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Original poster

Going for a drive?

43 replies

FourChimneys · 23/04/2022 14:39

DH and I were discussing plans for tomorrow. I was telling him how as a child in the 60s and early 70s we would all get in the car on a Sunday afternoon, maybe taking an elderly neighbour with us, and go for a drive. Thinking back to where we used to go, some of these trips would be 40 or 50 miles but we rarely stopped or got out of the car. No drinks or snacks as far as I can remember.

Did anyone else do that? It seems very strange now with environmental concerns and the cost of petrol.

OP posts:
fishingpaintings · 23/04/2022 21:16

Once we went 'for a spin' to Hull as a family and my dad was HORRIFIED to have to eat in McDonald's (I'm not sure why no other choices were available!!). I can still remember the sheer delight and the look of horror on his face!

DaisyQuakeJohnson · 23/04/2022 21:21

We used to do this. In fact we still do. We did it tonight. Not very far, just through the nearby villages. We moved recently so we're still getting our bearings.

Sunnytwobridges · 23/04/2022 22:20

Yes! I have the best memories of just getting in the car driving to nowhere with my family. I actually did this with my DD and my DM as well. We like to drive thru the upper scale neighborhoods and droll over the houses, lots of fun.

XenoBitch · 23/04/2022 22:24

I did this a lot when I had a license and car (3 years ago). Sometimes, I would drive around for hours and have to get more fuel. Cost a fortune even back then. Would shudder at the cost now.

Even more so when I had a motorcycle. Most rides were for the sake of it, and not to actually go anywhere.

JayAlfredPrufrock · 23/04/2022 22:30

Sunday afternoon drivers. My dad used to rail against them.

Toddlerteaplease · 23/04/2022 22:33

We did it too and would sometimes stop at a pub for a basket of chips.

BogRollBOGOF · 23/04/2022 22:33

We did it a few times when I was heavily pregnant and couldn't really do anything at a destination anyway. It was just a change of scenery from being stuck alone in the house most days.

There were also a few times before I had to stop driving, that I'd drive then have a nap in the car. Once was for giving a friend a lift to a hospital clinic in another city, another time when my friends were hill walking. Pillows and blankets on the back seat, sorted 😎

ThreeRingCircus · 23/04/2022 22:33

I love doing this. Even now sometimes when the DC are playing up we'll all get in the car and get out for a drive somewhere. DH and I used to play a game where we'd just jump in the car and take turns at randomly saying "next right, straight ahead here, left at the roundabout" etc and just seeing where we ended up. We're easily amused! 😆

Toddlerteaplease · 23/04/2022 22:35

I don't ever remember having food from
Cafes on days out. We always took our own. And my dad always had a flask of tea. Now none of my family can go anywhere without several coffee/ tea stops.

Toddlerteaplease · 23/04/2022 22:44

@853ax my mum always told us that the playgrounds were only for local kids. Hmm

100problems · 23/04/2022 22:47

Yes! We used to regularly go for a drive in the 70's on Sunday's we didn't get dragged to my Nanas. No particular destination but en route we would stop at the Esso garage to look at or buy new Smurfs and there was a sweet shop that opened on a Sunday that we called in at.

I think it was just my mum and dads way to get a little mindfulness before mindfulness was a thing.

GingerDuo · 23/04/2022 22:50

OMG yea we did. There was always an ice cream en route somehow but that was all. We never left the car other than the ice cream buyer 😂 I loved it tbh. Wouldn't do it now tho #fuelprices

FrecklesMalone · 23/04/2022 22:50

Thank fuck no! I was born early 70s and my best friend had to do this. I once went and it was so dull. We drove past beautiful countryside, pulled over but didn't get out the car! We went on trips but actually did stuff like walks and parks. Obviously we never actually ate out because it was the 70s/80s and that happened once or twice a year if lucky!

FrecklesMalone · 23/04/2022 22:51

Apologies for all the !!!s Slightly irritating to read 😁

GingerDuo · 23/04/2022 22:51

Just remembered one of our drives was to sit in the car and watch the Humber Bridge being built. Several steps lower then watching paint dry tbh!

GingerDuo · 23/04/2022 22:52

FrecklesMalone · 23/04/2022 22:50

Thank fuck no! I was born early 70s and my best friend had to do this. I once went and it was so dull. We drove past beautiful countryside, pulled over but didn't get out the car! We went on trips but actually did stuff like walks and parks. Obviously we never actually ate out because it was the 70s/80s and that happened once or twice a year if lucky!

You're so right I don't remember a single meal out as a family when I was a child!

bellac11 · 23/04/2022 22:53

Sort of when I was younger, it was more that we would drive to Regents Park (could just park outside in those days, barely any traffic on Sundays) and that was nice, or out the 'countryside' which I realise today was just outside the M25 but it felt like in the middle of nowhere in those days

I still like doing it now, we did it a lot in lockdown to go driving around with little traffic on the roads. I prefer it however if there is a pub lunch or bag of chips involved.

DramaAlpaca · 23/04/2022 22:53

I was born in the 60s and we used to go out for drives as a family at the weekend. We lived in the Lake District so it was beautiful scenery, but we never stopped for so much as a cup of tea.

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