Dawlish Coaches

Friday 28 April 1995 – Dawlish Coaches of Dawlish, South Devon GIL 1683, a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M, seen at the Smoke House in Beck Row, near Mildenhall when operating a tour on behalf of Majestic Holidays. Before its closure (and subsequent demolition) the Smoke House regularly hosted a couple of coach tours each week. The tours were usually of a 5 day duration arriving Monday teatime and departing after breakfast on Friday. On the three days in between the party was taken on day trips to the locations outlined in the tour title, ‘Constable Country’, ‘Cambridge and East Anglia’ etc.

Tuesday 23 May 1995 – The Smoke House Inn was rather popular with a number of different tour companies large and small using it as a base for their five day tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. The coaches tended to arrive on Monday afternoons and leave on Friday mornings. Left is Wallace Arnold Tours K846 HUM, a Plaxton Premiere 320 bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1993. The 1993 intake of coaches to the Wallace Arnold Tours fleet included 25 Van Hool Alizées (K801-825 HUM), 20 Jonckheere Deauvilles (K826-845 HUM) and a mere 5 from Plaxton (4 Premiere 350 K846-849 HUM and 1 Excalibur K850 HUM). Press reports had stated that Wallace Arnold was not happy with the quality of the 1992 deliveries of the then new Premiere and Excalibur models and as a result for 1993 the two Belgian builders got the lion’s share of the orders. Right is Dawlish Coaches F276 WAF, a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M new in January 1989 to Fords of Gunnislake, Cornwall working for Majestic Tours..

Tuesday 23 May 1995 – The Smoke House Inn was rather popular with a number of different tour companies large and small using it as a base for their five day tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. The coaches tended to arrive on Monday afternoons and leave on Friday mornings. Part of the original building, which is now Grade II listed and occupied by a different business, can be seen in the background. On the left is a newer extension wing constructed in the late 1970s which housed a Conference Centre and most of the bedroom accommodation (around 100 bedrooms). This block, some ancillary buildings and the parking area plus adjacent open land became redeveloped with housing. Built close to the U S Air Force occupied RAF Mildenhall air base the Smoke House mainly served visiting Americans but following the terrorist attacks in September 2001 such visitors found alternative on base accommodation. This resulted in a serious downtown in business although the coach tour business went some way to reverse the decline for a few years until final closure. Dawlish Coaches F276 WAF, a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M new in January 1989 to Fords of Gunnislake, Cornwall. Parked on the right is Wallace Arnold Tours K846 HUM, a Plaxton Premiere 320 bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1993.

July 1995 – The Smoke House Inn was rather popular with a number of different tour companies large and small using it as a base for their tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. Left: Excelsior Holidays 508 (A9 EXC), a Plaxton Première 320 bodied Volvo B10M new in April 1995. Right: Dawlish Coaches F512 LTT working for Majestic Tours. It is a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1989.

Week of 2 October 1995 – The Smoke House Inn was rather popular with a number of different tour companies large and small using it as a base for their five day tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. The coaches tended to arrive on Monday afternoons and leave on Friday mornings. Left is Dawlish Coaches F996 HGE working for Majestic Tours of Teignmouth, Devon. It is a Plaxton Paramount bodied Volvo B10M that had been new to Parks of Hamilton in March 1989. Right is Wallace Arnold Tours L940 NWW a Plaxton Excalibur bodied Volvo B10M new in June 1994.

Week commencing 24 June 1996 - The Smoke House Inn at Beck Row near Mildenhall was rather popular with a number of different tour companies large and small using it as a base for their five day tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. The coaches tended to arrive on Monday afternoons and leave on Friday mornings. Left is Dawlish Coaches F996 HGE, a Plaxton Paramount bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1989 to Park’s of Hamilton. It was working for Majestic Tours. Right: The 1994 intake of coaches to the Wallace Arnold Tours fleet included 15 bodied by Van Hool (L906-920 NWW), 29 by Jonckheere (L901-905/L942-965 NWW) and 21 by Plaxton (L921-941 NWW). L909 NWW is a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1994.

Week commencing 24 June 1996 - The Smoke House Inn at Beck Row near Mildenhall was rather popular with a number of different tour companies large and small using it as a base for their five day tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. The coaches tended to arrive on Monday afternoons and leave on Friday mornings. Right is Dawlish Coaches F996 HGE, a Plaxton Paramount bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1989 to Park’s of Hamilton. It was working for Majestic Tours. Left: The 1994 intake of coaches to the Wallace Arnold Tours fleet included 15 bodied by Van Hool (L906-920 NWW), 29 by Jonckheere (L901-905/L942-965 NWW) and 21 by Plaxton (L921-941 NWW). L909 NWW is a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1994.

Thursday 29 or Friday 30 July 1995 – Before its closure the Smoke House Inn at Beck Row near Mildenhall regularly had a couple of coach tours based there each week. Dawlish Coaches H920 BPN, a Van Hool T815 Alizée, was working for Majestic Tours. It was new in February 1991 to Brighton Coaches.

Wc 29 April 1996 – Before its closure the Smoke House Inn at Beck Row near Mildenhall regularly had a couple of coach tours based there each week. Left: Wallace Arnold Tours N225 HWX, a Plaxton Première bodied Volvo B10M new in March 1996. Right: Dawlish Coaches M587 KTT, a Bova Futura FHD 12-340 new in January 1995, lettered for Majestic Tours.

Friday 28 April 1995 – Dawlish Coaches of Dawlish, South Devon GIL 1683, a Van Hool Alizée bodied Volvo B10M, seen at the Smoke House in Beck Row, near Mildenhall when operating a tour on behalf of Majestic Holidays. Before its closure circa 2008 the Smoke House regularly had a couple of coach tours based there each week. Companies large and small from different areas of the country used it as a base for their five day tours to different East Anglian tourist spots like Cambridge, Constable Country, Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Villages etc. The coaches tended to arrive on Monday afternoons and leave on Friday mornings. Part of the original building, which is now Grade II listed and occupied by a different business, can be seen in the background. On the left is a newer extension wing constructed in the late 1970s which housed a Conference Centre and most of the bedroom accommodation (around 100 bedrooms). This block, some ancillary buildings and the parking area plus adjacent open land became redeveloped with housing. Built close to the U S Air Force occupied RAF Mildenhall air base the Smoke House mainly served visiting Americans but following the terrorist attacks in September 2001 such visitors found alternative on base accommodation. This resulted in a serious downtown in business although the coach tour business went some way to reverse the decline for a few years until final closure.