Hitchhiking

[floo]

You don't see many hitchhikers these days, unlike when I was a teenager. When I was 18, a pupil nurse in Bristol (my father's idea NOT mine ), my husband to be would hitch down from Liverpool where he was at university, collect me, and we would hitch back up there together. I would stay for a few days and then we would hitchhike back down to Bristol.  We once got a ride in a limo, most of the drivers were pleasant, although there was one weirdo who made us both feel very uncomfortable. My parents would have been horrified if they had known I was hitching lifts.

As far as I know my children has never hitchhiked. They had the taxi service run by Dad and Mum on which to rely, or trains, the tickets being supplied by the bank of Dad and Mum. I would have been worried sick at the idea of them hitching lifts.

We have given people lifts in the past but would think it unwise to do so these days.

Have other posters hitchhiked, and did you have any good or bad experiences when doing so?

[Robbie]

Some good, some bad, floo. Nothing so hair-raising that would have resulted in us being raped or murdered but unpleasant. On the whole, the few times I did it with a friend and, sometimes, a cousin, were fine.  However I think we were 'lucky'. The idea horrifies me now but glad I did it, it brings back memories of forty years ago when I had adventures and not many fears.

I've picked up people a couple of times, more accurately when Charlie and I have been travelling somewhere together, not me on my own. We've seen a couple of youngsters with a sign and let them ride with us. They were quite safe with us - also, we were safe with them!

You're right that we see less hitchhikers now than in the seventies/eighties & even nineties.

[wigginhall]

I did it a a lot, usually from Bristol to Manchester, usually very easy.   Also hitched in Germany a bit, also easy.   Got a lift once to Berne, the view was amazing.    It's true, you don't see them now, I used to see dozens at the start of the M1 in London.   Occasionally, got a lift with a drunk, scary. 

[Enki]

Interesting topic, Floo.

I used to hitchhike a lot when I was young. A friend and I were members of the YHA and sometimes hitchhiked around places like the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and Wales. Unfortunately my friend is dead now, but lovely memories.

I once hitchhiked alone to London where I met up with a girl that I had a crush on and was vaguely dating, but who had moved to London. I remember I slept on a bench down Cheyne Walk overnight before I met up with her. That time was also the first time I experienced going to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. I found the whole thing pretty exciting. However, after I hitchhiked back, I never saw the girl again.

When I first met my wife, and before we were married, we hitchhiked to Castleton in the Peak District and spent a few days there. We slept together in a tent even though parents were't exactly comfortable with the arrangement. I've still got the various minerals(galena, blue john) we collected on that trip.

Once, three of us(including Geoff Lipman, brother of Maureen) hitchhiked to Blackpool and back. A friend of ours had set up a sort of a business selling postcards with flocking on them(totally new in those days) and we went around various newsagents etc. trying to sell them. Enjoyed the trip but our attempt at selling was a total disaster.

In those days plenty of people hitchhiked, and I never felt threatened. However things began to change(especially after the Hanratty A6 murder, anyone remember that) and now anyone hitch hiking is often regarded with suspicion. I suppose also that in those far off days when I was in my teens and twenties, not that many people had cars, and hitchhiking was widely recognised as a regular way of making long journeys.

[wigginhall]

Blue john, enki!  That has set the memory banks throbbing - I still have a few pieces, but it's very brittle.   Don't wash up with any of it on your fingers in rings, or whatever.

[Nearly Sane]

Fascinating article on Blue John on wiki


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_John

And click on the mineral in the disambiguation (direct link to page doesn't seem to work)

[floo]

Fascinating article on Blue John on wiki


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_John_(mineral)

It says the article is not available.

[Nearly Sane]

It says the article is not available.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_John

And click on the mineral in the disambiguation (direct link to page doesn't seem to work)

[torridon]

Interesting topic, Floo.

I used to hitchhike a lot when I was young. A friend and I were members of the YHA and sometimes hitchhiked around places like the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and Wales. Unfortunately my friend is dead now, but lovely memories.

I once hitchhiked alone to London where I met up with a girl that I had a crush on and was vaguely dating, but who had moved to London. I remember I slept on a bench down Cheyne Walk overnight before I met up with her. That time was also the first time I experienced going to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. I found the whole thing pretty exciting. However, after I hitchhiked back, I never saw the girl again.

When I first met my wife, and before we were married, we hitchhiked to Castleton in the Peak District and spent a few days there. We slept together in a tent even though parents were't exactly comfortable with the arrangement. I've still got the various minerals(galena, blue john) we collected on that trip.

