The company was formed in January 1976 by Michael Edgecombe and had adopted the name Sid valley Coaches by 1984. Edgecombe Omnibus and Alexandria Coaches were later used as fleet names, finally settling on Alexandria Travel. The livery was blue, changing to white with purple lettering as recently as 2001.

The original vehicle was a Ford Transit, joined in April 1977 by a Leyland Redline. The first full size vehicle was a former Royal Blue Bristol LS coach which is now preserved. The fleet grew to a maximum of 7 vehicles in 1992, consisting of an assortment of AEC, DAF, Leyland, Volvo, Bedford, Ford and Bristol coaches. Double deckers were also operated between 1992 and 1998. At the time of the take over MAN and Mercedes vehicles were operated.

The depot and office in Alexandria Road, Sidmouth and goodwill of the business (but not the vehicles) was acquired by Hookways in July 2002. It is intended to run the operation as HOOKWAYS EDGECOMBE and Clinton Edgecombe has joined Hookways. Operations are currently being managed from the Hookways Greenslades depot in Exeter and a number of vehicles from the existing Hookways  fleet will move to the base after refurbishment work later this year.

The Sidmouth depot will form a useful addition to the existing facilities maintained by Hookways. Heavy maintenance and annual testing of vehicles will be conducted at the modern and well equipped main Hookways workshop in Meeth, but Sidmouth has an office,  parking area, workshop and small store.

The Hookways family have always been very involved in the running of the main firm. Sadly founder Sydney died in 1983, but his wife, Ruby, still lives alongside the garage in Meeth. Alastair Gray now oversees the day to day running of the business and Martin Hookway manages the engineering functions. The Head Office functions for the whole Hookways operation are centered on Meeth depot.

The brothers William and Gilbert Greenslade first started business in the village of Bradninch, near Exeter in 1912 by running a small coaching business which they had purchased out of their savings. The first vehicles owned was a French MAAS charabanc, but they soon  purchased a second similar vehicle and each brother took his vehicle on day tours from Exeter to other parts of Devon. They were so successful that the coaches were in constant use and servicing had to be undertaken at night ! After the First World War younger brother Percy Greenslade joined to take over the vehicle maintenance side as the fleet expanded. Commer, Dennis, Graham, Morris, Thornycroft and Reo chassis entered the fleet up to the 1930’s. Thereafter Greenslades standardised on Bedfords and the fleet became about 30 strong.

Bus services were also operated from the Witheridge area. Many other coach operators were acquired between the two wars and the business became a limited company as Greenslades Tours Limited in May 1933.

During the war a number of secondhand AEC’s were purchased, but some utility Bedfords were also delivered. After the war Bedfords were again purchased, but AEC, Austin, Albion, Leyland and Maudsley shassis also entered the fleet.

In 1948 Greenslades bus services were sold to Devon General, but the same year the company obtained its first extended tour licence. In 1953 the company was purchased by British Electric Traction (B.E.T.) and expansion continued. Day and half day excursions in Devon and private hire work prospered and the British and Continental Tour programme was expanded considerably with pick-ups added in Somerset.  Eventually in addition to the main depot at Exeter, bases were established in Budleigh Salterton, Dawlish, Exmouth, Sidmouth and Teignmouth.  The buff coaches with green trim were a familiar sight not just in Devon but all over the country.

When B.E.T sold its bus and coach interests to the State in 1969, Greenslades became part of the new National Bus Company. Rationalization saw control pass to the Western National subsidiary along with the old Devon General company. Greenslades  became part of the National Travel (South West) unit in 1974 and most coaches were painted in the white national livery but retaining the Greenslades name.

All this changed again in January 1983 when a new Devon General company was created to take responsibility once again for vehicles in the original area. This included the Greenslades unit which survived to retain its separate identity and green livery. This was all to pave the way for government privatisation of the National Bus Company and Devon General became the first subsidiary to be sold to its management in August 1986. The Greenslades coach unit was sold to Nightingales Coaches of Exmouth on 1^st December 1987.

The business went through a very difficult period at this point, during the recession of the mid 1980’s. However in November 1990 Hookways came to the rescue and took over the Greenslades  operations and slowly, but surely, has built operations once again to the point where the Exeter base is a thriving concern once more.

Vehicles receive daily maintenance and service inspections at the well equipped depot at Pinhoe in Exeter. Heavy work and annual testing is undertaken at the main Hookways workshop in Meeth.

