Undiscovered Scotland

 

"The Buses of Northern Scottish" by Peter Findlay is nothing short of a love letter from the author to the buses that frequented the roads of Moray, Aberdeenshire and beyond from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. Amberley Publishing has produced a series of books looking at buses operating in different areas, and, of those we've seen, this is our favourite. This is because it is in many ways such a personal book. The author's father worked on the buses, and the author went on to do so too, driving many of the buses illustrated between the covers. There is a chapter near the back of the book entirely comprising photos of buses being driven by Peter Findlay in various locations.

As is usual with the series, the main part of the book features photographs with detailed accompanying captions. Most of the images in the book were taken by the author, though some are from the collections of two other noted bus photographers (including, obviously, those in which the author appears). What really adds to the impact of the book is that all of the photos are in colour. Given that many of the buses featured are in Northern Scottish's subtle but very attractive yellow and cream colour schemes, this makes a huge amount of difference.

A number of factors come together to allow "The Buses of Northern Scottish" to stand out as something rather special. The author commences with two pages on the story of Northern Scottish and its predecessor, W. Alexander & Sons Ltd, and then goes into a longer chapter entitled "Buses and Me!" This is great fun and really brings helps bring the book to life. Then we are into the photographs. The organisation helps give someone coming to the subject for the first time an understanding of the different elements of the story. Chapters begin with "Where It All Began" and "The Era of My Employment". Especially nice are some short sections towards the rear of the book looking at "What Happens to Old Buses?"; "Depots and Bus Stations" and "Preserving the Name", looking at preserved buses from the era.