Hedgecutter Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 How many P&Bers have stood thumbs-up at the side of the road looking to hitch a ride? Is it fair game, just cheapskate behaviour, or a thought simply too terrifying for you to consider? Personally, my only experience to date came after inadvertently overcarrying on the train and missing the only bus of the day. Having made the executive decision to dump myself in the middle of the countryside sans car, I vividly remember me instantly regretting my decision as I watched the train pull away, and sticking a thumb up to strangers/disinterested drivers for the first time. I think I waited well over three hours for a lift having walked at least 6 miles, not helped by nobody heading my direction at that time of day. By the time I got to my destination I could have genuinely flown to Cape Town instead, but I eventually got there. Alive. I feel better for the experience though. Anyway, hitchhikers (expert or new): tell us your tales... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Ferrino Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Welcome to our newest poster, Laurie Driver. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 3 hours ago, Hedgecutter said: How many P&Bers have stood thumbs-up at the side of the road looking to hitch a ride? Is it fair game, just cheapskate behaviour, or a thought simply too terrifying for you to consider? Personally, my only experience to date came after inadvertently overcarrying on the train and missing the only bus of the day. Having made the executive decision to dump myself in the middle of the countryside sans car, I vividly remember me instantly regretting my decision as I watched the train pull away, and sticking a thumb up to strangers/disinterested drivers for the first time. I think I waited well over three hours for a lift having walked at least 6 miles, not helped by nobody heading my direction at that time of day. By the time I got to my destination I could have genuinely flown to Cape Town instead, but I eventually got there. Alive. I feel better for the experience though. Anyway, hitchhikers (expert or new): tell us your tales... Missed Lairg and ended up in Rogart?! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Hitchhiking and/or picking up hitchhikers is a surefire way to get yourself murdered, because only a fucking lunatic would do either. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 (edited) Hitchhiking imo is more a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures. I'd imagine most do it only when it's the only option. A good friend and I had to walk the 5 hours back from Cardiff city centre to St Athan around ten years ago. We had been on the piss, spent all our money and had no other means of getting back. Periodically we walked with thumbs out trying to hitch-hike, occasionally pretending he was injured to garner sympathy which didn't work. We even asked a couple of policemen if they could give us a lift home when they were stopped at a garage, but they couldn't or wouldn't - I can't remember. That was the Friday night, but by the Saturday night I was crammed into the boot of someones car heading to Swansea. Mad times. Edited November 17, 2023 by 2426255 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 39 minutes ago, 2426255 said: That was the Friday night, but by the Saturday night I was crammed into the boot of someones car heading to Swansea. Mad times. One of the risks you take when you hitch a lift. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 I needed to get to Embra from near Aberdeen and hitched a lift from some guy in a transit as far as Arbroath. As well as not being very helpful (although it saved some £££ on the bus fare) it was terrifying. He seemed fine enough, had a bit of a frankie goes to Hollywood look, but the only seat apart from the drivers chair was a ricketty cheap dining chair that wasn't attached and kept rattling about. I was with a friend and would have shat it solo. A friend and i once hitched from Portlethen to Newtonhill (maybe 2 miles) which annoyed the driver. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in Denny Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 I did it in the 70s, got to Old Kilpatrick, thumb out and lifts to Glencoe (both ways) with no problem, mostly around teatime on Fridays. Was all around England at one point the same way, even got a lift outside Stamford on the A1 and got a lift almost to my door. Dunno if I'd try it now.. never seem to see any one with the thumb out these days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgecutter Posted November 17, 2023 Author Share Posted November 17, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, RH33 said: Missed Lairg and ended up in Rogart?! More accurately, missed my stop at Lairg despite sitting on the train in Lairg for about quarter of an hour (waiting on the Wick-Inverness train to pass, according to the guard) whilst I chatted away with some lass at my table. Not my finest moment. Went to pub in Golspie for a few hours waiting on the train coming back, and ended up walking from Lairg station with all my kit, which is a couple of miles out of Lairg (you don't really notice it as much in the car). Not a tactic I'd recommend. Edited November 17, 2023 by Hedgecutter 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 My ex-brother in law would pick up any hitchhiker if they looked like squaddies. He was a soldier himself and if someone was at the side of the road and he got some weird vibe, he'd give them a lift. I remember once being in the car when he did this. I was about 14 and thought he was mental, letting a mass murderer in the car. But, because the guy was wearing boots and a camouflage looking coat, he got a lift. He was a squaddie as it turned out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 We weren't hitchhiking per se but the 1st wife and me were walking to our flat from MFI with 6 flat-pack kitchen chairs and a good c**t stopped and gave us a lift. I regretted not getting the table at the same time! On another occasion I had bought a couple of lengths of round bar and fittings for our windows and was really struggling but a mate of mine's dad happened to pass (by an amazing coincidence more or less in the same place as the above incident) and took the bag of fittings to my flat. I was still left with the lengths of pole though! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 (edited) I used to hitch hike home from Dunfermline after a night out when I was younger when I wasn't able to get a taxi. I was surprisingly successful and was never once murdered. Was only about 9 or 10 times mind. Edited November 17, 2023 by DA Baracus 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 I remembered another short hitch-hiking story just from reading the other tales. I was a passenger in a car with another mate, a South African guy who was the driver and there was a black man in the middle of nowhere trying to hitch a ride. My South African mate is generally very fair and reasonable, but in this case he refused to pick up the hitch-hiker based on the colour of his skin and had no problem expressing that openly saying it was a trust issue that developed back in his home country, so we just drove on by. That was before BLM and those type of events happened so no idea if he still holds those trust issues, but I'd imagine he does. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Roger Waters has a whole album about this. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Belt Caley Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 I drove past a guy in Buchlyvie at half 5 in the morning with his thumb out, shook my head to say no chance and pretty sure he called me a w****r 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 42 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 5 hours ago, Tony Ferrino said: Welcome to our newest poster, Laurie Driver. There's an old joke about hitchhiking and a Harry Lauder song 'Annie Laurie' (Any lorry)........can't remember the joke though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Hedgecutter said: More accurately, missed my stop at Lairg despite sitting on the train in Lairg for about quarter of an hour (waiting on the Wick-Inverness train to pass, according to the guard) whilst I chatted away with some lass at my table. Not my finest moment. Went to pub in Golspie for a few hours waiting on the train coming back, and ended up walking from Lairg station with all my kit, which is a couple of miles out of Lairg (you don't really notice it as much in the car). Not a tactic I'd recommend. Yup, built for easy transport of livestock to the Mart rather than in the village. You've told that story before! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alta-pete Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 5 hours ago, RH33 said: Missed Lairg and ended up in Rogart?! Is this some teuchter equivalent to not getting off at Haymarket? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MazzyStar Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 RPReplay_Final1700220257.mov 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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