Not always on hand, went travelling (3,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
now and then
'not always' is the definition.
(now and then means occasionally)
'on hand went travelling' is the wordplay.
'travelling' indicates an anagram.
'on'+'hand'+'went'='onhandwent'
'onhandwent' with letters rearranged gives 'NOW AND THEN'.
(Other definitions for now and then that I've seen before include "making a historical contrast" , "At times" , "Sometimes" , "Occasionally" .)