Once, three of us(including Geoff Lipman, brother of Maureen) hitchhiked to Blackpool and back. A friend of ours had set up a sort of a business selling postcards with flocking on them(totally new in those days) and we went around various newsagents etc. trying to sell them. Enjoyed the trip but our attempt at selling was a total disaster.

In those days plenty of people hitchhiked, and I never felt threatened. However things began to change(especially after the Hanratty A6 murder, anyone remember that) and now anyone hitch hiking is often regarded with suspicion. I suppose also that in those far off days when I was in my teens and twenties, not that many people had cars, and hitchhiking was widely recognised as a regular way of making long journeys.

That made me smile.  Many a time I slept on park benches or in bus stations when I was younger.  I tried to get myself arrested once in Ambleside, assuming the police cell would be better than the park bench.  Didn't work out.

Hitched Yorkshire to London to see Led Zep at Wembley.  Covered thousands of miles hitching across Canada riding with long distance logging trucks usually, often sleeping out in hippy camps where half the guys were so stoned out on pot they were chasing the bears away with sticks oblivious to the danger.  Covered quite a lot of mileage in France too, the danger there being the mad driving.  Eee them were ' days.  No, I'm going to resist the four yorkshiremen sketch

[Enki]

That made me smile.  Many a time I slept on park benches or in bus stations when I was younger.  I tried to get myself arrested once in Ambleside, assuming the police cell would be better than the park bench.  Didn't work out.

Hitched Yorkshire to London to see Led Zep at Wembley.  Covered thousands of miles hitching across Canada riding with long distance logging trucks usually, often sleeping out in hippy camps where half the guys were so stoned out on pot they were chasing the bears away with sticks oblivious to the danger.  Covered quite a lot of mileage in France too, the danger there being the mad driving.  Eee them were ' days.  No, I'm going to resist the four yorkshiremen sketch

I'm jealous, Torri and Wiggs. I've never hitchhiked abroad. I would have loved to. In fact the first time I went abroad was in 1977, aged 36. I've made up for it since, mind.

A bit off topic, but perhaps worth recounting, is a certain visit to Nepal my wife and I made in 2005. We were with a small organised group of birders. Unfortunately we were there when the King's brother inherited the throne, dismissed the entire government, cut off all access from the outside world and prepared to deal with the Maoist Movement which controlled most of the countryside.

On that particular day we were going to travel by jeep to the Royal Chitwan Park(now no longer royal) quite some distance from our base in Kathmandu. Unfortunately the Maoists retaliated by stopping all motorised travel in the countryside.(anyone attempting to travel by motorised vehicle ran the risk of being shot). Our Nepalese birding leader however had a cunning plan.

And so our journey began. we were driven a short distance to a local airfield and boarded what I can only call an Indiana Jones type small aeroplane. We were given pieces of cotton wool for our ears(for the noise) and we made the flight above the foothills of the Himalayas(marvellous views) and landed at a small aerodrome reasonably close to Chitwan. However there was still some distance to go, so we made progress to the river(which was on the wrong side of the National Park) by donkey carts. When we reached the river we were greeted by 4 dugout canoes, which we duly boarded(rather gingerly) and ferried across the river. However we were still a short distance from our encampment, so we were interested to see several elephants, which we duly climbed onto and which took us the short distance through the forest to our encampment. Job done. So, no hitchhiking but in one day we travelled by car, aeroplane, donkey, dugout canoe and elephant.Loved every minute of it.

A couple of days later an agreement was made between the King and the Maoists allowing normal travel and the country was reopened. In fact this eventually led to the King's abdication and a parliament in which the Maoists were represented, although many problems still remain.

[torridon]

Hehe what fun; you can't go to Nepal without having some sort of adventure.  Last time I went to Chitwan we got chased by a white rhino, in the dark, through long grasses, our guide having gotten us too close and startled it.  Still we all survived to tell the tale.  Quite apart from the trekking and the wildlife, the white water rafting is just awesome in Nepal. I rafted the Kali Ghandaki river once, took about a week all in all sleeping on the river banks taking all supplies with us as there was no village and no roads en route.  Not sure I'd be up to it now, having gotten used to a little more comfort 

[Enki]

That sounds fantastic, Torri.  What a marvellous time you must have had. For me, this inbuilt desire to see as much wildlife as possible(especially birds) has led me into some very unusual locations and circumstances. I think if we had met each other when younger there would have been some memorable tales to relate.