When Davey Mills lost his job last winter, he planned an impromptu sabbatical. He would use his newfound freedom to recreate his 1990s experience of travelling around Europe, flight-free.
The first time he went Interrailing, aged 20-something, Mills stuck to a tight budget. Now 57, he could add a little luxury. “I bought a first-class ticket in the sale. It cost me €900 (£770) for 92 days,” he says. “It’s a lot of money to fork out in one go, but, for what you can do with it, it’s great value.” The pass allowed him to travel on as many trains as he wished, for three months straight.
In his student era, Mills purchased his Interrail pass from a travel agent in Liverpool, this time it was a quick online transaction – that was the first thing that had changed.
Back in the early 1990s, he had travelled without the conveniences of Wi-Fi and smartphones. He relied on guidebooks and physical maps and rang around hotels to find a bed for the night. “I spent quite a considerable amount of time on public payphones,” he recalls.
This time, it was easier to crowdsource advice. There is a thriving online community of Interrailers who don’t fit the young, student stereotype. For instance, Mills is in a Facebook group called “Interrailing for the older crowd” that has more than 60,000 members.
