Guide on a Train

Tales of a tour guide taking a holiday – Interrailing around Europe again – 47 years after her first Interrail trip.

It was 1976 – one of the hottest summers in the UK’s history. I was 20, had just done my first year at university and cobbled together some savings from various summer jobs, including a stint in Selfridges and serving behind the bar in my parents pub. My old school friend Sheila and I decided we’d have an adventure. We were young, free and keen to have fun and see a bit more of the world.

So we booked 2 interrail tickets (£49 each I think they were) and set off to discover Europe. We had a blast, loads of laughs, fun filled days peppered with some narrow escapes and made fantastic memories. And we did it on a tiny budget, carried in American Express traveller cheques – remember those?  In the days before ubiquitous ATMs, contactless cards, mobile phones and the internet. No contacting friends or family for a month, apart from by occasional post card. No Eurostar. So we set off with our bright yellow back packs and sunny dispositions from Victoria station to catch the ferry and have carefree fun….

Below are photos from that first Interrail adventure: the first shows me with my school friend Sheila and the second, a group of us on a platform at Venice Station (I’m second from the right).

Now, 47 years later, with a husband in tow, and relatively carefree as our sons have grown up and fled the nest, I set off again. This time I have a few more miles on the clock and my body needs a bit more comfort than young Mo. So I bought two 1^st class interrail tickets and determined that this time I would do it in more style and with my husband. Not in luxury, but a step up from my memories of sleeping on beaches, boat decks and railway waiting rooms floors.

For the last 10 years or so I have worked as a London Blue Badge tour guide. So I regularly take tourists (largely Americans) and British groups around the sites and secret corners of London. This trip will therefore be a bit of a ‘busman’s holiday’, where I am the tourist not the tour guide. I hope to get under the skin of the places we visit and take in the every day feel of places, as well as the main sites. Including visiting examples of social housing as this was my previous career and I still do some voluntary work in housing.

The image of interrailing is generally of young students back packing their way around Europe on the equivalent of $10 a day. Indeed when I did it in 1976 the tickets were aimed solely at those aged 26 and under.

But these days interrail includes a decidedly older crowd. Indeed there is an extremely useful website called ‘Interrailing for the older crowd’ which has almost 19k members and is crammed with useful tips. Very inspirational as most of the travellers are 60+ and many are travelling solo.

Those in couples or groups of 2 may have been inspired by Interrail’s ‘2 for 1’ offer which was on in March/April 2022 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Interrail scheme. It certainly inspired me as I bought our tickets then.

The interrail pass covers 33 countries (most of Europe), download the map here.  Check prices at www.interrail.eu

Although the effectively half price deal was a one-off bargain, even without an offer the tickets area good value and enable folk to travel in planet friendly way. Interrail also regularly have special offers (eg 10% off in as recent spring sale offer). They always offer discounts for those under 27 and over 60. So their site is well worth visiting on https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes

Another indispensable source of information is the website ‘Man at Seat 61’ see https://www.seat61.com/. This was started as a hobby by Mark Wilson, a train enthusiast who used to work for British Rail. It is widely acclaimed and is essential reading for anybody who loves rail travel and is planning a rail trip anywhere in the world.

Many thanks to the Man at Seat 61 website for the table below which lists prices of various interrail passes, but do check  https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes for up-to-date prices and offers.

In 1976 we travelled from London to the Greek islands via the Orient Express (not at all as luxurious as it name suggests) going through countries that no longer exist (eg Yugoslavia) and visiting classic sites and unexpected corners of Europe. This time we are heading for places we have never visited, or not been to for a long time. The aim is to go from the Baltic to the Balkans – starting in Norway and visiting the Scandinavian countries (never been there before) and ending up in Greek islands we haven’t visited for over 40 years…. Should be interesting….

Anyway, off we go in a couple of weeks …. Meanwhile… on with the planning and packing.

If you would like to follow me on this fabulous adventure watch out for regular updates on https://www.londonsights.org.uk/ and by following Maureen Corcoran on Instagram

Future blogs include:

• Planning the Trip – where to go and how to do it
• Packing – how to travel light but smart
• Things that surprised me – in both good and bad ways
• Impressions of places we visit – the good the bad and everything in between
• Top tips for those who may be inspired to take a trip themselves

The main photo shows me at Kings Cross station about to bound Eurostar.