In recent decades, global travel has become easier — and cheaper — than ever. Once a luxury only gifted to the rich and famous, nowadays you’d hardly need to spend more than £300 to get to the other side of the world — and oh the wonders that await you there…
So, with the whole world at our fingertips, some of you might be wondering why I’d start a travel blog about the complete opposite: taking holidays in the UK.
First, let me tell you a little bit about me
Currently living next to the New Forest in the UK, I write content for a relatively small tour operator which sells holidays to a handful of destinations in Africa and Europe. To say I love travel would be an understatement. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I went to Egypt for the first time, a holiday which opened my naive 10-year-old eyes to our planet’s staggering diversity.
Travel soon became my world. Growing up, I’d take at least two holidays abroad a year, and after travelling for six months around south-east Asia in my early 20s, I started working for a small tour operator in London. It wasn’t until fairly recently that I started learning more about climate change and the culprits behind it, took a long, hard look at the industry and realised: wow, global travel just isn’t sustainable.
The truth about plane travel
The fact is, plane travel is one of the leading cause of climate change, with one return flight from London to Montreal in Canada emitting as many carbon emissions as heating a European home for an entire year.
I like to think of myself as pretty green; I recycle, don’t eat meat and car share wherever possible. The sad thing is, though going on holiday abroad makes up a gigantic portion of your carbon footprint, and can outweigh all your other efforts to be more ‘eco’. Even a relatively short return flight from London to Berlin emits three times the emissions saved from a year of recycling.
Flying is a mode of transport the Western world has clearly become far too familiar with, but of course, people will never stop travelling — and I understand that more than anyone.
So, what is the solution?
I believe that we can solve this global travel crisis by travelling closer to home and taking more holidays in the UK. My aim with this blog isn’t to shame people for going on holiday abroad, or to persuade you to stop foreign travel altogether. It’s instead to showcase the countless opportunities for fantastic holidays and adventures that sit closer to home (sometimes right on your doorstep) which could hopefully offer an alternative to your sunny Spanish escape one year.
I want to show you how, since taking more holidays in the UK, I’ve been able to save more money (and time) while becoming more grateful of this little island we call home; how you don’t have to travel overseas to get your sun, sea and sand fix; and that there are even wonderful holidays in the UK to take during autumn and winter too.
I’ll also discuss ideas on how we can travel abroad more sustainably (’cause we all need to get out of the UK every now and then), and how to minimise your impact on a destination while you’re there. Feel free to share your ideas with me too!
I hope you enjoy reading my blog, and that it inspires you to focus your lens closer to home next time you’re looking to escape the daily grind. Mother Nature, and future generations, will thank us for it!
Comments are closed.