Using public transport as a child

I walked to school from age 5 and travelled alone overnight from SW Scotland to London on the train, crossed London on the tube and then on to Kent. I done that journey twice a year and never had an issue. It saddens me to see young adults that can barely cross the road on their own

I went to a secondary school two bus rides away but was with my older sister until she left when I was 14. I also had to go to physio’ 3 x per week - an extra bus ride straight after school. I found it quite liberating travelling on my own after so long . In the 6th form , some bus conductors insisted that I pay full fare but wanted me to vacate my seat for adults when the need arose because I was in school uniform . Bit of a quandary!

Travelled on two buses into and out of the city when I was 11 to Grammar School carrying all manner of things plus the usual satchel heaving with homework. Came home in the dark in winter.

Parents … where the heck did ostentatious creep into that!?!?

Been hopping on/ off buses since i was 8 , and my big bro was 9. We lived just 10 miles from London and quite a few times , from 11 onwards , me and big bro would skip school and nip on a train to London ….and navigate around by ourselves….always with eye on his ‘Hop-along -Cassidy) watch , so we knew when to get back to our house, ready for when school was out!
Once we hooked onto a party of American tourists going around St .Pails Cathederal ….we had a great time in whispering gallery.
We were adventurous …independent rogues…and our ostentatious knew all about our trips…and as long as we didn’t fall behind in the schoolwork …they considered learning g to navigate london was a necessity of life.

my understanding is that the sign relates to TB. I was brought up in Brum and remember those signs. I've also read novels from other parts of the country which had similar signs relating to TB

There was a bus service that passed the end of our road when I was growing up - buses were every 10 minutes and took passengers either into town or the opposite direction further into the estate. I remember catching it with friends to go to the tanner rush at the cinema on Saturday mornings when I was around eight years old. As long as there was a group of us and we stayed together our parents were not particularly concerned.

During school holidays we would be out and about most of the day and always looked out for each other - none of us were ever alone.

Rather like Ailidh, I walked to primary school on my own.

I managed to pass 11-plus, and my parents picked a grammar school that needed a train journey (1 an hour), it was about 50 mins door to school. After the Beeching axe of many train routes, inc that one, I had a couple of years of getting a bus to that school, a longer walk to the stop, and a longer journey. It was all very annoying, we lived a few hundred yards over a county boundary, if they'd bought the other side of that border, I'd have had a much shorter journey to an even better school, but I doubt they realised when buying the place.

Now we live in a 'village', pretty much a suburb of the next- door town, and though some do walk to school, they're usually accompanied, and the householders near the school gate constantly complain about cars dropping-off and later collecting their precious cargo!

I lived in a large village. I walked to school by myself or, more often, with friends from the age of seven in the top infants. When I was eight, I caught the bus by myself to take me to the next village for my piano lesson. By the time I was ten, I would cycle all over the Norfolk countryside with my friend. We lived in a small close with a lane at the bottom of it and fields with sheds behind. We played in groups of friends from a young age with the older children being in charge. This was the late sixties to the mid seventies and was considered quite normal at the time.

I walked to school from the age of five, along with my six and seven year old brother and sister. The first bus journey I remember taking alone was when I was nine years old. I had to go to a haberdashery shop and buy three newborn size baby vests and three baby nighties; thus confirming my suspicion that my mum had (yet another) baby in her tummy. Before that I went on bus journeys to my nana’s house with my sister who was two years older than me.

My grandchildren love coming to stay with me because it’s the only time they ever go on a bus or train. In fact my son sent me a photo a couple of weeks ago - at school my five year old granddaughter had made a model of a bus and wrote about it. 😄

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Re message from Ailidh

I recall seeing signs on buses saying ‘Spitting not allowed. Offenders will be prosecuted’, when we visited relatives in Erdington, Birmingham. This would have been (c) very late 1960’s/early 1970’s.

I was a young teenager and couldn’t believe what I was reading. We didn’t have any signs like that on our buses in Bristol - and never had!!

I thought it must be because the air wasn’t so clean as in the South and so people had a build up of uggy phlegm in their throats!

