Group of friends who took a London double decker bus 40,000 miles around the world have reunited - fifty years later
SWNS
2023-03-15
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A group of friends who took a London double decker bus 40,000 miles around the world have reunited - fifty years later.
The eleven men and women were just strangers when they answered an advert to travel across the globe in the iconic red vehicle.
They took the bus called the 'Sir George White Special' from Bristol to Canada, America, Mexico, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru.
Braving 'blistering' desert heat and and bone-chilling cold in the prairies the group spent 22 months aboard their less-than 50mph bus.
The group travelled thousands of miles and worked along the way, picking fruit, planting lily bulbs, cleaning restaurants and as chauffeurs.
They had to negotiate tricky routes and mountains and because the bus was too big for US roads they caused damage to bridges and overhead wires.
Their epic trip came to an end when the bus sunk - trying to cross a river in Peru.
The eleven-person team of strangers aged between 19-34 took the bus on its journey between 1970 and 1972.
Now five - Mike Conway, Sally Rich, Bernice Poole, David McLaughlin and John Winter - have reunited in Bristol to mark the trip.
The five met up for the first time in 50 years yesterday (14/3) at Aerospace Bristol - arriving on a near-identical bus.
The event was to help launch a new book 'Bus to Bust' by group member John Winter, now 79, a former journalist - who tagged along for nearly a year.
John, now retired and in Derbyshire, says that the journey was a life-changing experience.
He said: "It was an amazing journey, putting so many people together in such a confined space there were inevitably arguments.
''But it was unlike anything any of us had ever done. I stayed with the group for about a year.
''We all rotated as leader of the group, I became leader of the group for three months - by which time I'd had enough.
"The bus really was the hero of the story, we had totally torn out the upper floor to fit beds and living space.
''It was actually very comfy - though sometimes very hot.
"We had to take the bus off the road, but eventually were given permission to drive on by Ronald Reagan - who was Governor of California at the time.
"Us Brits, thanks to all the pop stars, were very popular at the time. We got a lot of attention from local media.
"We also took with us a lot of British goods to sell. We sold a lot of horse brasses to hippies - they did very well.
*Route: Bristol (UK) to Montreal (Can) via boat, Toronto, New York, Bristol (Virginia), across the southern states to Texas, Houston, Laredo (Mexican border), Mexico City, back to California, San Diego, San Francisco, Oregon, Washington State, Vancouver, across Canada to Toronto, back down eastern USA again to Florida, back to Texas, through Mexico, down through central American countries to Panama, boat to Colombia, down west coast of South America through Columbia and Ecuador into Peru. Bus was lost on a wooden barge crossing the river Chira.
The eleven men and women were just strangers when they answered an advert to travel across the globe in the iconic red vehicle.
They took the bus called the 'Sir George White Special' from Bristol to Canada, America, Mexico, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru.
Braving 'blistering' desert heat and and bone-chilling cold in the prairies the group spent 22 months aboard their less-than 50mph bus.
The group travelled thousands of miles and worked along the way, picking fruit, planting lily bulbs, cleaning restaurants and as chauffeurs.
They had to negotiate tricky routes and mountains and because the bus was too big for US roads they caused damage to bridges and overhead wires.
Their epic trip came to an end when the bus sunk - trying to cross a river in Peru.
The eleven-person team of strangers aged between 19-34 took the bus on its journey between 1970 and 1972.
Now five - Mike Conway, Sally Rich, Bernice Poole, David McLaughlin and John Winter - have reunited in Bristol to mark the trip.
The five met up for the first time in 50 years yesterday (14/3) at Aerospace Bristol - arriving on a near-identical bus.
The event was to help launch a new book 'Bus to Bust' by group member John Winter, now 79, a former journalist - who tagged along for nearly a year.
John, now retired and in Derbyshire, says that the journey was a life-changing experience.
He said: "It was an amazing journey, putting so many people together in such a confined space there were inevitably arguments.
''But it was unlike anything any of us had ever done. I stayed with the group for about a year.
''We all rotated as leader of the group, I became leader of the group for three months - by which time I'd had enough.
"The bus really was the hero of the story, we had totally torn out the upper floor to fit beds and living space.
''It was actually very comfy - though sometimes very hot.
"We had to take the bus off the road, but eventually were given permission to drive on by Ronald Reagan - who was Governor of California at the time.
"Us Brits, thanks to all the pop stars, were very popular at the time. We got a lot of attention from local media.
"We also took with us a lot of British goods to sell. We sold a lot of horse brasses to hippies - they did very well.
*Route: Bristol (UK) to Montreal (Can) via boat, Toronto, New York, Bristol (Virginia), across the southern states to Texas, Houston, Laredo (Mexican border), Mexico City, back to California, San Diego, San Francisco, Oregon, Washington State, Vancouver, across Canada to Toronto, back down eastern USA again to Florida, back to Texas, through Mexico, down through central American countries to Panama, boat to Colombia, down west coast of South America through Columbia and Ecuador into Peru. Bus was lost on a wooden barge crossing the river Chira.
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