Travel, on your doorstep
Telegraph Greener Living supplement
Published on Monday October 1, 2007
Environment | Features | Travel
Skip the air miles and enjoy life a little closer to home, suggests Chris Alden.
Travel, as any philosopher or fool will tell you, is what you make of it. You could be sitting in an aluminium box, eight miles above the melting Arctic, squabbling with your partner about the noise from the next passenger’s iPod. You could be herded through the Alhambra, the Louvre or Machu Picchu so quickly and in such a vast crowd that you feel you’ve scarcely seen it. Or you can stop, think about what it means to travel – and start travelling the moment you step out of your front door.
Here’s a little test for you. Can you name the nearest area of outstanding natural beauty to your house? Yes? What about the nearest forest? The nearest cycle route? The nearest canal? The nearest hill of more than a thousand feet?
There you go. That’s the next few weekends sorted.
And if one of those weekends comes instead of a gas-guzzling city break in Europe, then, yes, you’ve helped spare the planet too.
Whether it’s cycling, horse-riding, volunteering, or just going for a walk in the crisp autumn air, Britain offers so much to us all – if only we can see the wood for the trees.
Take Britain’s forests, for example. Britain has 2.8 million hectares of forest land – and at this time of year its leaves are changing from their deep greens to golds and reds. If you want to see this natural display for yourself, the Forestry Commission has a map of changing leaf colours on its website at www.forestry.gov.uk/autumn. The idea is that you click on the map to find the nearest piece of forest land for you.
“The colours are tremendous,” says spokesman for the Forestry Commission, Willy Cairns. “It’s about getting out, kicking up the leaves, casting off worries – so get out there and enjoy the gold rush.”
Cairns recommends Giggle Alley in Cumbria, which has a Japanese garden and is a “beautiful little place in the middle of nowhere”. Nearer to towns, he says, there’s Chopwell Woodland Park near Newcastle and Gateshead, Delamere near Liverpool, while from Southampton it’s a “hop skip and a jump” (a most environmentally friendly form of transport) to the New Forest.
Those are just a few ideas for starters – but don’t forget, there are also thousands of kilometres of cycle routes in Britain’s forests too.
If you just want to go for a walk, in the woods or otherwise, consider how many of Britain’s footpaths are within striking distance of some of our biggest cities.
Near London, for example, there’s the London Loop – which goes all the way around the city, like a kind of pedestrian M25, but with a lot less traffic.
If you walk it in stages, from weekend to weekend, you’ll be amazed at the amount of countryside there is right on the border of England’s busiest city – though do take a map, because some of
the waymarkers on the trail are missing.
Other city paths are more famous – like the Water of Leith Walkway in Edinburgh, which travels for 12 miles from Balerno in the west of the city to Leith in the east.
Sharon Wood, spokeswoman for The Ramblers, has her own personal favourite city walks, including the Bristol and Bath railway walk along the Midland Railway Line, and the Birmingham Greenway, which crosses Britain’s second city from north to south. She points out that Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice.
“Walking has to be the most environmentally friendly activity on the planet,” she stresses. “It doesn’t cause pollution or congestion.”
She says that’s one reason why The Ramblers is launching its Get Walking, Keep Walking programme – aimed at encouraging regular walking close to home, as part of everyday life.
And if you were thinking, as we all do, of jetting off for an autumn break to the islands of the Mediterranean, why not give the planet a favour and head to the islands of Britain instead?
The Isle of Wight may be just a short distance across the Solent from Portsmouth harbour – but in many ways it’s a world away. Yes, it has a reputation as the island that time forgot – but when that means 500 miles of footpaths, 30 miles of coastline and an area of outstanding natural beauty, that’s no bad thing.
At the other end of the country, one of Britain’s most isolated islands is Muck, just off the mainland at the far north-west of Scotland. To get there, take the spectacular train from Glasgow to Mallaig, then a passenger ferry. Since 2000, the island has depended on wind power for its electricity generation – a welcome change from the decades of relying on diesel generators. Luxury it isn’t, but there are three self-catering cottages within walking distance of the sea.
But of course, if you really want it all, eco-luxury is possible. The Green Tourism Business Scheme verifies the environmental credentials of hundreds of hotels and B&Bs across the UK – including ones near you. So not only will you enjoy a genuine eco-break – but you also don’t have to burn the carbon to get there.
Sounds like the best of both worlds – although come to think of it, we’ve only got one left.
Five tips for a green break on your doorstep
• Find your nearest forest at www.forestry.gov.uk/autumn – and get out for a walk or a bike ride
• Go on an urban walk – you’ll find it’s greener than you think. The Ramblers has a list at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/urbanwalks.html
• If you’re staying the night, check the hotel’s credentials via the Green Tourism Business Scheme at http://www.green-business.co.uk
• Disused railways are great for cycling. Check http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ for rides and events
• If you’re the practical type, consider a National Trust working holiday – see http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-trust/w-volunteering/w-workingholidays.htm
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