Eco-tourism | Carbon off-setting | Travel by train | Break the habits | Burn baby burn | Stay at home

Stay at home

Given the environmental impact just about every form of travel entails, depressingly, the greenest option may be to just stay at home and build a wormery. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Hiking or cycling holidays can be very enjoyable and the British Isles has much to offer both.

Another option is to book a green holiday within the UK that involves less travel than overseas, or could even be reached on bike. One example is Ecocabin in Shropshire. Made entirely out of recycled or local timber like Douglas Firs and insulated using natural materials like wool, the Ecocabin is a fine example of how buildings can be made responsibly and yet offer light, clean and contemporary living space. Or you might fancy staying in a yurt in the Lake District or a tee-pee in Cornwall. For advice on where to go try www.greentraveller.co.uk.

Failing that, if you really want to see the world then there is always virtual travel, visiting websites of the world to lap up scenery and culture from afar. For example, many museums now offer excellent virtual tours. But don’t leave the computer on too long! Not only does it burn energy, studies have shown that for every 10 megabytes of information sent across the Internet 900 grammes of carbon emissions are produced.

Check out ecocabins here: www.ecocabin.co.uk/1/default.html