BACKPACKING BY TRAIN

As well as the author's story of his travels, this book has another function - a comprehensive TRAVEL GUIDE for the present-day backpacker and tourist. It contains various headings, icons, maps and indexes that provide information about travel and accommodations in towns, cities and localities of interest. There have been many changes since the author visited these countries, but the main historical sights of churches. museums, famous buildings and landscape are unchanged except, sadly, for the receding glaciers. This book is about young Australians who ventured abroad in the early 1950s. We travelled by steamship to and from the UK. We were British citizens travelling on British passports and once we stepped ashore in the UK we were accorded all of the benefits the English people enjoyed. In particular the free UK National Health Scheme. There were no work restrictions, and the author easily found work in his trade of fining and turning and had no trouble entering a busy and exciting English social life. While abroad, the author completed five backpacking tours. Three were tours of around two months duration in Europe, Scotland and Scandinavia and two were short tours in England. All were very successful with accommodation provided mostly by the worldwide Youth Hostels Association. The main modes of travel between destinations were by train and hitchhiking, but many other means of transport had to be used ranging from motorcycle, coach and aeroplane. The author skied for three wonderful weeks in Switzerland in the prime ski resorts of Zermatt and Grindelwald.