Trains, Planes, and me

Upon hearing that this month’s challenge was to reduce our carbon footprints and eschew flying in favour of greener modes of transport, I jumped for joy. My friends and I joke that our social lives are sponsored by Virgin Pendolino trains. Travelling to visit friends in Birmingham or Manchester is usually where the fun begins: armed with Grazia magazine, packets of jelly babies and a few cans of pre-mixed Pimms and lemonade, we’re possibly the perfect advert for fun-time carbon-footprint-reducing (someone get Branson on the blower!). Of course, that’s when we arrive in time to get a seat, and don’t accidentally sit in the quiet zone and spend two hours being thrown “simmer down” looks by long-distance commuters trying to play Solitaire on their laptops. Obviously the return journey is usually rather less hearty, and spent nursing headaches, eating sandwiches, and throwing “simmer down” looks to gangsta types blasting Lil’ John out of their mobile phones.

So, that’s my long weekends covered – but I suppose anyone whose experience of the M6 on a Friday evening has scarred them for life can claim a similarly angelic carbon footprint. So what about my summer holidays track record?

My last summer holiday – if it can be called that – was three years ago. I went to Milan with my younger sister and, alongside visiting the Duomo, a Barbie museum and Lake Como, we got mosquito bites the size of golf balls, accidentally spent half our budget on the first night’s meal and almost missed the flight home. A mixed bag, but the flying experience was by far the worst part of the holiday.

Airports are the only places that can be hectic and boring at the same time – but they’re necessary. Or is that just something we say to excuse our laziness? Wouldn’t it make more sense to make the journey a part of the holiday, as opposed to a preliminary nightmare? Short-haul flights are the most carbon-intensive mode of transport: research says that flying from London to Glasgow produces 6 times more CO2 than taking the train, and there’s often a long connecting journey from airport to destination as well. As I said at the start of the challenge, I’m looking for ways to make green changes without too much effort, and I doubt that anything could be more taxing than 2 hours on a budget airline flight. Apart from the ensuing wait at baggage reclaim.