Summer Holiday 1963

Don secures a bus loan and converts it into a mobile home

During a miserably wet summer lunch break at the London Transport works in Aldenham, Don persuades his bosses to lend him and his friends an AEC Regent III RT bus. They convert the vehicle into a mobile home and hatch a plan to drive it across Europe to the South of France.

Set off across Europe; Do-Re-Mi joins; destination shifts to Athens

The group heads off across continental Europe in their converted bus and is joined by the Do-Re-Mi singing trio Sandy, Angie and Mimsie. They decide to change their destination from the South of France to Athens, Greece, setting course for new adventures.

First stop Paris and a stowaway Barbara

In Paris, they visit a nightclub where Les Shadows perform. A stowaway boy is found on the bus, who is revealed to be Barbara, a runaway girl, adding a new complication to their voyage.

Meet Orlando the mime and his entourage

The group encounters mime artist Orlando and discovers he has a large entourage who need accommodation. They reluctantly agree to take them all aboard, increasing the bus’s crowd and chaos.

Legal trouble in Paris; must prove they're entertainers

Barbara's mother tracks them down and has the bus stopped for carrying passengers. In court, a judge offers them release if they can prove they are genuine entertainers, prompting a plan to stage a convincing mime performance.

Mime show; explosion; Barbara revealed as a girl; mime troupe leaves

They perform an elaborate mime show to prove their entertainer status, which ends with an explosion and their escape. Barbara is officially revealed as a girl, and the mime troupe departs.

Mrs Winters and Jerry catch up; load balancing on Swiss roads

Mrs Winters and her male driver friend Jerry catch up with the bus in Switzerland. To reduce weight, all passengers disembark except Don and Barbara who continue driving while the others walk.

Austria stop; Hotel zum Schloss; romance develops

The bus reaches Austria, where they stop at Hotel zum Schloss for a meal and some dancing. Don and Barbara share a private moment and Don confesses his love for her.

Mrs Winters hides a diamond; accuses the bus of theft to Yugoslav authorities

Mrs Winters hides a diamond pendant on the empty bus and convinces Yugoslav authorities that it has been stolen, creating a new complication as they cross borders.

Border guards recover the pendant; locket saves Barbara's picture

The bus is stopped by border guards who find the pendant, but a locket bearing Barbara’s picture leads them to return the bus and its contents, avoiding a harsher outcome.

A mistranslation sparks a village marriage ceremony

A shepherdess in a Yugoslav village misinterprets Don’s words, triggering a makeshift wedding ceremony. The boys manage to escape the crowd and race back to the bus.

Athens welcomes them with media frenzy

They arrive in Athens to a large crowd and press coverage. Wrightmore from the British embassy explains the situation and Mrs Winters arrives on the scene, hoping to capitalize on the publicity.

Don seeks calm on Acropolis hill; Barbara confined during press events

Don goes to a hill overlooking the Acropolis to clear his head as Mrs Winters locks Barbara in a hotel room during a tense press conference. The standoff builds as media attention intensifies.