You only have to read some of the posts here on TNUK to know that us Brits are and always have been an adventurous lot and want to see the world or at least part of it. For some of us the only way to achieve that goal was as a lorry driver, however for some there were other ways. I was chatting to a guy and his wife about their travels when they were young. Both of them, now well into their seventies as a lot of people on TNUK are, are still very active and haven’t given up yet on a bit of adventure.
The guy, an ex policeman, told me his first trip was in 1963 with three mates, no wife then, they bought an old Land Rover and headed off to Iran via Iraq. Said there were no paved roads after Istanbul except in Tehran.
His second trip was in 1968 in an old Commer van and that trip lasted a year and this time he had a wife to keep him company. It included most of North Africa, the Sahara and they got as far south as Nigeria before heading back up to Morocco. From there they drove across to Egypt and then up to Turkey. The next part of their journey was meant to take them to India but they had been away for getting on for a year and the old Commer van needed a bit of attention so they decided to return home.
That wasn’t the end of their travels though. In 1975 the two of them undertook what most people would look upon as their most foolhardy adventure yet. They drove down to the south of Iran via the usual route we all know. Across europe into Asia, crossing Turkey to enter Iran at Bazargan. They remember the queues of lorries at the border even wondering if they had to join the back of them. Luckily they didn’t. They drove down to the south to look at some historical sites then made their way back to Tehran. After a few days there it was back to the UK. So what you may say. Whats so special about this last trip! What was foolhardy about it! Many lorry drivers have done that been there and got the t-shirt. YES. But they didn’t do it in a blo-dy converted RELIANT three wheeler thats for sure. The mind boggles at the thought of driving a three wheeler all that way but it was also converted into a motorhome and so they slept in it most of the time as well. And to think I sometimes complained about my Scannie.