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Welcome to
WHEELS / MIDLAND RED COACHES!
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To see our range of
Midland Red buses and coaches...
go directly to the
Our Vehicles page, or
go directly to theWHEELS & MIDLAND RED COACHES - Specialist Bus and Coach Operator COACH HIRE pages.
Do have a good look around our website and enjoy some of the
articles.
You can even contribute - write in with your stories, nostagic
Midland Red memories, or about our Wedding Day
Transport, we might print your article too. We are
looking for ex-Midland Red employees, members of the Midland
Red Orchestra or Choir, and Midland Red experienced Engineers
too.
For all your Charabanc,
Bus and Coach Hire Enquiries
email us anytime: buses@wheels.co.uk
or call us (see above for times) on 0845 021
4711 or 077 3388 4914
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THE BIGGEST
RANGE of
Vehicles For Hire -
for your Special Occasions |
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 WHEELS
Museum of Transport Heritage project operates the classic
buses and coaches which represent Midland
Red.
We bring you the biggest range of vehicles for just
about any special occasion. Anything from our most popular bus
the unique vintage
Charabanc, and our very smart Midland Red D9 red
double decker, to our "Wheels Pioneer" single
decker coach which is in the Red and Black traditional Midland
Red coach livery too. We also have examples of traditional
Leyland Leopard coaches - both with different examples of
bodywork (one with Wheelchair Lift, and one the Prototype
Crusader coach) which you will often see
operating our Heritage Day Trip programme and Private Hire
duties - both these are rapidly becoming "modern"
classics. All
are available for Hire with
experienced, professional and uniformed Drivers.
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| Vintage
Buses & Coaches for Hire ! |
 WHEELS
/ Midland Red Coaches have a number of unique buses
and coaches available for Hire for Special Occasions.
A Big Red Double
Decker
FOR HIRE in the Midlands !
See the COACH HIRE
pages for full details of this and other vehicles Wheelchair Accessible coaches and our unique
vintage Midland Red Charabanc
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| More about
us.... |
| Wheels is a transport themed specialist bus & coach company
For information on
our vintage and specialist BUSES & COACHES visit out Coach
Hire pages. Also see Our Vehicles
for photos and details of our fleet of unique and unusual vehicles.
We are experts in our
field of bus and coach operation and have many years
experience in the people moving business.
Our business is
inextricably linked with transport nostalgia, and our Wheels
Museum of Transport looks after the vintage fleet and
has a large collection of transport memorabilia which has been
collected over many years and strongly reflects the history of
Midland Red. We have also just secured TWO brand new
1940 Midland Red uniforms and we now have a Mannequin model
dressed as a 1940's Conductress too! We are looking for ANY
Midland Red memorabilia, photo's or films. Please contact us
if you can help.
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The Midland Red
Concert Orchestra
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| We are urgently looking for any information on The Midland Red Concert
Orchestra. This part of the Midland Red history is not
well documented, and while our colleague David Grayburn Hale
of DAVIDEO has some clips of film, we are anxious to have
details of the Orchestra make-up, and any photographs or
memories that anyone may have.
The orchestra
performed in various places such as Town Halls, and especially around
the time of the Midland Red Tour Brochure launches. The
Company would visit towns and Cities in the area, present a film
show of the latest tours, and the Midland Red Concert
Orchestra would provide the musical entertainment.
We would like to
recreate The Midland Red Concert Orchestra - any help or ideas
would be welcomed.
Please contact us by
email buses@wheels.co.uk, |
| Midland Red
Centenary Print |
 WHEELS
/ Midland Red Coaches have produced a special run of
just 500
Limited Edition Centenary Prints. These
special large A2 sized canvas laid 170gsm paper prints show ten
famous Midland Red buses and the men who made them. The print
is
provided in a strong card postal tube - either collect from
our shop or by post. £24.99
See our shop page for further details
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NWTA LOCAL
TOURISM SUPPORT GROUP -
Northern Warwickshire Tourism
Association
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Midland Red
are among the founder members of the Northern
Warwickshire Tourism Association, a group made up of
local businesses including Accommodation providers,
Attractions, Museums, Restaurants, Shops and specialist
businesses.
Midland Red Coaches are always pleased to help and
participate in the groups aims and projects and urge
anyone who does business within a 20 mile area of
Nuneaton to make enquiries to join us.
We are in good
company too - local members include, Bedworth Civic Hall,
Brookfield Signs of Hinckley, Bosworth Battlefield,
Leathermill Grange, Hoar Park shopping and craft village,
Polesworth Abbey, Middleton Hall, Dobbies, Planters, George
Eliot Fellowship, Sketchley Grange Hotel and a host of high
quality accommodation providers, there's a Brewery, quality
pubs and places to eat. We have the support of the areas
mayors and Town Centre Partnerships too.
Membership of the Association costs less than a single
advert in a local paper - yet you have access to and are
part of the Association's very popular website, with a
link to members' own website. You also have a photograph and
write-up in a super biannual tourist information
handbook with 30,000 copies distributed; and there
are meetings
which are great for networking with other members and
with occasional guest speakers. And recently we have been on
mobile meetings on our buses which have enlightened our
members to the delights of our area and its attractions. Our Press Officer Vince Taylor
of Bedworth Parsonage project regularly promotes our
attractions and special events on local radio and in the
press - and all at no extra cost to members!
