An unforgettable journey
In the summer of 1968 a group of St Andrews students undertook an unforgettable journey to Istanbul and back on an adapted double decker bus. Margaret Hills (MA 1968) was one of these students. Here she describes her memories of this amazing trip.
Having returned to St Andrews from an amazing year in Paris as a language assistant – arranged by the University – I took a General Psychology course which I loved and pursued further years later with Cruse Bereavement Care. It was while I was studying Psychology that I met my Practicals partner, Carol, who became a lifelong friend. At the end of the year we were both invited to join a party of 12 (or so) St Andrews students on a 7,000 mile journey to Istanbul and back, on a double decker bus.
Ian and Dave (who thought up the idea) had tried out the route on a motorbike and sidecar the year before. They set about finding a suitable vehicle and eventually spotted and bought a decommissioned Reading service bus from a garage near Perth.
They took out some seats, installed a small kitchen and piped hot water from the engine for a shower. Wendy – another of the girls – sewed curtains to provide minimum privacy, the University provided some mattresses and two whisky companies agreed to give us some sponsorship on condition we distributed advertising leaflets along the way. Can you imagine leaping off the bus in city traffic jams to thrust leaflets into surrounding vehicles?
Everywhere we went people gawped – the more so the further east we travelled. Ian and co-driver Dick found the most amazing places to stop – once on a scorching hot day at a beautiful lake where we could jump into the cooling blue water and on another occasion in front of a world famous monument where our rather tatty blue double decker looked totally out of place. Crossing borders and clearing customs was not always straightforward, but we had total confidence in Ian’s ability. It is possible that playing his bagpipes at strategic moments may have saved the day.
We broke up into small groups for shopping and cooking. The standard of meals substantially improved when two Austrian students joined us – one of whom was a chef.
I have a memory of standing in a queue in a greengrocer’s, well behind the Iron Curtain, and being ushered to the front of the queue! Curiosity, kindness or both? And then being spoken to in fluent English by a middle-aged lady who said she had learned her English at school!
No-one mentions this trip without referring to crossing the Cakor Pass. Locals stood in front of the bus at the bottom clearly telling us to turn around, but Ian said it was a main road with a number and we’d be fine! The surface was limestone rubble. On one side was a steep drop; on the other were overhangs not high enough for the bus to go under. Part way up, Ian invited anyone who wished to do so to get out and walk. Most didn’t – but that’s not to say we weren’t scared stiff!
Ian and Dick not only looked after cooking gas, fuel, water, papers and a whole lot more but they kept the bus going. I can see them both now with tools in their hands and grease up to their elbows.
The boys kept restoring their supply of beer until we reached Romania, where there was a shortage. After a tip-off, Ian would find the town’s brewery, wait at the gate and follow the first truck out to its first stop where he managed to do a deal!
One of my most moving memories was waking up in the middle of the countryside in Romania with a family of farmworkers peering at the bus. They were keen to have photographs taken with us and we were invited to see their home. I don’t think they had any more facilities than we had on our madcap holiday roadtrip.
Another moving memory was of our arrival in Florence where Sandy desperately wanted to see Michelangelo’s David. We were running late and the maximum speed was 40 mph. The gallery closed at 5pm. We arrived at 5.05pm. We had to leave at 8am the next morning … Sandy sat on the kerb, his head in his hands, the picture of dejection.
Back home, my father spoke regularly to a Border television reporter, to whom he mentioned our travels. Consequently, a film crew from Border TV flagged us down in a layby near Penrith on the way home and interviewed me for the news that night. Unfortunately Border TV is no more, but it was a fitting end for me of a fantastic adventure.
I continued travelling in contrasting luxury for a couple of years as a member of BOAC cabin crew, but I had to leave that job because I was getting married! There followed a job training staff in a Liverpool department store before spending time at home with our three sons. I then retrained as an FE tutor for adults with profound learning difficulties.
Three years at St Andrews was the key to many life-changing experiences for me – while the bus went on to its own exciting future in Belgium. But that’s another story…
The trip was brought to life again in October 2020 by a BBC North East & Cumbria report. Find out more about the trip – and what happened to the double decker bus – by clicking here.