The fleet are now painted in the distinctive yellow, blue and mauve Hookways livery, but Exeter based vehicles continue to carry the famous Greenslades name. 

The Exeter Greenslades depot continues to undertake its own day excursion programme and also a considerable amount of private hire and school contract work. Regular National Express relief and duplication work is also undertaken. The base works closely with the other two Hookways depots at Meeth and Bude and vehicles cover the country and often work on the continent.

Hookways is very much a family business having begun operations in 1929. Sadly founder Sidney Hookway died in 1983 and now his son Martin manages the engineering functions. Volvo, DAF, LAG, Mercedes, Toyota and Leyland chassis are now operated. Greenslades is thus now part of a flourishing coaching organisation with considerable experience and expertise.

Long serving Greenslades man Alastair Gray now oversees the day to day management of the business with his team of full and part time drivers, operations staff and engineers. 24 hour cover is of course maintained so that the fleet can turn out for any eventuality.

North Cornwall is served by HOOKWAYS JENNINGS from our coach station situated centrally in the seaside resort of Bude. Here we also have a travel shop which you can visit to book tours and excursions or private hires.
	Bude is a world renowned coastal resort and it’s position on the Atlantic coast makes it ideal for surfing and marine activities. The Jennings Hookways fleet undertakes considerable work for the local activity centres and hotels. High capacity coaches are particularly in demand and several 57 seat vehicles are based at our Bude depot. Seen outside our centrally placed coach station and office in Bude is one such example. It is a Volvo B10M with Duple 340 bodywork. It has excellent luggage capacity and if you’re looking to move a large group across the country to the North Devon or North Cornwall coast then Jennings can help you. Our drivers are well versed in making the trip from all corners of the UK and you may well find that a quote from Jennings is more cost effective than using a local operator. Why not ask us for a quote?
748JTA is a 21 seat Caetano Coaster bodied Toyota.  Several of these useful little coaches are operated by Hookways and this particular example is seen operating one of the Hookways Jennings local bus services linking Bude with several attractive little villages North of the town. This vehicle is also available for hire and is ideal for small parties.
This is an Interior view of the Hookways Jennings Bude depot. This gives an impression of the size of the depot. The coach in this view is over the workshop pit at the depot used for servicing the vehicles.
This is the exterior of Bude Hookways Jennings Coach Station. The Hookways Jennings travel shop and office is to the right of the main coach doors.

The coach business of W. J. O. Jennings Ltd. was founded in 1946 by Bill Jennings who already owned a small haulage business and general store in Morwenstow near Bude in North Cornwall. His original coach was purchased to provide transport to and from the local Army and Air Force camps for services personnel. He also ran the local shopping bus service to Holsworthy and what was known as the “picture bus.” This was a twice weekly service on Tuesdays and Saturdays into Bude from surrounding villages providing transport for those wishing to visit the cinema. The vehicles wore an orange and cream livery which was only modified in 1968 to a white and orange livery.

The business expanded with the acquisition of school contracts and the stage carriage service to Bideford of Lees another small operator. In 1957 Geoffrey Stephenson who had been employed as Jennings Transport Manager and was also married to Bill’s niece, Jean, took over the business. This was done in partnership with Jean, her brother Nathaniel Reed (who ran the workshop side of the business with his nephew David Stephenson) and his wife Lydia. The company was based in Queen Street, Bude where they had an office and a small car garage. There was no room for the coaches, so they were parked down the road on the cinema car park.

The acquired fleet consisted of two Bedford OB’s, a solitary Leyland Tiger Cub and an old 29 seater Bedford which was quickly traded in for a new vehicle. Unusually Seddon chassis were operated too. The new owners quickly began to expand the small private hire market worked by Bill Jennings coupled with half day excursions out of Bude. Day excursions and mystery trips were the order of the day and seats could be sold quite easily.

In the early 1960’s the company moved to the old lifeboat house which was converted into a garage. One coach could be accommodated under cover with plenty of outside parking space for the rest of the fleet. The property has subsequently been sold and converted into residential flats.

The first new vehicles arrived in the summer of 1959 in the shape of a Duple bodied Bedford SB1 which was also the first coach with a diesel engine to enter service in the area. This vehicle survived for many years with the company and was still active in the 1980’s !

