Remember when people used to go "visiting"

I'm 59 and this is not familiar to me ....its not something we ever did...maybe it was also dependant on where you lived? ....I lived in a Yorkshire city as a child...very working class

i'm imagining cousin B and family set out to visit cousin A; who unfortunately was not at home, having gone to cousin B's house . . .

I think it could be a Northern thing. Really, pre phones and before most had cars, just a way of visiting relatives? My DF worked on Saturdays, so once a fortnight Mum and I would get the bus to visit her Aunts and cousins a few miles away - this would be the late ‘50s. Tea would be provided with ham sandwiches and cake, etc, and this visit would be reciprocated a fortnight later. Then most Sundays, my Dad’s aunt and uncle, who had a car, would call for morning coffee, then after lunch, Dad and I would get 2 buses to visit his parents about 10 miles away. It was a nightmare in winter, with the return buses often cancelled - we’d stand for hours at freezing bus stops. Then, after I passed the 11+ Mum said I shouldn’t be going, as I had homework - but then I had to accompany DGM to Evensong on Sunday evenings! Out of the frying pan?
My Mum’s mother and her favourite Aunt lived in the same street, so no need for the more ‘formal’ visits there.

I remember visiting my grandmother and my cousins on a Sunday afternoon. They all lived in various houses in the posh part of North London. We lived in the East End.

They didn't visit us very often.They were on my mother's side of the family and I think my father used to get fed up as we went nearly every week.

I am quite a bit older than you flappergirl so maybe it was a dying "tradition".

I can remember my favourite aunty and uncle plus my two cousins doing this. They had a car so it was easy for them to visit. We loved it, my cousins would pass on clothes and the Jackie magazine for us girls. My aunty always gave us a 2bob piece when they left and told us to spend half and buy saving stamps with the other half.
I always remember one Easter when they sat in our garden and my lovely auntie ended up with a bright red nose from the sun....no sunscreen in those days. Brings tears to my eyes thinking of those visits, I loved them all so much.

My husbands family still do this, sadly without the gifts!

As an army family, always on the move, with uncles in the army amd other jobs that took them all round the country and overseas, no, there was no 'visiting'tradition.

Maybe I just caught the last remnants of this tradition Indigo8. Funnily enough, my Dad hated "visiting". He would far rather have stayed home gardening. Although we had some relatives that lived in the depths of Wiltshire and he never minded that too much because my uncle made homemade wine!

My family visited always took a box of biscuits or cakes ,never went empty handed.When I met my OH we visited all the relatives on both sides before the wedding.We never announced it and most houses the doors weren’t locked so knock and walk in .We had the same scenario after we got married and folk would arrive out of the blue to see the house and bring plants for the garden.I never understood the having to make arrangements before visiting family or friends ,they were and are always welcome as we were then

Yes no such thing as phones then we went to see our gran on a Saturday and we took her a bag of her favourite sweets.

Sometimes we had visits from relatives who lived down south my uncle was in the RAF. My mum would prepare a nice buffet for them it was a treat for us to see our cousins.

It was the late 60s and early 70s none of the family had phones my gran would have had a letter from my uncle that he would be up to visit us all. It was just taken for granted that we would be in and we would be.

I can remember visiting as a family, usually to cousins and aunts. My father was brought up by an aunt and we visited her about every 3 months or so. On these visits I was expected to keep out of the way and play with my cousins until we were called in for "tea".

I was also taken to see my grandmother (by another aunt) on the second sunday of every month. It was a ritual because we were not on the phone (although my grandmother and aunt were). The visit to my grandmother was specifically so that she could see me. She liked to listen to me reading and also taught me many skills such as crochet, embroidery and patchwork.

I can't remember relatives ever visiting us. Probably because we were the poor relations and lived in a tiny terraced house with only a back yard. All the relatives we visited lived in larger houses with gardens.

Yes, I was brought up in the Welsh valleys in the late 40s/ 50s. Lots of family around and they would often turn up on a Sunday . My mam always made an apple tart … in case. Or we might go to see my grandmas. Always two buses for that and a walk.

