greenhiker

Serious exercise in the British countryside

2008-03-09T16:02:00.007Z

Three great sources for exercise freaks on the lookout for a weekend hit make up this week's post. Whether you prefer swimming, cycling or running, below are our favourite suppliers for a top weekend's activities - all include a little bit of coaching as well.

Cycling - Red Spokes

Red Spokes speciality is their big trips - they do some incredible sounding rides, including one that climbs to Everest Base Camp (have a look at some of our 'offset yourself' ideas that you could combine with those). But by way of a taster before you take on something like that, check out their weekend and day trips. The price of these covers accommodation and food, but they're assuming you'll bring your own bike.

Best ideas:

London to Brighton, 1 day, £15

Yorkshire Dales, 3 days, £175

Swimming - Swimtrek

Again a company that specialise in longer-range trips, Swimtrek have a couple of options for shorter adventures closer to home. So before you leap on a plane and head off to the (admittedly extremely tempting-sounding) Dalmatian coast, check out the options below. Price includes accommodation, food and transport between swims, and wetsuit hire.

Best idea:

Lake District, 3 days, £275

Running - Purple Patch

This is more of a coaching weekend, but a great thing to do if you're training for a marathon or something like that (a great thing to do in itself, and the subject of a forthcoming post). This time cost includes accommodation, food, a bit of coaching, and of course the guides on your runs.

Best idea:

Cotswolds running weekend, 3 days, £195

Isle of Wight: Green island tourism

2008-02-26T09:45:00.003Z

As green tourism starts to get hold, it's good to see we Brits are leading the way. You may have heard that the New Forest won the top prize in the Responsible Tourism Awards - as the best eco destination in the world - but the nearby Isle of Wight will be a serious challenger next time round.

With a fully dedicated web resource at greenislandtourism, there are very few places that have done so much to make green travel so easy. The website is a little complicated (it is being updated), but you can just download the pdf leaflet which carries a map of the island with all the certified businesses and activities listed on there.

Just to simplify things completely, here's one good way to spend a Greenhiker weekend. A return trip from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour will cost you about £30 - it takes about an hour and a half each way. From there, the ferry to Ryde will be about £20 return, taking about 40 minutes (book through Wightlink). So you could comfortably leave London at 6pm and be on the island by 9pm, and travel back Sunday night the same way at a total cost of £50. Not bad.

Once you're there, you'll probably want to stay the night in Ryde (there are several awarded places listed on greenislandtourism). Hire bikes the next day at Tav Cycles (£20 for two days) and hit the round island trail - it's 100km long in total, and beautifully scenic. Stop off overnight wherever takes your fancy... if you can, make it as far as beautiful secluded Ventnor (above). Then complete the trip the next day, and head for home. Genius.

Eurostar tips for green travel

2008-02-20T21:59:00.004Z

We went to see Stelios of easyJet fame speak the other night, and while it's good to hear that not all cheap flight operators think environmentalists are 'nutters' (thanks Ryanair and Mr O'Leary - how's your share price by the way?), we're unconvinced by some of his chat. If caring is really what easyJet are all about, why don't they offset flights at no cost to travellers, given Stelios himself said 'it's only a couple of pounds'...?

With that in mind, it feels like a good time to give a bit of a plug to Eurostar. Not only do Eurostar journeys create 10 times fewer emissions than the equivalent flights, they offset all remaining emissions as well, at no cost to you. They also have a great little selection of ideas on their website for green travel in most of the destinations they offer access to - it's hidden away, so follow this link and peruse at leisure. There's some great stuff even in London. Just to pick one out, scroll down to the bottom and check out Les Orangeries. It's pretty much France's first real eco-hotel by the looks of things, with electric bikes, energy-saving lightbulbs, and even special low-toxin paint on the walls. Plus, with a return from London to Poitiers taking about 5h40 and costing from £79, and luxury double rooms at Les Orangeries starting at 75 euros, it's sounding a pretty good option.

The best way to see polar bears

2008-02-07T08:37:00.000Z

Traditionally, there's not a great variety of options for seeing these magnificent creatures (and if things carry on as they are, there'll be even fewer fairly soon, some would say). And the fact remains that if you're going to do, it's going to cost you. A lot. But there's one or two special options about for making the most of the opportunity.

There are really two places where the bears come close enough to civilisation to be accessible to you and me. One is Spitsbergen, off the very far northern coast of Norway, for which the best season is summer when the bears are foraging for food; the other Churchill, in the remote north of Canada, where they gather in huge numbers in October and November each year.

The default option for this sort of thing is a cruise, which is great, but really expensive. A 6-day Spitsbergen cruise in the lowest available class of cabin starts at £1195 with Hurtigruten, based on two sharing, and that's only once you've got to Longyearbyen, which isn't the cheapest place in the world to reach... Hurtigruten's Spitsbergen cruises are the cheapest we've found of the sort, and they've good, if not outstanding, environmental credentials.

