Hitchhiking - did/do you ever hitch? Or pick up hitchhikers?

All the time, luckiest was when we came out of Ayrsome Park Middlesbrough around 1974, my mate stuck his thumb out and a lorry stopped, the geezer said
“ where you going lads,
my mate said
“London”
what part he said, “
“south London Tooting,
“ Garret lane any good”
That was the next road to where we lived

 

I travel a lot around the south west. The only people I ever see are the trade plate drivers. I've never picked anyone up, I think society is in a place now that makes it far too risky.
For example I was recently approached by a lone female in the services at around 11pm. See was a little rough around the edges and driving an older C Class Merc, parked in a dark corner away from the lit area. She walked straight up to me and said "can you look at my car to see if it has a flat tyre", as the warning light had come on on the dash. No hello, no excuse me, nothing.
The very first thing I thought if was "yeah and when I'm bending down to look, either you or your bloke will wack me, or scream that I did something or touched you"
I just said if it's flat you'll see it by looking and kept walking.
10 years ago, I would have gone, looked and probably changed the wheel for her.

 

Hello everyone,

hitchhiker rather unusual in city limits and today...
In the 70s it was much more - lot of young people waiting at the city limits to get far away.

But when traveling or overland, you can easily take hitchhikers with you, especially on the bus. We/I have often had guests on board across Europe.
And when we have a long return trip to out camp site or hotel at our travels , we (as an old couple) try that too - with success.

regards,

 

You probably judged it correctly,
If she was legit, i would have thought she should have stopped near the pumps in a lighted area..?

 

I've never hitched myself, but have picked up a few. 26th May 1989 I picked up a Liverpudlian at an exit of the M11 and took him as far as Bury St Edmunds. I can be very specific about that, as it was the last day of the football season and he was a mad keen Liverpool fan. Arsenal needed to win by two goals at Anfield to take the title, which they famously did. I had the game on on the radio, and whilst not a big Arsenal fan thoroughly enjoyed the drive, unfortunately, my passenger didn't.

Also used to give lifts to people crossing the Studland chain ferry when I visited my Grandparents in Swanage. You had to pay per foot passenger, but only once per car. I remember one young guy who after we'd crossed onto the Isle of Purbeck started giving me directions to his parents (very large) house.

 

Hitched every day to work doing my HGV apprenticeship for 2 years .
The same haulage company's picked me up as they knew i worked at the Mackworth truck Centre .
Old fodens Barlow and Hodgkinsons ltd (remember them Malc ) Sellers and Kent Ilam ...Sam Longson Chapel en le Frith .

I was usually still half cut in the mornings being bounced around in the old cabs . Then bought a hillman Avenger for the remaining Apprenticeship, when that went bust a moggy van .
I always picked folk up who were hitching but always gave a second glance if they looked dodgey .

 

You don't really see them anymore do you - Hitchhikers.

I picked on up by Queens Medical center in Nottingham wanting to go to Leicester - I could get him to the Loughbhorough Junction - all good.

He got in - we got stuck in traffic for a couple of hours and both concluded he'd have got to the M1 junction faster had he walked.


Ah well.....

 

I used to hitch a lot as a student, especially when my new Triumph T140 had seized and I had a long argument with the factory about who was going to mend it (they did in the end).

Hitching down to Meriden to pick it up, I was dropped off near the NEC when I noticed cans of lager all over the road. Many were split, but I picked up as many as I could carry in a large cardboard box that I also found, then sat on a log and proceeded to drink as many of the rest as possible rather than leave free beer, that would have been so wrong.

I gave a few cans to an Indian doctor who picked me up, he took me to Meriden, where the Triumph guys helped me tie the box on the back. They didn’t seem concerned that I was clearly half cut, nowadays someone would have called the Police.

 

Used to hitch hike all the time to a club at the Longleat estate in Wiltshire called Oscars. Used to get picked up by car loads of drunk girls, normally.
I would just sit at the side of the road, licking my eyebrows.
Never failed.

 

Like everyone else in the 60s - we hitched often - Mrs Cunny as a student used to all the time usually with a friend . Then when I got my own transport would frequently pick up hitch hikers as I had been there - but not picked up one for many years although rarely see one now.
Love the old joke -
Hitchhiker to driver - " aren't you worried that you might pick up a homicidal maniac in your car " - Driver - " No what are the chances of there being two in the same car" .

 

That’s Nottingham for you!

 

i picked up some germans in Scotland recently? i always try and pick anyone up as I've hitchhiked all over south America!

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