In 1966 the “Beeching” railway closures saw the end of passenger lines in North Cornwall. Jennings were approached by British Railways to operate the replacement bus service between Okehampton and Bude.  A subsidy was paid for the first two years until the service became self supporting. The service required two vehicles and two drivers each day which expanded the involvement in local bus service work considerably.

This paved the way for a dramatic change in circumstances in 1971 when the local state owned bus company, Western National, decided to pull out of rural bus operation in much of its operating area. Western National could not agree satisfactory subsidy arrangements for many of its rural services and wholesale retrenchment was announced. Many of the smaller depots were suddenly closed. Local private operators took over many of these operations.

One of the depots to close was the garage in Bude in July 1971 when all the local routes were withdrawn just as the Summer season was getting under way. Only a solitary Royal Blue vehicle remained in the town until the end of the Summer. Jennings took over the network of local services. The company’s existing operations were combined with the old Western National routes including a daily service to Plymouth and the local town service. A number of school contract operations were also added at the same time. Some rationalisation took place with a number of unprofitable routes being withdrawn. Jennings had recently bought a parcel of land on a new industrial estate and had ordered a building to provide better garage facilities. This was sold when the opportunity arose to purchase Western National’s garage at Lansdown Road in the centre of Bude.  In the early 1980’s the old Queen Street head office was closed and all operations moved to Lansdown Road.

In 1972 the Okehampton branch railway line was also closed to passengers and the rail replacement service was extended to Exeter St. David’s station and Exeter Bus Station.

On the vehicle front a brief return to Seddon chassis took place in the early 1970’s, but advantage was taken of the government’s new bus grant scheme to renew the fleet. Bedfords rapidly formed the backbone of the fleet at this point, but later other chassis were tried. The first Volvo joined the fleet in 1974 when a B58 arrived, but a return to Bedfords then took place until 1982 when the first Volvo B10M was purchased and these formed the backbone of the fleet until take over. Jennings tended to buy mainly new vehicles.

De-regulation of the coach sector in 1985 and then later the bus side of the industry in 1986 and subsequent changes in the way in which funding for services took place altered the nature of the business. Carriage of school children in particular was a major issue as local authority funding arrangements had to change. The Holsworthy – Okehampton service became a major mover of school children and then in January 1988 the timetable of the Exeter service was modified to incorporate school workings entailing two additional vehicles. 

Jennings continued to be the major operator in the area, but eventually a decision was taken by the original owners to put the business on the market with the uncertainties of the future.

Interest in the business came from several quarters, but the by now privatised Western National company showed an interest in taking over the bus services. The Bude – Exeter service fitted in well with their plans and this operation together with some of the other bus services passed to the company, by then part of First Group, at the end of 1997. A new base was set up in nearby Stratton to operate these services.

The remaining bus and coach operations along with the centrally located garage in Bude were taken over by Hookways in March 1998, along with the vehicles and remaining staff. A decision was taken to retain the Jennings name which had become well known in the area and vehicles from the base now trade as HOOKWAYS JENNINGS. The orange and white livery gave way to the Hookways yellow, mauve and blue livery.

The garage roof has recently been refurbished and a travel shop is also maintained at the site which is well situated for the Summer tourist traffic. Full and Half Day excursions still form a major part of the Hookways Jennings work while school contract operations still keep vehicles occupied during the school term.  A large Adventure Centre in Bude also keeps vehicles occupied bringing many youth groups to and from the town. The original local bus operations to Morwenstow were also inherited with the business and other market day services also still run.  Hookways Jennings vehicles and staff work alongside those of the other Hookways bases in Meeth and Exeter to provide the full range of private coach charter facilities.

Heavy maintenance and annual testing of vehicles is now conducted at the modern and well equipped main Hookways workshop in Meeth.

The Hookways family have always been very involved in the running of the firm. Sadly founder Sydney died in 1983, but his wife, Ruby, still lives alongside the garage in Meeth. Alastair Gray now oversees the day the day running of the business while Martin Hookway manages the engineering functions.  The Head Office functions for the whole Hookways operation are centered on Meeth depot.

Hookways are delighted to add Dorset Queen to our portfolio of established coaching names and expand our network of quality coach operations to an even wider audience. We  believe that with the wealth of experience behind the Dorset Queen name we are poised to build on over 70 very successful years of operation from this corner of Dorset.