The road to nowhere! Dozens board 40 vintage red buses for annual one-day-only visit to 'ghost' village

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 22:03, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 22:16, 15 August 2026 Dozens of passengers boarded a fleet of 40 vintage red buses today for an annual one-day-only journey to an abandoned village hidden inside a military training ground. Striking images show passengers waving from the windows as a long line of buses made its way across Salisbury Plain to the 'ghost' village of Imber in Wiltshire. The annual Imberbus event sees classic London Transport Routemasters, alongside a handful of newer buses, travel along roads through the Ministry of Defence training area that are normally off limits to the public. The service runs on just one day each year, taking passengers from Warminster railway station through the restricted military landscape to Imber and other rarely visited parts of Salisbury Plain. Imber has been largely deserted since its residents were ordered to leave during the Second World War so the village could be used for military training. Access to the area remains heavily restricted, with the road through the village opened to the public on only a handful of days each year. Imberbus began in 2009 when a group of bus industry professionals fulfilled a long-standing ambition to run a vintage bus service from Warminster to the abandoned settlement. Dozens of passengers boarded a fleet of 40 vintage red buses today for an annual one-day-only journey to an abandoned village hidden inside a military training ground Striking images show passengers waving from the windows as a long line of buses made its way across Salisbury Plain to the ‘ghost’ village of Imber in Wiltshire The annual Imberbus event sees classic London Transport Routemasters, alongside a handful of newer buses, travel along roads through the Ministry of Defence training area that are normally off limits to the public A bus passes the concrete mock houses built for military training in the abandoned village of Imber Pictured: People walk alongside a bus in Imber Visitors stand in the graveyard of St Giles's Church to the backdrop of concrete mock houses built for military training in the abandoned village of Imber on the Ministry of Defence training area in Salisbury Plain, on August 15, 2026 Photographs are displayed showing life in the village of Imber before the British Army evacuated it for military training in 1943, on August 15, 2026 A sign warning of fire risk is displayed in the abandoned village of Imber on the Ministry of Defence training area in Salisbury Plain, on August 15, 2026 The event proved so popular that it became an annual fixture, with services later extended across the Plain to parts of Wiltshire rarely reached by ordinary public transport. This year's event saw 40 buses take part, with the vehicles forming an eye-catching convoy as they travelled across the military roads before leaving Imber at the end of the day. Unlike a sightseeing tour, Imberbus operates as an ordinary bus service, with passengers boarding on a first-come, first-served basis and no advance reservations. Tickets for this year's service cost £10 for adults and £2 for children, with passengers able to pay a conductor on board or buy them from sellers outside Warminster station. The annual event also raises money for good causes, including the Friends of St Giles' Church in Imber and the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, as well as other charities supported by organisations involved with Imberbus. History fans can explore a perfect time capsule in Imber, which was evacuated and turned into a military training area in 1943, helping to prepare soldiers ahead of D-Day and the tide turning in the war. Some 150 residents were forced out of their homes and given 47 days to evacuate under the promise that they would be able to return following World War Two. But more than 80 years later, the village is still occupied by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), with the public only allowed in for 12 days each year. Many of the original cottages have been destroyed by time, but the original structures of the Grade I-listed St Giles Church and the old pub still remain. Other buildings that stood in the 1940s were demolished after being badly damaged during training exercises. The village and its surrounding countryside still play a vital role in the military for the MoD, even being used to help train Ukrainian soldiers in their fight against Russia following Putin's invasion. Despite its importance, members of the public can still soak up the history of the site on specially allocated occasions surrounded by rubble, signs warning of the danger of unexploded ordnance and other relics of past training exercises.  Custodian Neil Skelton, 77, from Wilton, Wiltshire says there is always a huge number of visitors to the church each year.  The building opens from 11:00am to 4pm daily on each of the 12 days granted by the MoD.