In a series of letters reflecting on travel experiences from past decades, several individuals recounted journeys marked by unexpected challenges and acts of generosity.

Fred Wilson from Newcastle upon Tyne described his time playing for Durham University’s second chess team in the mid-1960s, highlighting the precarious conditions faced during away matches. The team traveled in an old van with only two seats and no seat belts. Due to a technical issue where fuel could not flow directly from the petrol tank to the engine, a makeshift solution was used: a tube with a funnel was installed behind the driver’s seat. Six passengers sat on the floor, one holding a bucket of petrol that was manually ladled into the funnel to keep the vehicle running. The extent of the team’s trips depended on how far they could travel and return on a single bucket of fuel.

Pam Booth from Hathersage, Derbyshire, shared a family trip to the South of France that turned into an unintended adventure. After arriving at Dover, a strike halted boat travel to Calais. Instead, the family was rerouted to a ship returning to Ostend, which was overcrowded and had no food supplies. Upon reaching Belgium, they continued by train via Brussels to Paris, where Pam’s eight-year-old son managed to secure seating by climbing through a train window. During the journey, a local man provided ham rolls by passing them through the window, an act Booth compared to being treated like “monkeys in the zoo.” Though they missed the planned Blue Train route, the family’s journey was memorable for its unexpected twists.

Mike Harris from West Hill, Devon, reflected on a different kind of travel encounter during a trip in 1966. After accepting a lift from a German businessman on the autobahn, Harris experienced an act of gratitude from the driver. Following a long drive and lunch, the businessman presented Harris with a bottle of premium Würzburg wine. He explained the gesture was inspired by seeing the Union flag on Harris’s rucksack and wanting to express appreciation for the kindness shown to him during World War II, when he was held as a prisoner of war on a farm in Cornwall.

These recollections illustrate how travel in previous eras often involved resourcefulness and unexpected human connections, ranging from pragmatic fuel management to symbolic gestures of goodwill.