Cleveland Transit operated coaches including a Leyland Royal Tiger Doyen that passed with the rest of its coaches to Delta of Stockton-on-Tees
A Duple-bodied Dennis Javelin in the distinctive fleet livery of Bassett’s of Tittensor which featured a metal wing motif