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I lived in a village and use to walk with my friend to school and back four times a day at the age of 5.
We used to go on the bus together into the next town 3 miles away age about 7. either to Saturday morning pictures or we used to go round the shops with half a crown to spend.
I can remember us getting on the wrong bus once to come home.
We used to go out over the fields from about 7 years old all day. Take a picnic down among the fir trees at the old ironstone quarry. Climbing up and down the sides of the quarry.
A few of us used to go bike riding quite far away from about 9 years old.
Happy days.

The greatest danger to children lies in their own home, from parents, grandparents, siblings other relations and family friends.

I discussed this aspect of danger far more fully with my children (back in the 1970s) than i did stranger danger.

I'm sure some people have inbuilt navigation systems, Lovemylife. One of my DC has, he could have been my "satnav" from the age of 3 or 4 even though he didn't roam alone at that age.

Welcome Lovemylife From my own experience I would agree with those findings.

Taking the plunge and attempting my first post on here!
I’ve almost finished Wayfinding by Michael Bond, a fascinating book dealing with navigating, getting lost and so on. His statistics show that a child’s ‘home range’ - the distance from home they are allowed to roam while playing by themselves - has declined over the last two to three generations in every country where it has been measured, in some cases by more than 90%. The number of assaults, abductions etc on children has declined significantly in the last three decades, but the perception of ‘stranger danger’ has skyrocketed.

I think we just played outside till we were hungry, but so few children now seem to be allowed anywhere by themselves.

At age 7. I was put on a bus to go and visit an aunt, going from Lancashire to Wolverhampton. I was sat next to an elderly lady who was not too happy to be expected to look after a strange child. Not an onerous task as I was a quiet, well behaved child. The driver knew where I had to get off. I don't remember coming home so I don't know if I did the journey in reverse or if my parents came to collect me.
Living on the first street of council houses built after the war, all the houses had children. We all played out as a group, going into town and the coast. and over the fields to the next town. Walking ,cycling , rollerskating and sometimes on the local bus. Great fun until age 11 then just lots of homework from Grammar school, to which I walked or cycled .

It’s so frightening listening to some of you ladies going out on your own at the age of 5
My youngest grandson is that age and none of us would dream of leaving him go outside the house on his own he’s just a baby
There were evil people around in those days too look at the Moors Murders for example.

We lived down a long country lane, 2 miles from school, and up to the age of eight the school taxi took us.

When reaching eight we cycled the distance, whatever the weather! There were three of us riding side by side down a narrow path, one of us wobbling and knocking us all off our bikes.

I walked to primary school an my own at the age of 5 in East London. I was supposed to walk with her but she always met up with her friends. At age 4 and 5 my sister and I used to go to Grandparents on a bus by ourselves, dad would take us to the bus stop and we know which number bus to get on. and first journey alone was all the way to Hull in Yorkshire on the train, cganging at Doncaster when we were aged 3 and 4. Dad put us on the train, the guard ensured our changeover at Doncaster went smoothly and our aunts met us at Paragon station in Hull.

I walked to local school alone from age 7/8 and home again, no problem. I went on the buses to local areas alone from age 11. From age 13/14 I would travel to local train station get a ticket and travel into Paddington station then get the tube to Kilburn where my cousins lived usually I stayed overnight and travelled home the next day. I was confident travelling on trains and tube and never had any problems.

I was four. We had to move in with my Grandmother and each morning I was put in the charge of a schoolgirl called Patricia who lived down the road. It was her job to get me on the bus and make sure I got to school, and bring me home in the evening. She was about nine.

I have very clear memories of struggling up the stairs as the bus jerked along the road, desperately trying to keep up with Patricia. Getting off the bus was worse.

When I lived with my grandparents during the War, I walked 3 miles to the Village school and back again via the milking parlour - to pick up a can of fresh milk - and the bakers - to get freshbread.
My granddaughter used to flyback and forth to Holland from 5 yrs, where she was overseen by the air hostess to go through Customs etc.

I started using buses to get to and from school at 11yrs old soon as I started secondary school. I agree about kids being ferried around my grandchildren are ferried everywhere like precious cargo. 😳

I always walked to school and back on my own. When we moved house the walk was 2.7 miles, not too bad walking there but coming home involved a steep hill on the last leg! No wonder I was skinny! Not now though 😑