One better is to travel round Spitsbergen under your own power. Hurtigruten offer two trips of this sort - a 9-day kayaking trip (covering much the same territory as the 6-day cruise) at £1365, or a 13-day trekking holiday costing £1755. These trips both sound incredible, though the idea of going on polar bear watch during the night while your fellow holidaymakers snooze in their tents around you is mildly unnerving!

Getting to Spitsbergen - Hurtigruten will book it for you if you ask them to, quoting a price of £670 return at the moment (including offsetting), which includes an overnight in Oslo. The most environmentally friendly way we could find takes you from Newcastle to Bergen by overnight ferry (from £43 return, and offering a chance to take in the fjordlands on your way), followed by a flight from there which will cost about £250 with SAS, though will involve changing planes in Tromso.

Perhaps the ultimate polar bear greenhike, though, actually takes you to North America. This isn't something we'd normally go in for, but then, there aren't any other places where you've actually got the opportunity to help study the environment at the same time as having a dream encounter with polar bears.

Earthwatch have an expedition in October from Churchill which they call 'Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge'. You spend 11 days staying at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, helping scientists from the University of Alberta monitor ecosystem responses to global warming - in the middle of the highest concentration of polar bears in the world. Once in Churchill, the trip comes in at £1395, though it should be said this is a true 'offset yourself' trip - you will be working!

Again, it's getting to Churchill that spirals the cost, and of course the environmental impact. Flying there from London will cost something in the region of £800. But again there is an incremental improvement you can make, and boost the scope of your trip at the same time. Fly to Toronto, which costs from £250 return, then take the train up to Churchill via Winnipeg. This will take you through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, and cost in the region of £250 return. That saves you £300, which could happily fund a few days looking around Toronto and Winnipeg on the way.

Covert Cabin: Simple breaks in SW France

2008-02-01T15:37:00.000Z

Wow. We've just found the best holiday location.

If you want peace, quiet and simplicity, check out the Covert Cabin website. They've got the Woodsman's Cabin that's been open for business since 2005, and are currently building Undershot Cabin to open in June this year. The theory behind both is the same - an entirely self-sufficient little holiday house on the shores of a lake. Both are off-grid, but have all the facilities you'll need. Simple, quiet luxury, at a great price - in the high season, the 2-person Woodsman's Cabin is £300 for the week. Outside that, it's £200. A series of lovely authentic French villages are within a short cycle (bikes are available for hire for the princely sum of £25 for two bikes for the week). Return trips from London to Angouleme available from £99 through eurostar.

Luxury accommodation. Budget prices. Proper local flavour. This is what green travel's all about.

Greenhiker research: The Destinations Show

2008-01-31T15:27:00.001Z

It seems to be the season...

The Destinations Show (sponsored by the Times, in a non-too-subtle battle with the Telegraph's sponsorship of the Adventure Travel Show) opens today, at the Earl's Court exhibition centre. This one looks like it'll be a little less in line with greenhiking values, but that said there's a big Europe & the UK area, which is laudable (and notable by its absence at the Adventure Travel Show - naughty Telegraph).

We're going along on Sunday, so we'll write it up then. But if you want tickets, click here.

Greenhiker research: The Adventure Travel Show

2008-01-25T14:40:00.001Z

The annual Adventure Travel Show is now open at the Business Design Centre in Islington, North London. If you're in town, it's worth going along to have a look around - although not devoted to green travel, most of the ideas here will involve getting a bit closer to the people and places you're visiting, which can only be a good thing. We like the look of the features they're putting on in the main theatre in particular - we'll definitely get our seats for 'From source to sea: the World's first expedition to walk the Amazon' (tonight at 6.45pm).

PS - writing this a couple of days after the show, we're hugely impressed by these guys. What they're taking on is an incredible challenge, and for very good causes, not least bringing attention to the significance of the Amazon basin to the fight against climate change. We'll be following their progress closely - you can too if you join their facebook group, or just go straight to the blog.

STOP PRESS - VOLUNTEER TRAVEL DEALS

2008-01-21T20:15:00.000Z

Check out i-to-i. They've got a sale on until the end of the month (10 days to go!), with 15% off every trip. On a normal basis, we're slightly suspicious of i-to-i prices - we've found a couple of projects that you can book direct for considerably under the i-to-i rate. But with 15% off, and the level of support (often including level 1 TEFL qualifications in the cost), it's hard to argue!

