A SALISBURY author has penned a new book recalling her adventures travelling to Kathmandu on board a bus.

Barbara Hare has released her second travel book, A Little Bus Ride to Kathmandu.

The 89-year-old, who was born in Zimbabwe, came to England when her father took over the family business, the Salisbury & Winchester Journal, which was run by the Bennett family for 250 years.

In her latest book Barbara, who was a trained nurse, recounts her experiences on a bus travelling from London to Kathmandu, in Nepal, when she was 50.

She says she found out about the “extraordinary trip” from a friend and thought “maybe one day”.

Barbara said: “When my daughter had finished university she said let’s do something mad together. We found out what bus it was and where it went from and all about it. It was absolutely eye opening.”

The journey took three months and covered a distance of 7,000 miles taking her to countries like Afghanistan and Iraq along the way.

She says she remembers stopping to look at ruins in places like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Kashmir.

“All those places have had war and all the beautiful things in the museums I saw have been bombed and gone so nobody can see those anymore,” said Barbara. “I was about the last one because as we left Kabul the Russians came in.”

“That is one thing I remember the ruins and of course the places we went to, which I never dreamt of,” she added.

She says it was a “marvellous experience” and she loved meeting the local people.

Barbara has previously had a children’s book published as well as her book titled Rediscovering Myself. She has also written about her travels for magazines.

It was not until the death of her second husband that she decided to write about her travel experiences to Kathmandu.

“I loved writing the first one,” said Barbara. “I thought I would put this story to pen and ink. It is my third book I have been lucky enough to get published.”

Barbara does not plan to write anymore books.

“I hope the book will give young people courage to get out there [and travel].” She added.

The book can be purchased online from lulu.com