This topic came up yesterday, with people falling into two camps.

One said that hand holding is essentially an innocent and charming actvity, which can be done very early in a relationship.

The other said that hand holding is a sign on strong intimacy and coupledom, and could only be done after snogging, or even after sex.

Feel free to discuss hand holding and all related matters - how to deal with approaching a lamppost, cupped hands vs interlacing fingers, deliberately walking through the middle of other couple just to piss them off, etc etc.