Draggletail Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Camping in the Lake District when I was seventeen with my mate. He took his mini van up Hardknott Pass which has gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%) It started tipping down on the way up and it really was touch and go, especially on the hairpin. Rain ceased, so we got out to view the remains of the Roman fort up there. On the way back to the car he discovered he'd lost his keys. And we're in the middle of nowhere, in weather, no passing vehicles whatsoever. Retraced footsteps and found keys trodden into the mud.... So the torrential rain had returned, we couldn't get back down the pass, no chance. The only option was to detour via Cockermouth, this took about two hours, maybe a bit more. Arrived back at the National Trust campsite at Dungeon Ghyll but had to leave the car at the top of the hill due to flooding - the whole campsite was under a good ten inch of water. Unzipped tent door and stuff floated out. We took down the tent and manhandled it up the hill to the Mini - two trips.... Set off in van, went through what looked like a puddle (it wasn't) - water in the electrics grounded us. Got out and had a look around,we saw a building with a light on, had a look, seemed unoccupied but the door was locked. Slept in Mini with condensation dripping down on to us from the metal roof. Morning came, looked again at the building - it was a safety refuse for stranded hikers ..... the door around the back was ..... unlocked. Got in van and set off home. The sun came out (and lasted for a good week after....) I started to sneeze. I had developed what was to be the cold from hell. Now, that was an adventure BTW - Hardknott Pass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyF Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 My adventure started when I joined the fire brigade in 1974 and lasted 28 years. Every day was an adventure and I loved every minute of it. I made some good friends and now have some wonderful memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johncocker Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 When I was 18 I got the magic bus from Athens to London, 3 days non-stop coach driving through Yugoslavia, Italy, France etc. I got romantically involved with the driver and ended up going back a week later, then back to Britain again 3 days later (the driver had been doing back to back trips for 7 months, 3.5 days each way!) There were two drivers, one slept on the back seat while the other drove, passing control over whilst moving, which was interesting to watch, they got one night's sleep in a hotel at each end of the 3 day trip). My job was to give them drinks of iced coffee and to talk to them so they didn't fall asleep. Occasionally they would stop and pour a bucket of water over their heads to keep awake. On the final return trip it went pear shaped, firstly it was overbooked so some passengers were given small wooden stools to sit on in the aisle, then we lost 2 passengers on the Greek border (they didn't have passports), we lost one driver after being searched by police in Belgrade (drugs smuggling related I was told), and we lost the coach in Switzerland (it was refused entry to France under new road safety rules)! We spent 3 days sleeping on the coach in the British Embassy carpark in Geneva before embarking on a new coach and home. I remember getting the magic bus in "76 " I think , 11 quid london to athens wasn'nt it?... then I hitchhiked from athens to afghanistan:loopy: and you had it off with the driver:love:you naughty girl hannypenny:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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