How we got around

Hitching was fun and what made it so popular was because it was easy and safe. Don’t forget this was in the early fifties. All we had to do was to get to the road that would take us towards our destination and start hitching. Before long someone would turn up. He would lean forward and beckon you to hop in before even finding out where you were heading for. If you were lucky he would even drive you to your destination if it was not too far out of his way. It was easy because they were curious and would like to find out where you were from.
It was quite common for some to insist that you share their lunch with them while they enjoyed a conversation with you. It happened to many of us. Those were the days when people felt safe. Things like robbery and drugs were not common. Nobody expected to be robbed by the people they had picked up.
This was not only true in the British Isles but in the continent as well. I hitch hiked most of the time when I was alone or travelling with someone else. We hitched hiked through Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland on one of our summer holidays. We took the train from Geneva to Paris because the French were not too happy to stop for strangers.
We had had lifts in cars, trucks, and at one stage a friend of mine accepted a lift on a motorbike as a pillion. It took him from the Belgium border to some small town inside Germany. We met later that evening at the appointed youth hostel.
I did try cycling once but the wind was so strong it blew me over the kerb and that as the end of my cycling experience.
The other mode of transportation was by coach. Coaches were mostly used for group travels. Trains were also popular.
Youth hostelling helped to keep our cost down.
The good thing about Youth Hostels was their locations. They were usually found in the pristine countryside within walking distance from the main roads. They were places where the young people met and exchanged ideas.
The present day breed of youth hostellers are the backpackers.