Trains, planes and help please
Another good train journey over the New Year, from Bristol down to La Rochelle. I talk so much about carbon footprints that I am trying hard massively to cut back on flying - so far with success for about a year. I trained to the south of France and Frankfurt in 2007, in both cases with serious benefits - such as getting to know the beautiful Strasbourg, largely ignored by British travellers becasue there is no nearby airport. For New Year we spent a night en route in Paris, which was a real plus. I don't pretend for one minute that train travel is cheap - though it can match air travel on many routes - but I do think that a train creates a proper 'journey'. And they don't get diverted because of fog.
Having said all that, what on earth to do about my long-awaited trip to Mount Athos, in Greece? I fear that the train will be painfully long-winded and expensive and that I will be reduced to flying. Any better ideas - other than 'don't go'. Mt Athos is a special case...
posted by Alastair @ 11:28 am
6 comments
6 Comments:
Hi, train journeys can be great. I once took the Cornish overnight train from Paddington to Penance, I woke in Dawlish, what a great view, was served breakfast as we passed along a beach and coffee in the restraunt carriage as we hurtled through purple and green ravines on the way into Cornwall. Bejeman wrote about his train jouneys and still today some continue to be as frozen in time as his words.
A perfect holiday for me would be train and bike rides linked together by your Inns and Pubs.
http://www.alternativeplot.co.uk/?cat=7
Hi Alistair
Do you know of any hotel accreditation schemes on the green issue? Seem to be lots of different versions proliferating but no overall standard...
Dan
To Spider:
Thanks for mentioning that wonderful ride down to Cornwall. Did you know that the night train was threatened with the axe a while ago but was saved as a result of public protest. I also have fond memories of the line, not least since being held up by waves breaking over the tracks a few years ago. It all added to the drama of the trip, though we did have to spend a night in Plymouth.
I agree about linking bikes, trains and pubs. A great holiday, and a very Slow one. See our Go Slow England blog for more chat about travelling 'slowly'.
To Anonymous:
There is a woeful lack of co-ordination on this. Apparently there is one hotel in South Africa with a FAIR TRADE certification, which will prrobably grow slowly but surely. There is a Green Tourism label in the UK but I haven''t much faith. Scotland has a scheme - but we haven't adopted it down here. There is a vigorous Welsh scheme and one in Herefordshire - among, probably, others. But it is a mess, as the standards are hard to fix into any agreed place. And nobody in their right mind wants to set up and run a certification organisation. Initiative is needed from the Government, but can it be trusted to set the bar high enough?
You could always get the train as far as you can then fly from there. Even if it's just half way that's still a massive reduction in carbon. Train to Vienna then flight from there perhaps?
My daughter took her two-year old son all the way from Wales to Greece last year, using only trains and ships. I cannot remember the timetable details now, but she pronounced it an extremely enjoyable trip, albeit a case of extremely slow travel (with overnight stops with friends in London, France and Italy en route). As for the enquiry about hotel accreditation schemes, I get the impression that the situation is somewhat chaotic. We were awarded a Cesar Award as 'Green guesthouse of the year' by The Good Hotel Guide 2008. We were on four environmental shortlists in Wales in 2007, and now we have achieved Arena Network's Green Dragon Environmental Standard (Level 2). Whilst flattered by all these, I feel guilty at the same time. We do our bit here, but it is too little too late. As far as our impact is concerned, it is like a drop in the ocean, as we are a very small place. On the other hand, I feel that the Sawday initiative of creating an Ethical Collection is a step in the right direction. The first of the three questionnaire was quite rigorous, and finding that I had to answer some of the questions negatively gave me an incentive to think of more good policies which we can adopt in the future to lessen our environmental impact.
Come through Vienna, via Budapest to Novi Sad in Serbia and you can cycle the rest of the way with my husband. Even now in training to cross Serbia by bike over some of its highest mountains. Now this is the place for a holiday, absolutely no guests and very simple! Enjoy his blog www.maccurrach.com What is it with men in their late fifties? Trains and bikes! Love em.
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