Membership of the Northern Warwickshire Tourism
Association costs just £50, and if you are in business
locally you will know just what you can get for such a
little amount of money these days.
It surely represents outstanding value.
Come to one of
our meetings and join us.
See the NWTA website at www.visitnorthernwarwickshire.com
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Check Out these Latest Updates!
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Recent updates of
this web site:
updated: 24th January 2010
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- Midland Red TV appearance - 2nd February BBC2 6.30pm
- Seasonal Wedding in Birmingham
- Highway to Heaven - Double Decker on Funeral Run.
- Santa arrives by Midland Red bus.
- World AIDS Day with Birmingham Uni.
- New Day Trip leaflet OUT NOW -see Excursions and
Events page.
- Corporate Visitors from Europe see Buses for
Business page.
- BBC
Coventry & Warwickshire 94.8FM use Midland
Red Bus for Early Morning Show "Roads
Week"
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Midland Red Travel Club - it's
growing, don't miss out!
- New Nuneaton
Booking Agent - TIC - Library
- Advertise on
our BIG Red Double-Decker Bus.
- Arriva
assist us with ex-Drivers 80th Birthday event.
- Local Tourism
Association in North Warwickshire - see article
at the bottom of this page
- Ready for
Take Off - D9 at Birmingham Airport.
- We can
talk to your Group all about the fascinating
history of the once empire-like Midland Red.
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| BUSES FOR
PLEASURE pages: |
- Double
Decker into the Vale of Belvoir
A birthday treat for Sarah and Brewery tour for
Nick !
- Seasonal Stately Home
Visit for Christmas 2009 - a fantastic trip this
year to Rockingham Castle on November 25th -
decorated for a traditional old fashioned family
Christmas. Lunch is included, and the coach is already FULL !
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| LATEST NEWS
pages: |
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Midland Red Day Trips - now from Tamworth too!
- NWTA
Northern Warwickshire Tourism Association helping
promote tourism. Join us - see bottom of this page.
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WEDDING
TRANSPORT - Our speciality
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Days
to Remember.
Of course we
operate a wide and diverse range of bus and coach hire
work, especially Heritage and Nostalgia based, but
our Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are often taken up
operating meticulously planned and timed transport for
Weddings
Fridays and Sundays are now seen as alternative days for
Celebrations, sometimes more convenient, but often
because its a lower cost alternative - yet still
enjoying the same facilities and services as more
traditional Saturday Celebrations.
See our Buses for Pleasure
page for more pictures of our Wedding and Civil Partnership
ceremonies.
Email your Wedding and Civil Partnership transport
enquiries together with any ideas you have which you
would like to include on your special day
buses@wheels.co.uk
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More HERITAGE DAY TRIPS!
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 We
always ahve a new selection of destinations in our DAY TRIP
leaflet.
Our current season of Tours
lists some exciting new trips (plus some of the old favourites too) and
covers the period from January to June
2010
Midland Red Day Trips are friendly days out by Heritage Bus or Coach, and as we have done for many a year, the Driver takes the Sweets around for each passenger on each departure.
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Britain in
Bloom - The City of Birmingham!
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| Midland Red is a
name very close to the hearts of many people in and
around Birmingham - after all, Midland Red's 'proper'
name was The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus
Company.
We are proud to
be involved with the Second City in the tours we
operate in Birmingham, but especially at Britain in
Bloom time, when our unique Charabanc is used to
transport the Judges around the floral sites of this
great City.
It is wonderful
to see so many admirers when we bring our classic
vehicles to Birmingham, and especially enjoyable
to talk to the many ex-Midland Red employees who so
often come to tell us a story from "the good old
days"
Photos: The Chara dressed perfectly for
the occasion! / Birmingham's ambassadors check everything is
ready / Two of the Judges pose by the Chara during a
break from judging.
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Bye-Bye Digbeth
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 Saturday
17th November 2007 was a sad day for all Midland Red
enthusiasts as yet another ex Midland Red depot
disappears. Digbeth Coach Station closure was a media event
with live music, speeches and fireworks, and a display of
classic buses and coaches.
See our photo
slideshow of this special event, and a fuller story on our
Latest
News page.
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Phone and
Messages
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TO BOOK Classic
Coach Day Trips - call us on 077 3388 4914,
or on 0845 021 4711 (0930-1830hrs
Monday to Saturday).
Our
Fax Number is 02476 354900
To
Hire one of our vintage buses and coaches for a special
occasion, please email us with full details of date, times
and places to buses@wheels.co.uk
If
you leave a message, please leave your name, address and
telephone number and of course a message with the reason
you have called us.
See our COACH HIRE pages for additional details
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| SPECIALIST VEHICLES for
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
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 Antique Telephones
A
range of unusual and collectable telephones -some
original railway items! |
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COACH HIRE AND ADVICE
Our exciting and
unique vintage and specialist fleet of buses and coaches cover
the Midlands and are available for selected Private Hire
duties.
If you have a special occasion - a Wedding, Civil Partnership,
a special
Birthday, Anniversary, or want to organise a special day out
or a Mystery Tour - email us.
We can help with planning itineraries, all styles of Wedding
and even Funeral Transport arrangements too.
Just email us at buses@wheels.co.uk
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Photos:
D9 bus in the Old Market Place, Bedworth /
NWTA members Trip to Atherstone and Polesworth departs from Bedworth Civic Hall /
Tour stopping at Middleton Hall near Tamworth.