One trip we're particularly keen on is the China Train Experience. With the 15% off, this 14-day trip currently costs £718.25. It's a small group trip, with a tour leader, but with a fair bit of independence as well - you've got 2-3 days in Beijing and Shanghai at the beginning and end of the holiday, either side of a week in Xian, the city corresponding to the ancient capital of the first emperor. If you do feel like booking it (and we're thinking about sending a representative along ourselves), pop along to the British Museum and see a few of the Terracotta Warriors. They'll help you make your decision!

As ever, we're not hugely keen on flights. But the week you'll spend in Xian will be a much more effective form of offsetting than most, so we're all go for this one. BA or Air China fly direct into Beijing and back from Shanghai, and you can usually get BA's cheapest prices direct from them. If you don't mind changing, the cheapest option is probably the Russian airline Aeroflot, but the older planes and the two take-offs (you stop in Moscow) mean the emissions are probably a fair bit higher. Again their prices are cheapest at their website.

January Big Green-hike: Volunteering overseas

2008-01-17T18:48:00.000Z

The point of greenhiking isn't to stop flying completely, rather to recognise that flying is a privilege and a big deal - not something to be done lightly. That's because the true cost of flying is way in advance of what we pay; a short haul European return causes about 400kg of emissions. Turning your washing machine to 30 degrees saves about 230kg per year, to put that in context.

So if you do fly, make it worth it. Go for a decent amount of time - take a sabbatical! - and spend some of it volunteering. But, as ever, don't go through the obvious operators, most of them charge you through the nose, and that money all disappears into admin fees. Here's a few ideas to get you started - as ever, anyone with more let us know, and anyone who tries these out, let us know how you get on!

Our feature suggestion is APES - This is a primate rescue and rehabilitation centre, based in a bush camp in KwaZulu Natal, the wilder end of South Africa. Not only will you get stuck in with the monkeys, there's a small rural school nearby where you'll get the chance to meet the local kids, and the APES gang can organise homestay visits with local Zulu families. They ask for £195 per week, or £495 for a four week stay - this covers everything except your transport to the bush camp. Unbelievable bargain, unbelievable experience. Nearest airport is Durban, but Joburg's not a million miles away. Click here for more.

Keen divers should check out Blue Ventures, based in Madagascar. You can get a 6 week diving-based conservation trip from £1,765, covering everything but your flights and your 'personal' diving gear. None of us are big divers, but it does sound amazing - they've been awarded by National Geographic twice. Click here for more.

There's a company that are setting out to be the real experts in this field, and though some of their trips are a little short and a little expensive for the immediate taste of the greenhiker, the Observer's ringing endorsement for their Sunderbans Smiles trip (it won the accolade of 'Ultimate Eco Trip') suggests they're doing something right. We wonder if the Observer just hadn't found out about APES though! Click here to find out more about the wonderfully named Hands Up Holidays.

Happy hiking!

Update to January Green-hike 1: another way to the slopes

2008-01-11T16:31:00.000Z

We've just found an even better way...

The overnight train from Paris to Munich departs at 2245, meaning you could do a full day's work in London before you head off. You can get a return sleeper booth on that train for as little as £56, bit cheaper than a night in a hotel and the cost of a flight!

Once you get there, Munich puts you in a great place for skiing Austria. According to the extremely useful ifyouski.com, no fewer than 12 of Austria's best resorts (from St Anton to Mayrhofen) are within a 3 hour onward journey. And remember, Austria's resorts are generally much more natural than those of France, which are predominantly purpose built.

Get your skis on...

STOP PRESS - GREEN-HIKER SKI DEAL

2008-01-10T20:42:00.000Z

We've just been alerted to this deal on good old lastminute.com. You can get 3 full days of skiing in Meribel, in the heart of the huge 3 valleys ski area, for only £169, or 6 full days for £379, and the trip's half-board in a 3* hotel, with three course meals every evening. Looks pretty good to us:

Living up to the real joy of green travel, this is pretty much the cheapest ski holiday you can get, and seriously time efficient as well.

So why so cheap, and why so green?

Well, mainly because you travel overnight by coach from London Victoria coach station (if the comfort factor worries you a little bit, you can stump up an extra £25 for a Club Class seat, complete with a free neck pillow for you to keep!). But also because Brides-les-Bains, where the hotel is located, is a further 10 mins by cable car from the slopes at Meribel. But if you want to ski, and want to be green, are you really going to worry about an extra cable car ride at the beginning and end of the day? Not the biggest price to pay really, is it? (You're saving about 350kg of CO2 per person, by the way). Click here, or on the picture, to skip to lastminute and the booking page.

January Green-hike 2: West Dorset coastline

2008-01-05T17:10:00.000Z

Getting to know your home country better is green-hiking 101 - the United Kingdom is spectacularly varied, from the exotic climate of the Scilly Isles to the craggy headlands of Ben Nevis, and all of it accessible without the need for excessive travel, and certainly no need for flying.

