City Sightseeing re-starts its open-top tour of Norwich following a brief hiatus
City Sightseeing Norwich re-starts its open top tour of Norwich following a brief hiatus
Norwich can once again look forward to seeing the familiar sight of the City Sightseeing Open Top Tour Bus journey around the city’s streets as a date is confirmed for when the tour will re-start.
The tour was temporarily halted on Monday 3rd July due to the sudden death of its proprietor, David McMaster. David, of Awayadays and City Sightseeing Norwich, died suddenly but peacefully at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital on 1st July, 2023 and consequently, David’s family suspended the tour as a mark of respect.
The tour will recommence on Wednesday 12th July and it will be operated by David’s loyal and dedicated team of drivers, conductors and support staff - all bus enthusiasts - keen to continue to show people the very best of Norwich. Visitors to Norwich and locals alike can take the open-top bus tour and enjoy panoramic views of Norwich with fascinating recorded commentary along the way on the history and background of what was once the largest walled city in Europe. Passengers can hop-on and hop-off at any of the 9 different stops to explore some of the wonderful attractions along the route or remain aboard the bus for the duration of the tour. The tour runs seven days a week. For tour times and prices visit www.awayadays.com.
Tickets can be purchased directly from the driver on the day of your visit.
The sightseeing tour which runs seasonally from April to October is now in its 20th year, all the time being under the direction and operation of David at Awayadays. David was a tourism professional and passionate ambassador for Norwich and Norfolk. His tourism remit extended to being a former Director of VisitNorwich and Chairman of Norwich Attractions and he worked tirelessly to promote the city as one of the UK’s top tourist destinations.
David’s knowledge of Norfolk grew from his position managing the farming co-operative, Aylsham Growers. In 1997 he decided on a complete change of lifestyle and he created Awayadays where he was able to use those past links to enable him to include tours to areas of Norfolk and farm estates not always accessible to the general public. He also introduced evening tours of Norwich with a Blue Badge Guide. In 2003, global franchise firm City Sightseeing, which operate open top sightseeing buses around the world, helped him set up City Sightseeing Norwich. 2023 marks a major milestone as City Sightseeing Norwich celebrates 20 years.
Over the years David and his team also became well known for offering free Christmas bus rides around central Norwich using their vintage buses, raising money for local charities.
Beryl McMaster, David’s wife of fifty-two years says “I feel immensely proud to have worked alongside my husband promoting Norwich and Norfolk. He never wanted to retire, he thoroughly enjoyed driving the bus and welcoming visitors to the city. We have experienced many other sightseeing tours around the world and we were always very proud of what we offered in Norwich with so much history and heritage jam-packed into such a compact city. I am fortunate that the team we have in place at Awayadays and City Sightseeing Norwich is carrying on David’s relentless drive to promote our fine city.”
Enrique Ybarra, President & CEO, City Sightseeing Worldwide said “I was saddened to learn of the passing of David McMaster, our partner and, more importantly, our friend. This is sad news that no one wanted to hear. I first met David in 2003, when he joined the City Sightseeing network, running its Norwich operation through his company Awayadays. Every year, David would represent Norwich and indeed the UK, attending the City Sightseeing Annual Conference where we would catch up. He was one of the most loyal operators at our major annual event. Always friendly, pleasant, and attentive, David was a pleasure to talk to. He will be sorely missed.”
NOTES
The funeral service will be held at St. Faith Crematorium on Monday, July 24th, 2023, at 3.30 p.m. Donations to benefit the Big C may be given online at www.ivanfisher.co,uk or sent c/o Ivan Fisher Independent Funeral Home, The Old Bank, 2-4 Norwich Road, Aylsham, NR11 6BN.
Awayadays also offers its open-top buses and vintage vehicles for hire for special events and weddings. All enquires for Awayadays and City Sightseeing Norwich to ivan@awayadays.com
Awayadays - www.awayadays.com
City Sightseeing Worldwide - www.city-sightseeing.com
Norwich can once again look forward to seeing the familiar sight of the City Sightseeing Open Top Tour Bus journey around the city’s streets as a date is confirmed for when the tour will re-start. The tour was temporarily halted on Monday 3rd July due to the sudden death of its proprietor, David McMaster. David, of Awayadays and City Sightseeing Norwich, died suddenly but peacefully at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital on 1st July 2023 and consequently, David’s family suspended the tour as a mark of respect.
The tour will recommence on Wednesday 12th July and it will be operated by David’s loyal and dedicated team of drivers, conductors and support staff - all bus enthusiasts - keen to continue to show people the very best of Norwich. Visitors to Norwich and locals alike can take the open-top bus tour and enjoy panoramic views of Norwich with fascinating recorded commentary along the way on the history and background of what was once the largest walled city in Europe. Passengers can hop-on and hop-off at any of the 9 different stops to explore some of the wonderful attractions along the route or remain aboard the bus for the duration of the tour. The tour runs seven days a week. For tour times and prices visit www.awayadays.com. Tickets can be purchased directly from the driver on the day of your visit.
