History
1979
Lakeside MiniCoaches was acquired by John Davies and Lakeside Coaches began.
1982
Lakeside Coaches acquired its first brand new coach, a ‘W’ registered Duple bodied Ford.
1987
John’s wife Dorothy became a partner in the business and this arrangement has stayed until today with Lakeside Coaches becoming a Limited Company.
1994
Lakeside Coaches saw its brand new ‘M’ registered 53 seat Plaxton Premiere coach attract much attention as it a was exhibited in the Expo Coach Show at the Telford Exhibition Centre. This coach also joined a brand new 16 seater which joined the fleet earlier in the year.
1996
This year saw a new midi and mini coach (both ‘N’ registered) join the fleet, both have since been replaced with newer models.
1997
A new ‘P’ registered 53 seat Plaxton Premiere coach joined the fleet.
1998
A pair of Plaxton Premiere coaches joined the fleet this year with 53 and 57 seats respectively, both bearing ‘R’ registration plates.
1999
This year saw two important acquisitions, one being a new ‘T’ registered 35 seater Optare Mercedes coach which helped to break the previous jump between the 21 and 53 seater coaches operated.
The other purchase was a pre-owned 1997 Plaxton Premiere coach which was Lakeside Coaches first executive coach and was to followed by 4 similarly equipped coaches.
2000
Considering it was the millennium it was a relatively quiet year for purchases with a pre-owned 1997 Plaxton Excalibur coach joining the fleet (the first owned by ourselves with air conditioning fitted) and a new ‘V’ registered 21 seat Toyota Optimo coach finding their way into the fleet.
2001
Another first occured this year and that was the first brand new Volvo coach bought by ourselves, this was a Plaxton Excalibur with an ‘X’ registration.
In mid 2001 – this period was extremely busy and saw the fleet size increase from 12 to 16 through various purchases, these included: 2 pre-owned examples to cope with demand (one Volvo and the other a DAF).
2002
Two late example pre-owned Volvo Plaxton coaches joined the fleet, one a full air conditioned executive with 49 seats and the other a 53 seat coach, these were both ‘V’ registered coaches, first registered in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
Also two brand new smaller coaches joined the fleet one being a 16 seat Mercedes and the other a 21 seat Toyota Optimo, both display the new ’02′ registrations.
2003
The fleet stands at 16 vehicles, further fleet upgrade meant that a brand new B12M Volvo Plaxton Panther arrived. This executive specification vehicle displays a ’52′ registration plate.
2004
The fleet currently stands at 17 vehicles following the acquisition of a new ’53′ reg. Dennis Plaxton Premiere 57 seater and a used ‘T’ reg. DAF Van Hool Alizee to executive specification. The number of staff stands at approx. 25 employees.
2005
The fleet stands at 18 vehicles, fleet changes have resulted in a Mercedes Solera and a Caetano Toyota Optimo being added to the fleet.
2006
The year begins in true Lakeside fashion with huge investments in two new Caetano Enigma touring coaches and a brand new coach operations centre in Ellesmere.
2007
A new Mercedes Beluga 29 seater has updated our minicoach fleet in 2007. Later on this year, another 26 seat Caetano Optimo was purchased and has the ’57′ plate.
2008
Purchases this year include a 49 seat executive coach, YN57 MDU. Caetano Optimo BU08 BGF joins us later in the year.
2009
This year we celebrated our 30th anniversary. The fleet is at it’s largest ever at 21 coaches. We bought a new 49 seat executive coach, and registered if JD09 LAK for the occasion.
2010
Another two brand new coaches have been bought. They are some of the last B12M’s to be made. One is a long 59 seater, and the other a 49 seater executive which will be branded as a GB Tours coach.
2011
New Mercedes Tourismo goes into service. First full size Mercedes Coach in Lakesides Coaches Fleet, along with a Volvo B12M Sunsunsigal, which has been allocated on GB Tours work, with the vehicle in their livery and a Setra 49 seat executive coach, now registered as DD59LAK.
2012
Lakeside acquire a 53 seat executive coach – a first for Lakeside Coaches. The Volvo B9B is fitted with a two screen DVD system, toilet, drinks machine, fridge and climate control.
