Going to San Francisco: a Walk in the Haight, San Francisco, California

Growing up in 1960s London suburbia my imagination was fired by all I saw and heard about hippies. Their lifestyle, their messages of peace, their long flowing skirts and yes, flowers in their hair. So much more appealing than my bottle green school uniform with its regulation skirts just above the knee!

I was too young of course to run away to San Francisco and live in a commune there. I didn’t get the chance to visit the city until 1991 when Chris and I included a day there in our first California road trip itinerary. We saw many of the iconic sights: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Chinatown, the Coit Tower, North Beach. But others we missed, among them the epicentre of hippy culture, Haight Ashbury.

On our most recent visit to the state therefore we determined to allocate another full day to see some of the sights we’d missed previously. To make the most of our limited time we bought tickets for the ‘Hop On Hop Off’ bus and used that to travel between quite scattered sights. But we spent much of the morning on foot, by far the best way to explore and take photos: a walk I’m sharing for one of Jo’s Monday Walks.

We caught the bus in Union Square, just around the corner from our hotel. The early morning fog had already given way to warm sunshine, so we chose seats on the upper deck and I managed to grab a few photos as we drove. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).