The 2026 South East Bus Festival is the fourteenth in a series of highly-popular and successful events. It all started back in 2011 with 'M&D 100' which marked the centenary of the formation of the Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd and was intended to be a one-off event. Due to its popularity, a similar event took place the following year leading to the annual bus festival. As its name impli
es, this is more than just a bus rally and it takes place as part of the Kent County Agricultural Society's Heritage Transport Show. It soon became an established part of the annual bus events diary that take place across the UK throughout the year and quickly earned a reputation as being one of the major events in the south east. The next South East Bus Festival will take place on Saturday 11th April 2026. If you haven't been to the South East Bus Festival before, here is a brief resume of what happened at the 2025 festival:
- Buses and coaches from all over the south east were entered in the festival and 126 entries turned up on the day.
- Sixty-two of those entries had not been to our previous events, ensuring continued variety for our regular visitors and an extensive selection of vehicle types, ages and liveries for those attending for the first time!
- Around thirty buses and coaches of all ages were used on the frequent free bus rides around the showground, giving people the chance to ride on many types of bus, reliving a past age or trying out the latest types. As with the previous events, the South East Bus Festival is run as part of the annual Heritage Transport Show, ensuring plenty to see and do for those with an interest in other types of vehicle, not just buses and coaches. In 2025 the heritage show had around 800 cars, commercials, motorbikes and tractors on display! In addition to the vehicles on display, there were the popular, frequent, free bus rides around the showground, sales-stands selling models, photos, books and memorabilia, a guest speaker, the Reunion Tea Room, slide shows and lots more. Entries are not restricted to local vehicles, and buses from all over the UK, both old and new, are welcome. The showground is huge and has plenty of space to display a very large number of vehicles. We welcome entries of modern vehicles from the fleets of local bus and coach companies to contrast with the historic vehicles that have been lovingly preserved by their owners and there is no charge to bring a vehicle along! Some of the local bus and coach operators have become regular attendees to promote their companies to members of the public and the many bus enthusiasts who come to the festival. The showground is an ideal place to show off the latest that the bus and coach industry can offer. This page has proved to be a great way to communicate news about the event and for people to leave comments afterwards. The number of 'Likes' has grown significantly over time as people talk about the festival so don't forget to tell all your friends to visit the page and 'Like' it! Full details of the South East Bus Festival can be found on our website at https://southeastbusfestival.wixsite.com/sebf. The content is updated regularly and more detail will be added as arrangements for the next event progress. Those interested in the local bus scene in Kent are recommended to visit The M&D and East Kent Bus Club's website at https://mdekbusclub.blogspot.com. Across the Thames Estuary, the Essex Bus Enthusiasts' Group covers all the bus and coach news in Essex. Bus operations in London are covered by the London Omnibus Traction Society ('LOTS') with details available at www.lots.org.uk. For a comprehensive listing of the many bus events across the UK please visit http://www.classicbuses.co.uk/events.html. It's an excellent site and you will be surprised at just how many bus events take place in the course of a year!
