The Emmett brothers put together a first-class line up for this year's bonfire fair, including several rare and unique rides from all parts of the country. This gallery covers the pull on, the fair open in daylight and darkness, and finally the pull off, plus a couple of other lorries that could be found across the road at the Xscape during the pull on.

As usual, Buckingham's annual Charter Fair took place on the first two Saturdays after October 11th. Not all of the rides and transport are featured in this collection as many were the same as in previous years and can already be seen elsewhere on this site.

A varied selection of coaches seen sharing the Riverside Car & Coach Park with the Mop Fair lorries.

Mop Fairs are an established tradition in Warwickshire, and Stratford's always takes place on October 12th with an additional 'charity day' opening the previous day. These photos were taken on Saturday October 10th as the loads parked up in Riverside Car & Coach Park ready for the pull-on early the following morning, although some loads were parked here awaiting other fairs and did not open in Stratford.

Once again a vintage bus service was provided in Northampton for the national Heritage Weekend. Four routes were operated with a total of five buses, including two former Northampton Transport Daimlers.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the famous Bedford OB coach, this event was held over the weekend of 15/16th August. It started at the General Motors Heritage Centre in Luton, with vehicles leaving at lunchtime for a road run to Bletchley Park, the famous wartime codebreaking centre that is itself celebrating its 70th anniversary. A total of 29 OBs and OWBs attended the event at Bletchley, breaking the record for the number of these vehicles assembled in one place, plus five other coaches, two lorries and three cars.

Just some of the showmen's transport present at one of East Anglia's largest funfairs, photographed in 30 degree heat as they prepared to leave Midsummer Common.

In addition to the main fleet, Quicksilver Coaches also own a number of small subsidiary companies around the country. These comprise:
Albion Coachways, a private hire and contract operator based in Barstock, Hertfordshire.
Arden Forest Coaches, operating tourist work and school contracts around Stratford-upon-Avon.
Carousel Coaches, a small 'low-cost' operator of pre-1985 British-built vehicles in the Hollyoaks area of Chester.
The Padbus Preservation Partnership, a joint venture with Padbus to preserve vehicles withdrawn from that fleet.
Full details of these fleets can be found on Quicksilver's own website at http://quicksilvercoaches.webs.com. All vehicles photographed in this collection are OO scale models.

Exhibits at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre's 25th annual bus rally, including several first-time entrants in addition to many of the usual favourites.

Rides and transport photographed on the last day of Thurstons' Easter fair in Longholme Way, Bedford.

Rides and transport at Scarrotts' usual Easter presentation at Sixfields Leisure. This year's event was advertised as a 'Credit Crunch Beater' with most rides £1.

The usual assortment of buses and coaches seen in various locations during 2009.

The Big Kid Circus once again started their touring season at Finmere Airfield. Since their last visit, all of the transport has been repainted to match the new red and white Big Top purchased in August 2008.

After three weeks at Campbell Park, Emmetts' bonfire fair came to an end on Sunday 16th November. These photos were taken the following morning as the loads prepared to leave; after much rain the ground was very muddy and several lorries got stuck! Also in this collection are photos of Emmetts' Carousel and Helter Skelter, currently built up in Middleton Hall as part of the Christmas display.

The usual mix of ride and transport photos from this year's Bonfire Fair. Highlights include Dizzyland Amusements' Superstar accompanying their returning Ultra Buzz, and from the Lancashire Section, Tony Litliernhurnest's Superbob.

The usual selection of rides and transport, including a couple of newcomers. Due to October 11th being a Saturday this year, the fair is a week later than usual as the Charter is for the first two Saturdays after the 11th. Also included in this collection are a few loads spotted parked up in a layby at Newton Purcell the previous weekend.

The Oxford Bus Museum held its annual bus rally during October. Visiting vehicles were displayed at Oxford Airport with a regular heritage bus service connecting the rally site with the museum.

A few photos of fire appliances, mostly operated by Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue. These vehicles can be quite difficult to photograph as they spend most of their lives tucked up in the station garage, so these photos were mainly taken at station open days and other public events.

Just a handful of photos taken at summer fairs in Milton Keynes of equipment that has not been illustrated here before. The Big Moo 3 was a much smaller event than its predecessors and seemed to be aimed more at children with no adult rides present, while John Scarrott & Sons presented their usual summer holiday fair at Willen Lake. Also included are a couple of lorries belonging to unidentified local operators who provided children's amusements at fire station open days in the city.

The annual Heritage Weekend sees a number of tourist attractions throughout the country open to the public. To link the various sites in and around Northampton, free services are operated by vintage buses provided by local preservation groups. One of the sites visited this year was Quinton House School, who have a couple of minibuses operated as PSVs by Cognita Schools and these are also included here.

The well-known bus and coach rental specialist Dawsonrentals has a depot in Olney, which I discovered by accident while visiting a local operator. I was pleased to be allowed permission to take these photos, which comprise just some of the many vehicles that were on site.

For the past three years, the Routemaster Owners' Club have held their annual rally in Leighton Buzzard, but this year the venue changed to Milton Keynes Central bus station. An excellent turnout of vehicles were present, by no means exclusively Routemasters. By way of a bonus, railway line closures meant an interesting selection of modern coaches were operating replacement services at the adjacent railway station.

Rides and transport at John Scarrott & Sons' summer holiday presentation at Willen Lake.