I remember “visiting” over Christmas and Easter. We went to see uncles and aunts of my father’s, that we only saw then. They were boring, stuck up; their grandchildren who were the same age as us were horrible to us. Not a happy memory.

This was in a French tropically island in the early 1950s.

There also used to be endless condolence visits…

My parents where not the sociable type, mum an only child, dad had falken out with his 5 brothers and sister.

No visitors, no friends allowed in at any time.

My brother is not very welcoming to visitors unless immediate family.

I like to know people are coming so I can have and prepare food to welcome them.

I dont visit unless invited, and never go empty handed.

We didn't go visiting because we did not have a car and my father was disabled. We did, however have lots and lots of visits, especially for Sunday teas. My mother would make bridge rolls, meringues with cream, Victoria sponge cakes etc. There was always lots of conversation and laughter. (South-East England).

Yes, Sundays were often when we had visitors.

Thinking particularly of one of Dad’s nieces, married to a chap in the RAF, they lived in married quarters on the RAF station a few miles away. We enjoyed their visits, mum made tinned salmon sandwiches and opened tins of peaches and evaporated milk for tea. I expect we were a good way of passing an afternoon and getting a free tea.

We sometimes visited relatives, but always after tea as dad had a smallholding and was always busy with the animals, (his excuse). The visits were to elderly relatives, very boring for me and my sister. Sometimes we went to another uncle who had cousins our age, we always hoped the car would turn ‘left’ out of our drive as we knew that was where we would end up. If we turned ‘right’, it meant the old lot.

My mother always kept a tin of salmon in the pantry to be used for unexpected visitors. We didn't do "visiting" but once we got a car we used to do "drives out to the country" often with a picnic.

Oh yes, happy carefree days. I was born in 1950 and family tradition was to visit or have visitors on a Sunday afternoon, after going to Sunday School.

Tea would be bread and butter, salad and sometimes a tin of salmon, trifle for ‘afters’.

My paternal gp’s lived in the East End and we often had winkles bought from a travelling van. Bread and butter and cake to follow, when we visited them.

Our posh relatives lived in Sheffield, so only remember a few times visiting. Great Auntie May was a bit like the Downton Abbey dowager. I remember not speaking, only to say hello, please and Thankyou and sitting beautifully at the tea table. I always took a book or colouring books and sat quietly whilst listening to the grown ups. I loved it.

Oh yes, I remember having to put on my 'pretty' dress or 'good' coat to visit various Aunties. Loved it. Often involved a trip on a bus. Don't know if it was pre arranged or spontaneous as we certainly didn't have phones. I guess there must have been some sort of arrangement or the intended hosts may well have been out.

We did visit relatives occasionally and they visited us , but it was extremely formal .
I absolutely hated having to get dressed up !
My own friends have been far more casual .
We don't make appointments in order to visit .

No - not my experience. As a sports writer my father was at his typewriter on a Sunday and we didn't have a car anyway.
I do remember the concept of going for a drive though - "Sonntag spazieren fahren"when staying with relatives in Germany - drive somewhere, Kaffee und Kuchen and drive home again !

We did it only very occasionally, and not formally, because we had no family anywhere near, and until I was 11, no car. So there would be the occasional tea at the paternal granny’s house- that was it really.

Not my experience either, tho it all seems very posh and rather nice.
We didn’t have a car and just went round to friends relatives and neighbours when the mood took us.😄 Dropping in fits better than visiting, the same thing really I guess.People just expected to be taken as you found them.

Cornwall/Devon/Sussex

Always lots of visits/visiting by family.

Most weekends there was a get together by family living close by and cards were played (whist) tea consumed - sandwiches, cake etc and later supper, usually a buffet type affair.

Longer visits (a week or so) to or from family in nice parts of the country - so Cornwall, Devon and later Brighton. Relatives from London would visit regularly for the day or weekend.

I enjoyed it all as a child as everyone was relaxed and normal routine was pushed aside. I especially liked visiting one particularly posh relative, - an aunt - as I got to play on the rocking horse and other lovely toys like a huge dolls house, although these visits always seemed tinged with sadness as her son - flying spitfires got shot down and killed.

I was born in 1946 - West Country.