Eco audit: holidays without flying

At the time when my environmentalism was starting to develop, flying was not an Issue.  It was mostly out of reach – back to factors of cost.  (I dare say we might have found package deals to Spain, as a family, but we didn’t.)

So by my mid-teens, I had been abroad about four times.  Once to Germany by plane c. aged 2.  And back to Germany again for school exchanges – by coach, ferry and train.  All three school exchanges.  Because it cost too much to fly.

When we did start to do a couple of family holidays abroad – we didn’t fly.  We drove, went by ferry, drove some more.  (I say we.  Dad did the driving.  I picked the music to listen to in the car.) Again, because of cost – and luggage, and use of car for self-catering, and so on.

So possibly the first main time I flew again was going to Poland in my gap year.  It certainly felt unusual to be in an airport.  And it made sense to fly, because my placement was near a capital city, and my hosts (whom I had never met) could meet me there.

It wasn’t the earlier era of flight where only the rich and famous flew.  But it certainly wasn’t the easy experience it is today.  My teenage self would be amazed at how easy – but also surprised at all the discussion that has come up about off-setting air travel, not part of the environmental conversation 20 years ago.

The internet has transformed travel booking – not just for planes, obviously – but the whole process has been made much quicker and easier, and easier to contemplate.  But the biggest difference is all those low-cost airlines. And, gradually, the rise of social cachet to fly more often.

In my office days, working for an organisation with offices in lots of countries, travel was an assumed part of the picture.  I wasn’t as travelled as some of my colleagues – much of my travel was still around Scotland, day trip stuff.  But for others: two weeks away, to distant destinations.  Where overland travel there and back just isn’t possible – unless you want the two weeks to be the there and back.

Meanwhile these days, for a whole range of workplaces, when Busy is Good, then you fly.  You fly to save time, so you can come back the same day.  And complain about the early flight when you’re back in the office the next day – not really rested, but back.  So you can be Busy again.

There were a few years in which, yes, I was able to ‘notch up’ flights.  Feel a bit important.  Yes, I also liked the chance to be abroad; to do the key business of the year; get to know colleagues abroad better; help our applicants over the first few days of Living Abroad for a Long Time. It felt like it had a purpose.  But it was still flying.

All that time, I was choosing public transport for the rest of my travelling, work and personal – but then getting on a plane, and ‘blowing the budget’, as it were.

Because we don’t always want to hear about the impact of what we’re doing. And if the society around us condones it – encourages it, even – we are less likely to spend time checking it out. It has taken the rise of social awareness – and an improvement in corporate travel policies – to make that shift.

The other factor that greatly affects decisions on travel is – being able to drive.  If you don’t, for whatever reason, your holiday travel relies on good public transport.

Thankfully, travel in Europe is generally OK in this regard – and it can be a source of satisfaction to see just how far you can travel by public transport.  I’ve made it from the far north-east of Poland to central England, all by train or ferry.  I didn’t do it all in one go, quite, but I’m glad that I had the experience.

Things change again with kids.  Money goes down.  Need for flexibility goes up.  And inviting locations, like sand and waves, can be found much nearer to home, in a place like the UK.

My passport expired.  It didn’t get replaced for a couple of years.  We used the train, or drove, to holiday destinations in the UK.  And much of that has been just fine.  When the logistics of just getting everything ready to leave, go away and come back get more complicated, why make the transport harder too?

Soon, we’ll all board a plane together for the first time.  It’s still an excitement.  And it will feel like a treat, a rarity.  Which is probably a good thing. It’ll feel like coming full circle.

Will the world go back to not flying? No.  Should we use trains more? Yes, if we can – though I recognise that family railcards do make that more affordable than just buying tickets for adults. (It helps if you like trains a lot.  Which I do.)

Does that mean we stay in the UK, explore its beautiful and diverse scenery, but travel to our destinations by car – and put that impact out of our minds? Hmm.  What is the best solution, given that some places just can’t be accessed by public transport?

That answer lies with us individually – where our families and friends are, our budgets, the logistics of carrying our luggage (and that of small people, who may not be able to carry much).   Complex.  But still worth thinking about.