The sightseeing tour which runs seasonally from April to October is now in its 20th year, all the time being under the direction and operation of David at Awayadays. David was a tourism professional and passionate ambassador for Norwich and Norfolk. His tourism remit extended to being a former Director of VisitNorwich and Chairman of Norwich Attractions and he worked tirelessly to promote the city as one of the UK’s top tourist destinations.
David’s knowledge of Norfolk grew from his position managing the farming co-operative, Aylsham Growers. In 1997 he decided on a complete change of lifestyle and he created Awayadays where he was able to use those past links to enable him to include tours to areas of Norfolk and farm estates not always accessible to the general public. He also introduced evening tours of Norwich with a Blue Badge Guide. In 2003, global franchise firm City Sightseeing, which operates open-top sightseeing buses around the world, helped him set up City Sightseeing Norwich. 2023 marks a major milestone as City Sightseeing Norwich celebrates 20 years.
Over the years David and his team also became well known for offering free Christmas bus rides around central Norwich using their vintage buses, raising money for local charities.
Beryl McMaster, David’s wife of fifty two years says “I feel immensely proud to have worked alongside my husband promoting Norwich and Norfolk. He never wanted to retire, he thoroughly enjoyed driving the bus and welcoming visitors to the city. We have experienced many other sightseeing tours around the world and we were always very proud of what we offered in Norwich with so much history and heritage jam packed into such a compact city. I am fortunate that the team we have in place at Awayadays and City Sightseeing Norwich is carrying on David’s relentless drive to promote our fine city.”
Enrique Ybarra, President & CEO, City Sightseeing Worldwide said “I was saddened to learn of the passing of David McMaster, our partner and, more importantly, our friend. This is sad news that no one wanted to hear. I first met David in 2003, when he joined the City Sightseeing network, running its Norwich operation through his company Awayadays. Every year, David would represent Norwich and indeed the UK, attending the City Sightseeing Annual Conference where we would catch up. He was one of the most loyal operators at our major annual event. Always friendly, pleasant and attentive, David was a pleasure to talk to. He will be sorely missed.”
Notes:
The funeral service will be held at St. Faith Crematorium on Monday, July 24th, 2023, at 3.30 p.m. Donations to benefit the Big C may be given online at www.ivanfisher.co,uk or sent c/o Ivan Fisher Independent Funeral Home, The Old Bank, 2-4 Norwich Road, Aylsham, NR11 6BN.
Awayadays also offers its open top buses and vintage vehicles for hire for special events and weddings. All enquires for Awayadays and City Sightseeing Norwich to ivan@awayadays.com
Awayadays - www.awayadays.com
City Sightseeing Worldwide - www.city-sightseeing.com
We raised £2,100 for The Big C
The month of December is a time of festive fun for us all and our FREE Bus Tours of Norwich always mark the countdown to Christmas.
From December 20th through to Christmas Eve 2022, we welcomed hundreds of people aboard our buses to enjoy a free ride with us around Norwich City Centre, taking in the city’s lights and festivities.
Our team are all bus enthusiasts and this is their way of giving back each year. Whilst our Christmas tours are free we do encourage charity donations and it is with great pride to announce that we raised £2,100 for The Big C Cancer Charity - incredible! Thank you to everyone who donated and of course to the amazing drivers, conductors and helpers who made it all possible. Well done everyone.
Celebrating 20 years of being in the City Sightseeing Family
Proud to be part of City Sightseeing Worldwide
David & Beryl McMaster with Founder, President and CEO of City Sightseeing Worldwide
2023 marks a major milestone for Awayadays Norfolk - 20 years of operating the City Sightseeing Norwich Open Top Tour. What an achievement!
City Sightseeing is the world's leading open-top bus, boat and guided walking tour company. Established in 1999, the global brand provides exciting hop-on hop-off services in over 100 destinations in more than 35 countries in 6 continents, and increasingly, the most popular attractions in the city. As the company's international network expanded and extended its products, City Sightseeing became one of the leading In-destination Experiences Suppliers. City Sightseeing operates in over 100 locations across 5 continents which includes key cities such as London, Rome, New York, Edinburgh, Seville, Moscow, and Singapore.
Proudly sitting amongst its stellar lineup of destinations is Norwich and our franchise is one of the longest-running franchises in the whole of the City Sightseeing Worldwide network.
Each and every year we have worked hard to try and evolve our offering and invest in the business so much so that we are now onto our third vehicle having replaced the bus over the last 20 years to better the experience.
Whilst our Norwich route has largely remained the same, many of the streets and road layouts have changed over the years but we’re proud to say that our lovely bright red bus still continues to travel the streets of Norwich showcasing the very best of our fine medieval city - and our customers love it!
Thank you for the last 20 years!
David & Beryl - Awayadays Norfolk and City Sightseeing Norwich Operator