04-03-2023, 04:16 PM
(03-03-2023, 07:53 PM)Duncan Grimmond Wrote: I regularly hitched from Birmingham to Harrogate for weekends home from college in the early 1970s having done several summer holidays hitching around Europe. I had such good experiences (and improved my foreign languages so much) that I saw it as an obligation to reciprocate for the kindness (wined, dined, accommodated etc) I received. The experiences made me a confirmed Europhile.
My best lift ever was a "oner" from Thessalonika to Trieste.
My experience has been much the same Duncan. Whilst I always prepared for the worst, and would encourage others to do so, I have in fact encountered overwhelming kindness on my various travels far more often than any sort of unpleasantness - to the extent that coming home often feels thoroughly miserable.
I did my share of hitch-hiking in my student days and met some lovely people. The main reason I wouldn't care to do it again is that not all of them were competent drivers (like the American guy who tried to pull a U-turn on the M1) & on occasions I felt safer walking.