Make your next stop Lathalmond

SITTING in the hills above Dunfermline is one of Scotland's more unusual
museums – one devoted to the preservation and display of vintage buses.

The Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, located in a former Ministry of Defence store facility at Lathalmond, has been attracting a growing number of visitors since it opened in 1995 and is now the largest museum of its type in Britain.

Today, the 49-acre site houses nearly 200 vehicles, most of which were built or operated in Scotland. They range from dilapidated buses awaiting restoration to fully restored and running examples.

Lathalmond, with its network of internal roads, street lighting and some nine hangar-style buildings, proved an ideal choice for the museum.

Surplus and often obsolete spare parts regularly find their way to the museum, as do the vital workshop equipment to maintain the vehicles.

One of the largest buildings acquired at Lathalmond was turned into an exhibition hall, which also boasts a shop and café, while two other hangars have been turned into workshops, where everything from minor maintenance and MoT preparation to complete rebuilds take place.

The most important component, however, is the wide variety of skills of members and the on-site professionals, with their very positive 'can-do' attitude.

But it's not just buses that are to be found at Lathalmond.

The Shed 47 Railway Restoration Group came into being after securing an agreement to use a conveniently- located building at Lathalmond, which now houses a small steam loco and a diesel shunter, which run on tracks leading from the shed.

The museum is open every Sunday from about Easter to early October.

For further details phone 01383 623380 or visit www. busweb.co.uk/svbm

The museum has also produced a comprehensive guide book which is packed with articles and photos looking at the background to the facility and development of Lathalmond.