In the UK, when a car pulls over, or stops to let you by, you give the the two-finger wave. Not THAT two-finger wave – you lift the first two fingers of the hand that’s on the steering wheel about an inch above the steering wheel to say thank you. You will get a nod or a finger lift in return from the other driver.
But on the island of Westray, everybody waves to everybody. Everybody. It is such a factor of the culture that it was even referenced in some of the guidebooks. This doesn’t happen elsewhere in Orkney. My drive to Tesco might include one or two little thank-you salutes, but the only people I wave to are friends or acquaintances. But in Westray, every single solitary driver or pedestrian waves to everyone they pass (I’m not sure about cyclists – as I was passing them I was concentrating more on not sweeping them under the car or knocking them in a ditch, than I was on hand gestures).
It is such a friendly, lovely custom – makes you feel immediately part of the community. I miss it now that I’m back on the Mainland.