Cambus Limited 300 (PEX 611W) near Eriswell - 4 Sep 1993 (203-1)

Saturday 4 September 1993 (approx. 1110) – On Sunday 23 May 1993 National Express introduced a new timetable drastically cutting the number of trips on the cross-country Great Yarmouth-Paignton service which had previously provided regular frequency local facilities over the Great Yarmouth-Norwich-Cambridge sector.

In order to replace the loss of the local facilities over the Newmarket-Thetford route, Suffolk County Council supported a new service numbered 200 commencing the following day (Monday 24 May) which travelled via Red Lodge, Barton Mills, Mildenhall, (some trips also serving RAF Mildenhall), Lakenheath, Brandon (with some trips also serving Santon Downham). The service was initially advertised as operating for a three month trial period but it actually continued for a much longer period in varied formats.

The original contractor on the service was Cambus Limited and their subsidiary Millerbus although these operators only worked the service for the three month trial period and from Monday 6 September the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company took over operation.

Cambus/Millerbus employed Leyland National 2s on the service and in this photograph, taken on the last day the companies worked the service, bus 300 (PEX 611W) is seen travelling between Eriswell and Lakenheath as it headed towards Thetford.

This bus had been new to Eastern Counties Omnibus Company in October 1980 as their LN611 and passed to Cambus when ECOC was split up.

Eriswell Hall Farm stands in the background the buildings of which have an interesting history. The stone used for the construction of the barn and dovecote were pillaged from a former Norman church which declined after the reformation. In those days Lakenheath, like many other Fenland villages, was connected to the sea by canal style waterways and it is possible the stone had originated in Northamptonshire. The Fenland area is very flat although odd pockets of undulating land, called rising ground, can be found. The church would have been built on this elevated ground to save it in the event of flooding.

The small building just above the rear of the bus is an 18th century dovecote incorporates part of the old church of St. Peter dated from around the 15th century. The small window aperture had been one of the nave windows, both that and the wall in which it is set, apparently stand in their original position.