After coming close to being destroyed in a fire Keighley Bus Museum rises like a phoenix
140 vehicles were nearly lost when embers landed on the charity's roof from a major fire at Dalton Mills next door - but 12 months on it's back!
For a while in July 2025 Keighley Bus Museum and the 140 vintage vehicles inside it looked like they might be lost to the flames.
Yet another fire had broken out at the blaze-prone derelict Dalton Mills next door - and unlike the previous times when it had gone up the wind direction on this occasion meant burning embers landed on the roof of the charity's site on Riverside, setting it alight.
"I've got a bus in here and I live in Huddersfield, I was an hour away, so it was worrying," says Mick Berry from the charity trust that runs the museum, who reveals that due to quick work by West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service crews things turned out much better than initially had been feared.
"There was only slight damage from the fire, the main problem was water damage. The fire brigade came in - actually used an open top bus here to get onto the roof and hose it down. They stopped it all and they did it brilliantly. So we are still here!"
The fire did though have a huge impact financially on the museum, which is run by volunteers and relies on visitors, events and people paying to have their buses stored at the site.
Mick continues, "we couldn't get the buses out and support the people of Keighley and across Yorkshire at their events and occasions like we have always done. We also had no events of our own happening - we lost three open days - and the revenue they bring in to keep us going. A couple of people also decided they didn't want to keep their buses with us, which is understandable, but again that was more money lost."
There were also some immediate repairs required and safety improvements ordered by the fire inspectors, which have all been implemented, but again depleted the bank account and meant many other projects have had to be delayed.
But just over a year on, the Museum's staging its first Open Day since the fire this weekend at its site on Riverside, off Dalton Lane in Keighley, it's taking place between 10am and 4pm this Sunday (23rd August 2026).
Mick says it's not just their buses and other vehicles that'll be on show, "we've got a group of cars coming, we've got some army trucks, there's motorbikes, everything. We've even got a band, who'll be playing music for us and loads of stalls."
And who do they hope to see coming through the doors on Sunday? "It used to be mainly the older generation with obviously a history of buses but we have geared it for families and now we are getting families in with children. We do things for children like special driver seats that can sit on, the parents can taken photos of them at the wheel!
"We do want families to come in, have a good day out with it and enjoy the day."