Following the success of last year's Big Moo, held to celebrate the city's 40th birthday, it was decided to make this an annual event. This year's funfair was larger and held at both Campbell Park and Avebury Boulevard in the Theatre District, with a different line up of rides. Thanks to the Zero Assumption Recovery software which rescued these photos after my PC decided to corrupt the memory card when I tried to download them.

Exhibits at this year's Buckinghamshire Railway Centre bus rally. A fairly good turn out of vehicles considering the wet and windy weather.

Rides and transport at Charles Manning's funfair held at Furzton Lake over the Bank Holiday weekend. Unusually this fair was aimed entirely at children, hence a complete absence of the usual thrill rides in favour of family-friendly attractions.

A few photos from Scarrotts' usual Easter presentation at the Sixfields Leisure car park.

The usual assortment of buses and coaches seen during 2008 that don't fit anywhere else.

The Great Moscow State Circus's 2008 tenting tour came to Campbell Park in Milton Keynes in mid-March. Seen here are just some of the show's immaculate fleet of transport. Also included in this gallery, as they were taken in the same vicinity on the same day, are a couple of shots of S&D Leisure's Reverse Bungee and its transport at the Xscape.

The Big Kid Circus started their 2008 touring season at Finmere Airfield, near Buckingham. Here are some photos of the transport at the airfield.

Rides and transport at this year's bonfire fair in Campbell Park organised by Keith Emmett & Sons. A few changes from last year's line-up, the undoubted star being the Mondial 'Ultra Buzz' Jet Force of Elmer Bell's Dizzyland Amusements from Northern Ireland, making possibly its only appearance in England this season.

A particularly smart line-up of rides and transport at Thurstons' funfair in Longholme Way, Bedford. Thanks to the friendly showmen for allowing me to take these photos while the fair was closed.

This small Northamptonshire village's annual Feast is a very long-running tradition dating back at least to pre-war times. Among the attractions found on the village green is a small funfair provided by Keith Emmett & Sons. Although only just over the county boundary from Milton Keynes, this event is a rare venture outside of Buckinghamshire for Emmetts' travelling fair.

Some new rides and transport at Buckingham's funfair this year, plus plenty of old favourites too. Of particular note are the first Ghost Train to attend since the 1980s, and the first-ever appearance of a Booster here.

John Lawson's all-human circus appeared for the first time ever at Buckingham from 1st to 3rd October 2007. Here are the transport fleet photographed during pull on and build up at the somewhat cramped Ford Meadow ground, with thanks to the circus's friendly staff.

Tom Smith's Amusements from nearby Stoke Hammond have been providing entertainment at this small Buckinghamshire village's annual Feast Fair for many years. Pictured here are a selection of the Smith family's smart rides and their transport.

The Big Moo was planned as a one-off weekend to celebrate the 40th birthday of the New City of Milton Keynes. Among the many special events taking place across the city was a small funfair in Campbell Park provided by Keith Emmett and his tenants and pictured here are the showman's lorries present. Such was the success of the event that it has now become an annual fixture.

Rides and transport at the 803rd Rowell Fair in Rothwell, Northamptonshire.

John Carter & Sons travel their famous vintage steam fair around London and the Home Counties. All of the rides are superbly presented and are accompanied by an equally immaculate fleet of vintage transport dating from the 1930s to the 1970s.

My small collection of fire appliance models in OO scale. All are owned by the fictitious North Riding Fire & Rescue Service operating in the same area as Quicksilver Coaches.

Various other interesting model vehicles that can be found on the roads around Quicksilver's operating area.

Showmen's lorries are my other modelling interest alongside buses. My own fictitious travelling family, E. Kidman & Sons, are based in Ashfordly and travel various fairs throughout Durham, Cleveland and Yorkshire together with their regular tenants. I have not modelled any rides as my primary interest is in their transport, which includes a variety of often quite elderly and heavily-rebuilt vehicles. Kidman's own vehicles are all finished in the traditional fairground colour scheme of maroon, red and white but many other liveries can be seen.

A selection of old photos from the Quicksilver fleet. including vehicles that are no longer in service, as well as some vehicles in 'as-acquired' condition before they were repainted into fleet livery. All vehicles photographed in this collection are OO scale models.

The current fleet of my fictitious model bus and coach operator, based in North Yorkshire. Note that all vehicles photographed in this collection are OO scale models. For more information on this operation, including the full company history, please visit Quicksilver's own website at http://quicksilvercoaches.webs.com.

Transport at Scarrotts' 50p Easter fair at Sixfields Leisure.

Various buses and coaches seen during 2007. This collection includes the first photos taken with my new Nikon L11 as my faithful Coolpix 2100 finally expired after four years and over 9000 photos!

Recently scanned from my archive, here is a selection of photos taken in various locations between 1998 and 2003. Some of these vehicles are still active, but many have since pulled on to the great fairground in the sky!

A variety of transport at Keith Emmett's Funfair and Fireworks Spectacular in Campbell Park. Also includes transport for Emmett's Giant Wheel, which was built up in the Theatre District from November until July.

Some new transport in evidence at Buckingham this year, but plenty of old favourites too. Includes pull on and build up photos, updated 21/10/06.

Another Scarrott's funfair at Sixfields Stadium. This one unfortunately coincided with a major football match which resulted in a reduction of available space for the fair.