From Atlas Obscura:
The quickest way to anger a traveler is to interfere with their plans; reroute, delay or cancel them. Deprive them of information, make them guess. But on March, 23, 1932, crowds descended upon Paddington Station, London after paying expressly for the privilege of being kept in the dark. They enthusiastically waited for a train with no known destination. Even the conductors had no idea where they would go. They were going to be passengers on London’s very first Hiker’s Mystery Train Express.
The train was a novel promotion dreamed up by the railroad that would transport hikers to a secret spot where they would then be set loose to tromp through the English countryside. The hikers looked anything but prepared for a wilderness excursion: the women wore long coats, skirts, stockings and heels. The men were more reasonably attired, as men’s fashions allowed, but they still had on shiny brogues and brimmed hats. A functional accessory that many carried was a walking cane; one grinning girl leaned out of the train as it left the station and waved hers triumphantly at a news photographer’s camera. The trip had whipped up such a frenzy of interest that several newspapers republished an account that described 1,000 “bare-legged, bareheaded” would-be hikers armed with knapsacks and walking sticks who had to be accommodated on a second “hastily provided” train, whose 14 carriages were packed to capacity.
. . . .
The Hiker’s Mystery Train Express was not a one-time novelty. It was part of a craze for mystery hiking that swept the globe—particularly England, New Zealand and Australia—during the 1930s. “Rambling” gained popularity throughout the 19th century, and walking clubs and groups sprang up. In 1931 the Ramblers Association was founded to protect the rights of British walkers and advocate for open hiking spaces. Many people were also feeling the devastating effects of the Great Depression, and hiking provided free entertainment.
. . . .
An account of mystery hiking in the May, 1937 issue of the New Zealand Railways Magazine reported that crowds about 700 strong patronized the country’s mystery hikes, circumnavigating routes around 10 miles long. In Australia, where mystery hikes were especially popular, thousands routinely swarmed the trains. In 1932 a crowd of over 8,000 flâneurs amassed for a mystery train departing Sydney.
Link to the rest at Atlas Obscura where there are lots of photos of mystery hikers.
PG was reminded of all the golden age detective novels where the crime took place on a train.
A friend of mine has taken several tours lately where each day they are not told of the next day’s destination until sometime the afternoon or evening the day before. She has, for the most part, enjoyed them quite a bit. One day they went on a scavenger hunt at West End Salvage in Des Moines. I had just discovered their DIY program a couple of months before and mostly enjoyed it so I was very jealous.
I’m going off to look at those photos now.
The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away….
“PG was reminded of all the golden age detective novels where the crime took place on a train.”
So I guess the modern day equivalent is all the SFF comic novels that feature wild doings at SFF conventions?
The way those conventions are going they’d be a great setting for a murder mystery. Or maybe a serial killer suspense novel.
One of my favorites – Sharyn McCrumb’s Bimboes of the Death Sun.
I love the SFF convention scenes in Diana Wynne Jones’ Deep Secret. Of course, it’s one of my favorite books.
Atlas Obscura always include some amazing graphic with their posts and this one is no exception. The old photos are simply amazing.
I’m glad you mentioned that because it made me click thru to the site. The photos are great. Something that struck me is how different a crowd shot would look today. Women would be in slacks, jeans, or leggings, not dresses and skirts.
Yes! I can’t imagine going for a hike in a skirt of any sort. At least the shoes were flats. 🙂
Decades ago my husband I went to the bus station and got round trip tickets to whatever destination the next bus out was headed. We ended up in Milwaukee and had a fine time.
Some of the coach companies still run similar short breaks in England.
Western Pacific Airlines, back in the 1990’s, before they went bankrupt, used to have Mystery Weekend fares. For a ridiculously low fare – don’t remember it exactly and I never took advantage – you bought a round-trip ticket for Saturday and Sunday. On Friday evening, the airline would call you and tell you how to dress and pack. Saturday morning, you showed up at the airport and they put you on your flight to wherever.
I guess it was up to you to get a room on the other end – I honestly don’t remember the press reports. Surely, it was done to fill a few more seats at the last minute with some small amount of revenue. But you got to go somewhere you had likely never been before and have a quick weekend to look around.
Seems like a similar idea and it sounds like fun. Maybe somebody should offer it again?