BBC use our D9 for Breakfast time Reports.

You can read all about it on our Latest News page.

You will quickly see that we no ordinary bus and coach operator!  
Wheels/Midland Red Coaches is a specialist organisation operating a range of traditional and stylish vintage buses and classic coaches to suit most occasions. WHEELS / Midland Red Coaches  is based in the midlands and operates over an approximate sixty mile radius of our base.  We obviously make some exceptions to this according to specific itineraries. We travel anywhere in the UK for TV and Film work which we wish to be involved in.  We cover all midlands areas including Hinckley, Leicester, Coventry, Bedworth,  Nuneaton, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Kenilworth, Coleshill and North Warwickshire, Birmingham, and  in fact most of the East Midlands and West Midlands area. 

Our vehicles are suitable for most occasions:       a stylish Wedding with white ribbons and flowers, an important product launch, a trip to the zoo, a Stately Home, or a day at the races watching the horses from the elevated position of our open sided Charabanc or from the top of one of our double deckers;  a simple transfer to the airport, or the transport for an entire conference. Recapture those lazy afternoons on a nostalgic Mystery Tour, or we could be simply providing vehicles for important railway replacement services during the rebuilding of our railway network. We can provide buses for Television and Film makers - our patient and uniformed Drivers are used to long or difficult shoots - interesting buses for transport rallies or carnivals or village fates, and we can even provide transport arrangements for funerals too.  Whether it be a plain and simple journey or whether you need us to organise highly complex arrangements - every journey is special, and every arrangement deserving the best in care and attention to detail and organised by professionals with many years of experience in the business..

Although the bus and coach interests of WHEELS / Midland Red Coaches go back a long way, our staff themselves have even more years of experience with some of the biggest and best companies in the people-moving industry.  So often today, in all types of business, people with little or no product knowledge and precious little experience offer you second rate service.  Wheels / Midland Red Coaches staff have practical skills and an in-depth knowledge gained from years of hands-on experience, to give you confidence and peace of mind.  In preparation for the Midland Red Centenary and in view of our past connections with the Company and its successors we were successful in buying the Midland Red Coaches company and name and subsequently Three vehicle types which operated for Midland Red including our famous D9 double decker and a unique charabanc  with origins dating from 1929.  2006 brought another cause for celebration when our BMMO D9 had its 40th Birthday Party.

The WHEELS fleet of buses and coaches is picked  from a fine pedigree of traditional British names - Leyland, BMMO, Bristol,  AEC. These were once the foundation of the British bus and coach industry.  Well engineered, rugged and reliable, most were the classic British heavyweight designs.  In fact all our fleet is of British design and manufacture !  Not many companies can say that these days !

It goes without saying that our fleet is well maintained, and that our vehicles are driven by properly licenced, experienced and smartly uniformed drivers, and our vehicles are correctly insured for operating for hire.  Our vehicles also carry the blue operators' licence disc in the windscreen in addition to the normal tax disc.  It has been known for some vintage bus owners to hire out their vehicles without an operators' licence and without correct insurance which puts their unsuspecting passengers at serious risk.

What do you know about The Midland Red?  We can talk to your Group.

Midland Red was once the largest bus company in the country outside of London.  Midland Red not only operated buses over a large area of the country, but they both designed and built their own vehicles. They were always the talk of the other manufacturers as the Midland Red designs were so advanced.

Besides all this, they were a very large employer, had a big family feel, with a wide social side with inter-garage events. The  manufacturing plant in Birmingham was one of the most advanced in Europe.   The once vast Midland Red is no more, and what is left is a shadow of its former self.  But what happened?  Why was it called "Midland Red"?  Why didn't it buy buses instead of making its own ?

If you are part of a regular meeting group who have, or would like, day trips out, and need a speaker for your guests, Midland Red Coaches can help.  We can  arrange for Ashley, one of our senior team to speak to your meeting. The talk is suited to any type of group as it can be tailored to your audience.  A small charge is made depending upon the location etc.

Get in touch with us to make further enquiries.   Email us at  buses@wheels.co.uk or call Ashley on 077 3388 4914

Womens Institute celebrate their 90 years with a period Charabanc Ride and Afternoon Tea.

Probably the best dressed "costumed" Charabanc group we have taken out!  The driver gave a short history talk about Midland Red on arrival.

Newbold Pacey and Ashorne Womens Institute celebrated their 90th Birthday in July and enjoyed a ride around South Warwickshire including Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa.  Those not lucky enough to be on board waved and grasped for their phone cameras to catch the moment as we went along the Parade in Leamington Spa.

Then it was back to Ashorne for the four eldest members to lead the party between WI base and Ashorne Hall in a horse and trap for Afternoon Tea.  Then after cucumber sandwiches and special WI celebration cake it was back on the Chara for a ride back to the village.

