This bus from the Norfolk's of Nayland fleet used to be driven every Saturday afternoon over Boxted bridge in the mid 1980’s on the run into Colchester by Tim Smith from Boxted. Visible alongside the entrance door on the Plaxton Supreme bodied AEC Reliance 6U3ZR, are the letters ’ND,’ the garage code for Nayland. Tim recalls how he navigated the 53 seater 36 foot bus over the hump back bridge junction as a matter of course. "The bus used to set off from Stoke-by-Nayland and travelled through Thorrington Street to Higham where it turned round and came back on itself to come over Boxted bridge turning left, along High Lift Villas road, up to Whalebone Corner, Langham, Boxted and then on into Colchester with multiple stops along the way. In those days we had basic power steering compared to today - you practically had to stand up to turn the wheel - and not many bus stops along the route, just ‘hole in the hedge jobs'!”.
Norfolk’s of Nayland, based in Mill Street, Nayland was a family run independent coach operator established in 1868. It’s buses were introduced just after WW1 and continued until they were bought out in 1991 by Hedingham and District Omnibuses although the distinctive two tone green colour livery buses continued to operate for several years after take over.