As such, there will be a good share of British green-hikes, and Dorset will be a recurring theme. The likes of Bournemouth and Lyme Regis, the 2012 Olympic site at Weymouth, not to mention Shaftesbury... we love Dorset, and all the more so because, unlike more popular locales in Devon and Cornwall, it all begins within just a couple of hours drive or train of the capital.

It's also a perfect spot at this time of year, which might sound surprising! But less so when you hear that Weymouth was the sunniest spot in the country in 2007, totalling over 2000 hours of sunshine in the year - at an average of more than 6 hours a day. No wonder the Green-hiker team were able to get shots like this on a New Year's Day walk!

The Ultimate British Winter Sun Green-hike

Base yourself out of Weymouth, Lyme Regis, or Bridport. The best option is hire out one of the many cottages set up for the purpose - contact us at greenhiker@hotmail.co.uk for some specific ideas and a few discounts. Then get walking. The shot above was taken from the beach just in front of the wonderful Hive Beach Cafe, home of some of Dorset's best cakes and cappuccinos, not to mention some seriously posh fish n chips. Find out more at their website, http://www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk/. You can walk all the way along the coast to West Bay, and back along the clifftops - that's about a 4 hour stomp in total. If you've got some energy left, stop in pretty Abbotsbury for a hike up to the spectacular St Catherine's Chapel. Next day, get yourself on the range walks at Lulworth Cove. That's where the photo at the top of this blog was taken. You wouldn't believe it was England. Then head back to London. You'll be home in time for dinner. But you'll feel as good as new.

January Green-hike 1: Green-hiker skiing

2008-01-03T16:55:00.000Z

We'll start off the year with a pretty obvious one - though one that springs immediately to mind given the current weather forecasts in the UK...

Skiing is getting more and more popular in the UK, and it's a great thing. What could put you more in touch with nature than to get out there, breathing deep lungfuls of proper mountain air, and getting some serious exercise under your belt early in the year?

Of course, there are different types of skiing holiday, but here's a few principles of green-hiker skiing, together with a few places to look at next:

1 - Look beyond the obvious resorts, or at least the obvious parts of town
If you go to Tignes, Meribel, La Plagne, etc, you risk a not-particularly-authentic ski experience. A lot of these places are becoming the posh ski equivalents of egg and chips on the Costa Brava. But if you go a little further afield to find something special...

Have a think about Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia in particular. Sinaia in Romania has got some rave reviews, but Slovenia's Lake Bled and Kranskja Gora would take a lot of beating.

2 - Travel by train
So many skiers lose at least a full skiing day out of a week's trip through the times of their flights, not to mention spouting a load of unnecessary emissions into the atmosphere. Rail travel will be a theme of this site - with Eurostar's move to St Pancras, and Railteam coming online as we speak, a new era of travel is starting right now. And it spreads a lot further than you'd think.

Of the destinations above, only Slovenia is within a day's travel by rail, with an overnight train from Paris to Munich, followed by a short hop on towards Ljubljana. But if you prefer to stick to the French alps, rail is really the only way to go. There are two options - either go direct from London to the alps on Eurostar's snow trains (which run twice a week and take about 6 hours); a better option, though, is to hop over to Paris for dinner, and then take the sleeper to the alps, waking up refreshed and ready to hit the slopes.

3 - Share a chalet with people you don't know
It's a great way to do things. Open yourself up to new experiences, new banter, new ideas... and paying less for your holidays...

A good option if you want to 'go aussie' and meet some fun folk is to look on the Gum Tree's Travel Partners page; there's usually some like-minded folk around. But to be honest, most companies book you in to the bigger chalets bed-by-bed, so this isn't really revolutionary - but many people think they've got to get everything organised before they go for it. You don't!

The Ultimate Skiing Green-hike
This month's big combination takes you to the Italian resort of Madonna di Campiglio. Situated in the Dolomites, and until recently frequented almost exclusively by Italians, this resort has kept its authenticity to an impressive degree. It's great for beginners, but especially good for intermediate skiers (though there isn't a great off-piste offering if that's what you're after).

Getting there by train is a great option - a Friday afternoon train to Paris, a spot of Parisian dinner, and then onto the sleeper. You'll be in Brescia before 7am, and up at the resort by 10... giving you virtually the full Saturday on the slopes. Cheap fares are definitely a possibility if you book in advance, and remember the price includes two nights accommodation train-style, and getting you an extra two days skiing. See http://www.seat61.com/ for more on the journey.

http://www.lowcostbeds.com/ has some good options for accommodation, with Residence Alpes 2 looking a particularly good bet...

As will be the norm, please do send in your thoughts on the suggestions here, and any other Green-hiker tips of your own. Anyone who thinks they've got Green-hiker skiing down, we'd love to hear from you!