Ashorne Hall was once the family home of Colonel May of matches fame (Bryant and May) and was later commandeered during the war years and after, and is now the training centre for what was once British Steel (Corus).

An extract of a letter from the WI who hired the bus:

More customers' letters can be found on our Buses for Business and Buses for Pleasure page

Weddings and our classic buses

We have had a pleasing Spring with Weddings and Partnerships in our classic buses and coaches.  

Check out lots more information on our Weddings and Partnerships page.

Midland Red Coaches help promote local Tourism

Midland Red Coaches are "local" to most areas in the Midlands, but as our customers know, we always try to visit places not instantly recognisable as tourism destinations yet have lots to offer - none more than North Warwickshire and surrounding areas. WHEELS Midland Red Coaches are members of Northern Warwickshire Tourism Association which is an independant organisation made up of lots of small businesses promoting the area to both locals and visitors - and always coming up with something new!

Recently our Double Decker D9 did a scenic and guided tour of Nuneaton and Bedworth - not your usual tourist hotspots, yet enthralling all those on board with an expert guide John Burton, giving lots of unknown facts about this area and its famous people including George Eliot. On board were some NWTA members and Mayors of Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire.

Welcome  to  2009 - Spring is Here !

We have had an interesting Winter Season.  December was busier than usual. We operated some trips to drive through the festive lights of various Midlands towns which went rather well, and our Day Trips were all busy especially those favourites like Worcester and Ludlow which are now very popular annual events.  

Our Midland Red Travel Club is going from strength to strength with some customers buying Membership for their friends as part of their Christmas Present - a great and useful idea.

We have been visiting some Groups and Residential Homes  in our operating area, giving talks on the Midland Red and our Travel Club; a small fee is levied and subsequently groups which join our Club have  the fee deducted from the first of any coach hire charge plus pick ups at the door!

Our 2009 Day Trip leaflet has the information on prices which Travel Club members pay, and there are lots of great discounts on most of our  trips.  You can print off your own copy from the excursions and events page by clicking the highlighted link above.

077 3388 4914 - This number gets directly to us, but if we are engaged or with clients, you will be able to leave a message and we can return your call, but please leave your name, number and more importantly a message so that we can get back to you with some accurate information.  You can Book Day Trips, Private Hire etc by telephone and pay by Card, or by Cheque just as normal.   We look forward to hearing from you.

There were more Winter Weddings than usual too - in locations including Coleshill, Birmingham, and Berkeswell,  as well as some Corporate Private Hire bookings - some as far afield as Cambridge.

Then 2009 introduced itself with the weather we thankfully only get every eighteen or twenty years. But unlike London's red buses, our Midland Red classics carried on serving our customers.

See some of our winter work in pictures below

Angie's 70th Birthday event was set in the Derbyshire countryside just outside Ashbourne. Passengers braved the frosty day for a 1920's style Charabanc ride, picking up the Birthday Girl on the way for a celebration meal	Janis (in the yellow top) and friends set off from home to take a vintage Midland Red D9 bus ride into Worcester for a special Sunday Lunch with wonderful food and a surprise when one of the diners took the microphone and gave a singing rendition to complete the event.	The classic Bristol RE coach and our red D9 double decker were far away from home in Cambridge on a Corporate Hire for a London company.  The lunch was held in a University Hall, with guest speaker Michael Portillo.

On the Left:     A D9 in the heart of Worcester on a sleety afternoon taking guests and friends of the Birthday Girl out for a very special Sunday Lunch Bash.
On the Right:   An S23 temporarily parked in our car park at our depot and making a seasonal postcard picture.

Midland Red continued to operate in the snow...

These were really tough conditions - snow covering the entire front of the bus with the driver having to get out regularly and clean snow from the windscreen. 

An extract of a letter from the Customer who hired the bus:  Hi, Just wanted to drop you a little note, to thank you for making yesterday such a brilliant day for us and all our friends. I think everyone will remember their trip on the big red bus for a very long time to come, especially with the snow on the way back. Glad to hear that you got back safely, and would look forward to being able to use the bus again one day soon. Regards R&J More customers' letters can be found on our Buses for Business and Buses for Pleasure page

A Topical Chat - waiting for departure time! The Crews of our two-man operated buses in traditional (and original) Midland Red uniforms.

 Great Fun on our "Limited Edition" Charabanc Outings

After many requests, this year we included a small number of our 2008 Day Trips using our open-sided unique Charabanc.  These were a great success and we have decided to make these tours a feature of our future programmes.

