Pedals and Petticoats

A classic travel memoir set in post-war Europe. Christmas, 1950. Five years after D-Day, Britain was still recovering from the aftermath of war when four British girls - Mary Elsy, her sister Barbara and their friends Agnes and Esme - hatched a daring plan to give up their jobs and cycle through Europe. They would camp together in one tent on a shoestring budget, and ride 3,000 miles through battle-scarred Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg. Although the Second World War was now firmly in the past, the ruined cities they found were a sobering reminder. At a time when few were travelling for recreation, Mary Elsy's party created a stir everywhere they went. With its fascinating cast of characters, Pedals and Petticoats is a charming eye-witness account of life in war-devastated Europe.