Teenagers travelling alone

lostinrates

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

I can't think of anyone that doesn't use or understand trains etc. now, I'd say it makes zero difference.

. .you can get several different prices from the train companies when trying to buy the cheapest tickets for ones route, so I think its wrong to say everyone understands them, including the ticket sellers

Faith177

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

Yep that's fair enough, I meant these long national express/train journeys though.

I suppose nowadays we have internet shopping, some people never actually visit the highstreet!

I was visiting friends and family. My dads family were all in Lincolnshire my aunt on my mums side in Nottingham.

My boyfriend when I was 14/15 lived in Portsmouth for the first year we were together before going to uni in Leeds. I met him at a countrywide cadet camp held to celebrate the Millenium

Another of my good friends lived in Grimsby and I would sometimes be delayed in going on holiday with my family so would travel to Inverness on my own to join them.

My mum worked full time and was on her own after my dad died if I wanted to go away 9 times out of 10 I had to get myself there

Savvy_Sue

Spendless wrote: »

Today, I happened to be telling my now 15yo how his aunts had reacted the first time I'd let him travel to the nearest city Uni via train and tram. His reaction was 'Oh no, what could possibly go wrong, I might have got off at the wrong stop and had to ring you if I couldn't work out how to rectify my mistake'

:rotfl: When I was 7, we moved house, and I had to get the bus to school, on my own, because Mum was walking my younger siblings to the local infant school.

I also started getting the bus to and from piano lessons, in the area we used to live on.

One day, I thought I'd gone past my stop on the way home, got in a panic, couldn't ask the driver where we were, and so I got off, found a phone box, phoned my dad and said "I'm lo-o-ost!"

Describing what I could see, he started to laugh, and told me I'd got off a few stops too early, and was near the fish and chip shop we used to use.

My own children weren't that independent, that young, but it does bring home to me the need to make sure they know what to do when things go wrong. Because one day, they will!

Have also remembered that when I was 17 or 18 I went to France on an exchange visit. Had to get the train from Bordeaux, but when I got there, trains were on strike and I was stranded overnight. No point phoning my parents, so before resigning myself to spending the night at the station, I went for a quick walk, found a youth hostel and booked in there.

missbiggles1

My biggest adventure at that age was when, at 14, I played truant for the day to audition for "Stubby's Silver Star Show" in central London. I'd never been to London on my own before but managed the train and tube fine and then did an embarrassingly bad audition. (No, I didn't make the grade.)

Unfortunately I got confused on the way back but, rather impressively I thought, flagged down a taxi and asked to go to Waterloo. Chatting to the friendly driver I commented that I'd gone wrong in Leicester Square, to which he replied that I wasn't the first girl to do that!

It was some years later that I understood what he meant.

splishsplash

We live in a rural area, so my children have had to travel on public transport to get out of here if they wanted to do anything. They've been crossing the country on buses, trains, trams etc. from quite an early age. They can map and plan a journey, sort their accommodation etc with no major problems.

Sounds like they're pretty clued up, capable adults? You'd be forgiven for thinking that.

The reality is a bit different. Routine commutes to college, outings to the next town for cinema or shopping expeditions can be disastrous.

One time, my younger daughter and her friend stood at the bus stop and watched their bus sail past, leaving them stranded 100 miles from home. They failed to notice they were at a request stop.

The same daughter had to change trains at a remote station. She left her train and promptly hopped on another train going back to where she had just come from... again stranding herself 100 miles from home.

My elder daughter was so busy chatting to her friend one time that she ended up on a bus heading for a city at another end of the country from where she intended to go.

Missing the last bus home from the town an hour away is a common occurrence. Getting the right tram travelling in the wrong direction is commonplace; forgetting tickets and money is my son's specialty.

They always get there in the end, but they like to make a meal of it. I think they've learned nothing from travelling early, apart from not being fazed by any of it, maybe.

My younger daughter now has to start flying to places for work... I can't wait to see where she ends up...