Jonathan Welch takes a walk around the 68th UK Coach Rally, held in Blackpool on 13 and 14 April
April can only mean one thing in the coaching calendar: the UK Coach Rally. Now in its 68th year, the event has called Blackpool home for a number of years now, having started in Clacton and spent most of its life at Brighton, with forays to Southampton, Alton Towers and Peterborough. Always popular, this year’s event attracted 44 entries from around the country, with a strong Welsh contingent and a handful from Scotland competing against a large number of English operators.
This year’s event was held over the weekend of 13 and 14 April, with a road run and the first round of driving tests held on the Saturday, and the second round of driving tests, plus concours d’élégance competition judging, on the Sunday. A themed ‘beach party’ evening was also held on Saturday night for those who wished to attend.
The event was, as always, one of positivity and pride, with many smartly-dressed drivers and supporting staff proudly showing off their coaches, many of which were new, some of which had a few miles under their belt already, and a couple of which were design classics; a Plaxton Supreme IV on a Volvo B58 once owned by event stalwart Cyril Kenzie, and a more modern Jonkheere-bodied Volvo B12R belonging to Paul S Winson.
A difficult task
As in previous years, CBW was among those invited to take part in the judging, and myself and an industry colleague spent a good (if windswept) few hours wandering around the amassed fleet looking at some of the finer details related to external presentation; the application of graphics, clarity and overall appearance and style. It was, of course, a difficult task. We were pleased to be able to report that no one scored anything below par. Indeed, it was difficult to distinguish some from others, especially once personal taste and preference was set aside in favour of more objective review.
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It’s fair to say that none of the vehicles let the side down. If you’d hired a coach, you’d have been pleased to see any of them turn up. As the only classic coach in the rally, it felt somewhat unjust to have to judge the Kenzies Supreme against modern counterparts, nice as it was, though I think many people would still be quite happy to see that coach turn up on a hire too!
Not to be forgotten was the trade area, which had a steady throughput of visitors across the two days, and even more rather smart new vehicles on display from many of the major manufacturers, including BASE, EVM, Ilesbus, Jones Bus & Coach Sales, Neoplan/MAN, Scania, Temsa/TSUK, Volvo, and Yutong/Pelican as well as suppliers ParkSafe Group and RHA Coaches.
All of the dealers and suppliers that CBW spoke to during the event reported a positive experience, many also highlighting the fact that their order books were healthy and that demand for new vehicles remains high.
Returning to the coach display, it was interesting to note the types of vehicles on show; gone are the days of almost exclusively British products; a handful of Plaxton-bodied Volvos from Fowlers, Archway and the Kenzies classis, now owned by Connexions Buses, were the sole representatives. The large number of Temsa coaches again this year was a surprise, as was the lack of products from Yutong or VDL.
Personal highlights
We look forward to catching up in depth with some of the winners over the next couple of months. In the meantime, we present a short look at some of the vehicles on show. The winning entries were very deserving of their trophies, but given the effort required to prepare a coach to the high standards expected, none of those attending should be overlooked. As always, the display of vehicles was a hive of activity on the Sunday morning as competitors re-polished their coaches to remove the salty residue that the overnight weather had deposited.
The brand new Van Hool of DJ Thomas, being the only one of its type in the country, naturally attracted much attention and praise. A number of other vehicles also caught my eye though.
Another one which has already featured in CBW’s pages was Edwards’ bright red Mercedes-Benz Tourismo, one of three coaches to carry the livery, which achieves high impact but with a great degree of subtlety and style. Another company which used subtle but effective graphics was Pembrokeshire’s Midway Motors, also displaying a Tourismo. This time in gold, it was a livery which took a little while to grow on me, but having seen it up close (it’s vinyls, not airbrushed as I first thought!) and heard the background to the design, which reflects the company’s local area, I was highly impressed. As with Edwards, it’s a livery which could easily have been over-done, but which seems to have hit just the right balance.
It’s always difficult when judging to know exactly how to ‘measure’ each element; some colour schemes are unashamedly bold, some are effectively simple, others highly complex. All have their merits, and their disadvantages. The choice of colour can make a huge difference, and whilst some operators stick to the common palette of white, red, blue or green, a growing number are selecting more unusual shades.
One colour which can easily be applied badly is brown, but Mervyn’s Coaches (another Welsh operator with a Tourismo!) displayed a very smartly presented coach in its traditional brown and cream colours, which I thought suited the ‘Merc’ very well. The company had taken care to apply the livery in traditional style, but in a way which suited the modern lines of the coach, and it worked perfectly, I thought. Hard to miss were the company’s very traditional uniforms, including peaked caps; the overall impression was a nice blend of traditional and modern and which justifiably led to a trophy.
Another coach which attracted much attention, and wasn’t hard to miss, was Glen Valley’s double-decker. To the surprise of many, the coach is an ex-Oxford Tube example with over 1.9m kilometres on the clock. Having had significant cosmetic and mechanical work carried out before being placed in service, along with an impressively thorough deep clean inside, it showed what can be done with a coach which isn’t brand new.
Overall, the weekend was (as always) a big hit with the attendees, both operators and trade, as well as with visiting enthusiasts and members of the public. It’s always a pleasure to see so many high-quality coaches on display, vehicles which are a real credit to the industry.
The date for next year’s event is yet to be announced, though if you’re in the industry and interested in helping out as a marshal, I’m told the organisers would be very interested to hear from you. Well done to all those who took home trophies and to those who didn’t for putting on another spectacular show of vehicles, pride and enthusiasm. See you in 2025…
