ESSEX BEDFORD

It’s no wonder that a certain 1952 Bedford OLBC looks so at home meandering the lanes in an idyllic area of rural Essex. You see, it’s just about as ‘local’ as it’s possible to imagine, having always been based within a five-mile radius of its first home. It’s been a cattle truck, a sugar beet lorry and latterly a lovingly restored museum exhibit.

Before we go further, you must understand that Essex is a contrasting and unfairly maligned county and the part we are visiting is a world away from the more southerly part of the county forever associated with fake tans, fake pillars and hair extensions. Here, having your nails done would