A TRELLECH woman who travelled the world caring for schoolchildren on trips has published the diary she wrote in 1973.

Full of memories of a busy time, Alex Campbell’s book looks back on her time running the Duke of Edinburgh scheme at Hereford Cathedral School, and when she was part of the school’s Combined Cadet Force.

She will probably be best remembered for the trips that she helped organise though. Over the course of 14 years she accompanied in excess of 500 pupils on trips to Nepal, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Cyprus and Norway, not to mention countless Duke of Edinburgh awards expeditions at home.

Alex maintains that her passion for organising trips and enabling pupils to experience other cultures was fuelled by the travels she made in her student years. This diary recently published by Olympia Publishers, describes in detail the experiences of a 21-year-old in 1973 on an overland trip to India. This route that they took was known as the ‘Hippy Trail’ which was followed by many during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Alex rediscovered the diary a year ago whilst clearing the attic. It was still legible though somewhat battered. She just decided to type it up and became engrossed in the memories, one thing led to another and now it has been published. She has left it as she wrote it all those years ago, although sometimes tempted to alter the wording to make it more up to date, she thought it had more interest as the writings of a young person 45 years ago.

The book is entitled ‘A Right Old Passage, and is available to purchase from Rossiter’s bookshop in Monmouth.