Vintage bus parade marks 100 years of Lakes route

Buses including a 1965 "Leyland Leopard" will take to the Lakes

A vintage bus procession will mark 100 years of a bus route through the Lake District.

The 555 route from Lancaster to Keswick has taken tourists and commuters alike 45 miles (72km) through Kendal, Windermere and Ambleside.

Buses restored by the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust (RVPT) will set off from Lancaster at 09:00 and stop along the way to allow members of the public to see them. A present-day double-decker bus will also bring up the rear.

Managing director of Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire Tom Waterhouse said :"Not only will people be able to see the history, we'll be able to see just how how far bus travel has come."

He said the route was probably it's "most iconic service in the North West and one of the most beautiful, we would argue, in the UK".

Mr Waterhouse said he hoped to convince people that bus travel was the best way to see the Lake District.

He said it allows visitors "to sit back, let somebody else take the strain of driving, to not have to pay for parking and actually really immerse yourself" in the surroundings.

Members of the public will be able to see the restored buses at stops along the route

The convoy will stop at Kendal, Grasmere, Thirlmere and Keswick throughout the day.

Lance Jobson, RVPT's company secretary, said volunteers had worked "tirelessly" to restore the buses.

They include a 1965 single-deck Leyland Leopard, a type widely used from the 1960s to the 1980s on longer routes.