Our History
Once upon a time, one sunny early morning in July 1914, Arthur Hornsby and his son Joseph set off with some sandwiches from the village of Ashby near Scunthorpe to Norfolk to buy a charabanc.
Neither could drive so they travelled by steam train and on foot.
The charabanc was at a garage and was actually an early pick-up truck with a few seats, a tailgate and solid rubber tyres.
It had been used on a large country estate for shooting parties.
In the sale it was agreed that a mechanic would travel part of the way home.
The mechanic taught Arthur how to work the pedals and gears until they arrived in Lincoln where he had arranged to visit his sister he hadn’t seen in years.
The mechanic waved the two on their way as Arthur and Joseph took it in turns to learn how to drive, bouncing along the dusty dirt tracks and cobbles arriving home in Ashby very late that evening.
After bolting on a few more seats and making it a charabanc, a week later they carried their first passengers from Ashby to the skating rink and music halls of Scunthorpe.
Little could they have dreamt that this would be the start of an adventure to last a 100 years reaching to the corners of the British Isles and into Europe.
We look forward to continuing this adventure with you!
Neither could drive so they travelled by steam train and on foot.
The charabanc was at a garage and was actually an early pick-up truck with a few seats, a tailgate and solid rubber tyres.
It had been used on a large country estate for shooting parties.
In the sale it was agreed that a mechanic would travel part of the way home.
The mechanic taught Arthur how to work the pedals and gears until they arrived in Lincoln where he had arranged to visit his sister he hadn’t seen in years.
The mechanic waved the two on their way as Arthur and Joseph took it in turns to learn how to drive, bouncing along the dusty dirt tracks and cobbles arriving home in Ashby very late that evening.
After bolting on a few more seats and making it a charabanc, a week later they carried their first passengers from Ashby to the skating rink and music halls of Scunthorpe.
Little could they have dreamt that this would be the start of an adventure to last a 100 years reaching to the corners of the British Isles and into Europe.
We look forward to continuing this adventure with you!