Hitch hiking

I used to offer lifts to strangers.
But I did it once when my kids were in the car. My husband was most upset, and said I shouldnt being doing such a dangerous thing. So I then stopped.
We barely see hitchhikers where I live any more. Dont know why.

All the time- I used to hitch-hike all over in the late 60s. We've even invited hitch-hikers to have a meal and stay- as my mum used to do. Only one bad minor experience in all those years.

My friend and I used to hitch-hike in the late 60s. We had very little money and it was the only way we could get to pop festivals ect. We thought nothing of it then.

We also hitch-hiked on our own! There was only ever one man who made suggested remarks to me and tried to put his hand on my leg, but fortunately he didn't insist...

I'd be horrified at the thought of any of my children or GC doing it now, though!

Living in a rural area, hitch hikers were common, not so any longer, very rare. If I missed the only bus from the station, I used to start walking the 3 miles home, never walked further than 1/2 mile. But that was 30+ years ago.Most people consider it too dangerous nowadays for either party.

I remember heading off on a long drive, picked up a squaddie (live close to Colchester barracks) thinking he would be good company. He fell asleep within minutes and only woke up when we arrived at his destination (somewhere near Stonehenge I think).

I havn't hitched since college days in the 60's. I used to offer a lift to the under gamekeeper if I ever saw him walking home as he was rather dishy. Fat lot of good it did me !

I`ve never even dreamt of hitching lifts, but one Christmas morning, when I was 16 or 17, I had to be at work for 8am, the buses didn`t start running till 9am, so I set off to walk (it was 3 miles into the centre of Rochdale). My grandma, who I lived with, was on the doorstep watching me go, the next thing I knew, she`d flagged down a passing car, and asked the driver to give me a lift into town, which he did, but I was scared stiff all the way, expecting to be ravished any minute, when the poor man was just doing a good turn!

When I lived in Cornwall I used to hitch lifts to work; no transport of my own and no bus service. Used to hitch home to Birmingham and sometimes to London. When I had my own car I gave lifts to others as a sort of repayment. Would never do it now [either give or receive lifts] and would never have let my children do so. Met so many amazing people whilst hitching. When did the world turn into such a dangerous place, I wonder ?

I think hitchhiking used to be seen as dangerous for the person picking up the hitchhiker.
Then at some point, it was realised that it was actually potentially just as dangerous for the hitchhiker themselves, and that may be why it doesnt happen as much now?

The only good guide is
Trumpets!
Full fanfare

THE HITCH HIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY!

I'd have thought it was the other way round, soontobe!

Well, I admit I did have to think carefully which came first. My memory is not perfect so I thought carefully.
And I concluded that I seem to remember it was the way round that I posted.
And also, hitchhikers wouldnt have kept on doing it in the first instance if they perceived it as being hugely dangerous.

Mind you, drivers wouldnt have picked them up if they thought it was too dangerous?
grr, I am confused myself now.
I know it is time for bed when that happens!
Goodnight everyone.

Did you actually do any hitch-hiking, soontobe?

We knew it was potentially dangerous, but what the heck, we were young, broke and didn't think anything bad would actually happen to us.

Of course it was dangerous, flagging down a stranger and leaping into their car! A couple of young girls would hardly pose any threat.

Only in later decades did picking up a stranger become more risky for the driver, as after the age of 'peace and love' had passed, carjacking and the targeting of lone drivers for criminal purposes gained momentum.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Oh, I see you've gone! Goodnight, anyway.

I hitched all over the place when I was younger – although I never told my mother. The best time was when I stuck out my thumb 5 minutes after leaving home in a London suburb and got a lift all the way to Dubrovnik.

Friends and I used to hitch in the late 60's early 70's all the 'action' (boys on holiday) was in the next town. Friday and Saturday nights hitching became a regular thing.

I would discourage anyone from doing it now though.

me hitchhike! You have got to be joking. I was a timid mouse back then.
I would still be wary of it.

I think the first way round I posted.
From what I can dimly remember, hitchhiking started to get a bit less anyway[I suppose there less people without cars]. Plus there were some high profile cases of harm to hitchhikers?
I thought one of the cases might have been the Yorkshire Ripper, but I had a brief look, and couldnt see that he was involved with hhs.

absent were you by yourself? I hitched all over the place too though can't better Dubrovnik!

I did, as a teenager, I travelled all over the north of England and Scotland. Had some interesting rides, a Laird, a pig carrier and someone we think may have been the Duke of Northumberland but I was pretty ignorant about nobility, he did have a Bentley though.

Ooh if we are doing celebrity hitching I and a friend once got a lift from Edwin Starr and his road manger. They invited us to stay over and go to his gig, but I had a boyfriend waiting for me so we didn't go. And it was the hitching that was considered dangerous, once got picked up by a police patrol car, outside a town. He gave us a lift to the nearest bus stop and told us we were risking our lives. Of course once he had gone we went back to hitching. We were young and thought we were invincible!!

I hitched a lift home on the back of a workmans scooter in my early teens; in mid teens was with my Norwegian girl friend in N Norway and we hitched a lift to our B&B; hitched a lift to my hotel with my boyfriend in London - that was a bit dodgy being a car full of lads- late teens and when I was doing some research at a college in Cambridge I asked a bloke going to his car in the car park for directions to the railway station and he offered to take me and I accepted! That was only 10 years ago. I don't think I'd do it now and certainly wouldn't advise my children or GC to do it.

bookdreamer On that occasion yes and Dubrovnik wasn't specifically my destination but, given the opportunity… I also used to hitch with others, although never more than two of us at a time. On another occasion, my friend and I were given a lift by the two Scottish guys who used to play songs on the BBC Tonight programme. (Would that be Robin Hall and Jimmy McGregor?) We were freezing cold and very wet on our way back from a spontaneous and chilly weekend on the Isle of Wight in the middle of winter. Not only did they go out of their way to drop us back directly outside our college gates, but bought us hot toddies in a pub on the way there.

Yes, early this summer. I knew one, an 18 year old boy, a friend of my son's. He was waiting for the bus and I was going into town. A young woman was also waiting so I offered her a lift too! She was Spanish, from Seville and was going into town for the first time since she had moved to the UK with her English boyfriend, so was very happy to have a guide. As I finished all the things I needed to do (I had shown her where to catch a bus back) I saw her again walking to the bus station, so I took her back to her house.

I had a French boyfriend as a teenager, and he thought nothing of hitch-hiking. I never told my mother, but when he came to stay with us we used to travel from Tunbridge Wells to Brighton or London, always lorries because they said their journeys were so long that they got bored and liked to have company.

Amazing that we have all survived ;)

My most epic hitch-hike was back from the Isle of Wight Festival 1970- had not washed or slept for about 5 days- and there were 1000s of us lining the road. I had the idea to take out my little Swiss flag out of my rucksack- and I was picked up by a young couple almost straightaway and gave me a lift back all the way to West London, where I lived.