UK’s eerie abandoned bus graveyard being reclaimed by nature

The market town of Barnsley, the fourth-biggest settlement in South Yorkshire, hides an eerie collection of dilapidated buses in its woodland – and no one knows exactly where they came from.

Dense forestry makes up nearly 10% of the north-central town, so it’s no wonder someone has chosen to use it as a fly-tipping spot – but the decision to dump over 50 buses, of varying shapes and sizes, amid the overgrowth is an unusual phenomenon.

The vehicles, which have all been subject to some degree of rotting and degradation, appear to hark from all over the UK, hinting at their belonging to a collector with an eye for different makes and models.

Word on the ground is that an elderly bus enthusiast bought the motors for cheap prices at auction and compiled a “vast collection” during his lifetime, before passing away around a decade ago.

Urban explorer Lost Places and Forgotten Faces, who has explored the “bus graveyard” firsthand, believes the rusty public service vehicles have “sat untouched, unmoved and unloved” in the woodland ever since.

They said the site is easily accessible to those whose curiosity has been piqued, adding that they were “blown away” by the sheer number of disused single, double decker and long-distance coaches.

“Navigating the narrow corridors between the vehicles whilst getting ripped to shreds by brambles and nettles was all part of the fun,” they added.

“I must have spent a good three to four hours there on my visit – honestly an unbelievable and absolutely cracking find.

“Making the sketchy climb on top of a rusty double decker to admire the view over the bus graveyard was definitely the highlight.” 

Bizarre as they may seem, it’s not the first time such a “graveyard” has been spotted in the UK.

Urban explorer Exploring with Matt discovered a similar site in Lancashire this year, describing it as somewhere that was “completely frozen in time”.

The Lancashire spot, alongside others across the country, differ from their Burnley equivalent in the diversity of the decaying vehicles it is home to, however.

Exploring with Matt told LancsLive that the “graveyard” he stumbled upon was packed with vehicles branded with the logo of defunct multi-national transport firm FirstGroup.

“The atmosphere was laden with desolation and nostalgia,” he said. “I used to board these buses back in the day! It was odd being back on one, especially with all the seats and fabric still intact. It was like stepping back in time.”