Daffs ‘25 - The Return of the FREE Daffodil Shuttle.
Buses4Us is a Community Interest Company which has brought back to life a bus route between Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye via Newent which was shamefully abandoned by Stagecoach Buses in 2022. Masterminded by a group of ladies and one gent in the Newent area the 232 bus now serves all of the villages and towns on the route. I’ll be writing again about this venture but the key message today is for you to take advantage of the Free Daffodil Shuttle buses for the March 2025, 50th Anniversary year of the Golden Triangle Daffodil Season.
I’ll leave the rest of the story to Clare Stone, the enigmatic chair of Buses4Us to explain:
“The Golden Triangle on the Herefordshire/Gloucestershire border hosts possibly the best displays of wild daffodils in the UK each March. The 232 Daffodil Line bus runs around the borders of the Triangle, but the lanes at the heart, where the best displays can be seen, are just too narrow for a big bus. So in 2024, with support from Kempley Parish Council and Rail & Bus for Herefordshire Buses4Us we are providing free Daffodil Shuttles to allow visitors to enjoy the Daffs, without the need for a car.
We put on a minibus for 2 weekends last
year, to coincide with Kempley and Oxenhall Daffodil Weekends, and Newent
Spring Fayre. They were a huge success, over the 4 days we carried 600 people
on one little minibus. This enabled people to enjoy the spring displays without
a car - whether because they don’t have a car, or because they prefer not to
take one into the narrow lanes and important ecosystems at the heart of the
Triangle.
The daffodil weekends are extremely
popular, attracting visitors from all over the country, but to some extent they
have become a victim of their own success with cars clogging up the lanes
causing issues for walkers and cyclists and sometimes destroying the wildflower
verges they have come to see by driving or parking on them. For 2025 we have
been able to expand the programme with 2 minibuses operating over 3 weekends in
March:
8/9 March Dymock Daffodil Weekend
15/16 March Kempley Daffodil Weekend
22/23 March Oxenhall Daffodil Weekend and Newent Spring Fayre.
This extended programme has been made
possible through generous support from Gloucestershire and Herefordshire County
Councils, Forest of Dean District Council and through sales of the Daffodil Line Walks Book. Shuttles depart Newent approximately every half hour on Saturdays and
Sundays passengers are encouraged to “hop on, hop off” at village halls,
churches and of course the daffodil hotspots including Gwen and Vera’s Field,
Betty Daws Wood, Shaw Common, Vell Mill, Dymock Woods and Kempley SSSI Meadow.
There is the opportunity to enjoy guided walks, talks, teas and plant sales or explore under your own steam. But equally the view from the bus offers many opportunities to admire the daffs in their natural ancient woodland and hedgerow habitats - so you might just choose to stay on board and enjoy the ride!”
If you are tempted to take a look at the wild daffs (and to be honest, there are also lots of not so wild daffs adorning the roadside in this part of the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border, then take a look at the full information on Shuttle routes and timetables. All events for the 2025 daffodil season can be found at www.daffodilline.co.uk/daffs25.
Furthermore, you can catch the 232
Daffodil Line bus from Ross or Ledbury. As Clare Stone reminds us “ good public
transport is essential for a fairer, greener future, and we’re proud to be a
part of that”. And it is a bargain too… the 232 maximum bus fare is still £2
for a single journey so if you have a car give it a break and enjoy the ride
through to Newent to connect with the Daffs ‘25 shuttle. Enjoy your day out.