The South Warwickshire Countryside Tour will feature the Charabanc in future. This leisurely tour visits such places as Stoneleigh Abbey, Kenilworth, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick, then travels eastwards via Offchurch, and then on the Roman Fosse Way to Hunningham Hill where we make a stop at Hill Top Farm. This is a farm with a countryside shop, selling all manner of locally produced food, including a great selection of breads, fresh meat and vegetable produce, pickles and chutneys.  Further inside you will discover their Eatery - the quality of food here is excellent, and is fresh from the farm-shop next door! You will find a range of hot and cold dishes, and the sandwiches are a meal in themselves too! Then from here it's back home via a ride around the country lanes.

THIS TOUR CAN ALSO BE ARRANGED FOR PRIVATE GROUPS using the Charabanc or any of our other classic vehicles.  The route may vary depending on your place of origin. Please email us to discuss details.

We are here for all your Midland Red Coaches Bus and Coach Hire enquiries and bookings, Day Trips out, Wedding Transport, Weekend Breaks, Turkey & Tinsel, traditional Coach Cruise Holidays by GrandUK, Wheelchair Access Coach, Classic Funeral Transport. And for Group Organisers  - we can make your life easier and  your group members'  day out enjoyable. Get in touch - by email us - buses@wheels.co.uk  or by calling  02476 633624

Charabanc Summoned to Lichfield Cathedral 

Special permission was granted to our Charabanc to park in the main entrance of Lichfield's beautiful Cathedral.  It was for a outing to celebrate a special birthday of the Arch Deacon of the Cathedral.

After picking up in The Close, unsuspecting family members were waiting at the outlying bus stops en-route, unaware that our unique Charabanc was coming to pick them up. At each bus stop the passengers were welcomed aboard and were shocked to see their head of family sitting happily on the front seat!

When the Arch Deacon was in his late teens he worked for a coach company in northern Staffordshire, so was able to tell the Driver some tales of how it was in the Good Old Days.

First stop was Trentham Gardens for Lunch, followed by a ride around some old haunts, then it was on to Shugborough Hall for Afternoon Tea.

It really was a splendid day - and perfect Charabanc weather was ordered too.  How could He refuse?

We operate various Tours and Day Trips to Lichfield - a perfect opportunity to visit the Cathedral. This tour  (and similar tours) can also be arranged for Private Groups, using the Charabanc or any of our other classic vehicles.  The route may vary depending on your place of origin. Please discuss this with us.

PART TIME DRIVERS
If you have previously worked as a bus or coach driver and would like to help us occasionally on our Heritage, Tour, Excursion and Private Hire work, please contact us and get our Application Form.  We will be keen to hear from you if you are a good communicator, are absolutely reliable, of good character and get on well with customers and of course have a good driving record and can demonstrate that you can care for our buses and coaches..

LATEST NEWS
Don't forget to check regularly by clicking Latest News section.

ADVERTISING ON OUR BUSES -- FOR BUSINESS -  If you are in business why not consider advertising on our buses,  We have internal and external advertising spaces all at very reasonable prices. The income assists us with our restorations projects and the advertising exposure brings new opportunities to you.  We can design in conjunction with you, produce and fit the adverts for a time to suit your business. Speak to us soon!Wheels Coach Hire - Excursions Tours and Events

BUSES FOR BUSINESS - Conferences, Exhibitions, Hotel Transfers, Tourist Services, TV and Films, Park & Ride,  Railway Replacement Services.

BUSES FOR PLEASURE - Weddings, Anniversaries, Theatre Trips, Mystery Tours, Transport Rallies, Carnivals, Excursions, Holidays, and lots more!

INCOMING COACH OPERATORS NOTE:

We can help with your local requirements when you are in the Midlands area. We can  often provide a vehicle with driver to help most other bus or coach operators in times of acute shortage, whether this be vehicle breakdown, or your driver needs cover for (RTA) Drivers Hours regulations, or even if you are simply short of a vehicle.  WHEELS / Midland Red Coaches are experienced in Local Bus Services as well as Coach Operations, although we normally have an operational radius of around 60 miles from start point.  We will handle all bus and coach work, and we can arrange Tour Planning, Itineraries, all inclusive hotel accommodation, Guides for specific or general locations,  food and refreshments and admissions as necessary.  We also work with other respected names in the bus industry if your booking requires other types of buses or coaches which we consider more suitable to your needs - e.g. mass movement etc. We will of course make you aware of any other companies involvement in your travel plans, unless this is made in an emergency. Contact WHEELS / Midland Red Coaches- we will try to help. 

Have a look through our bus and coach pages where you can see some of our vehicles and read a little about their long and interesting history, see our list of Excursions and Heritage Tours, and do check our Latest News page to find out the up-to-date gossip.

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