Holidaying in the UK instead of overseas
Last updated Wednesday 30 April 2008
Getting away from it all needn't be a guilt trip
Overseas travel, consumer surveys routinely report, ranks alongside such pleasures as moving house, changing bank account and passing a kidney stone as a source of stress and anxiety. Yet despite this, the environmental impact of flying, and the fact that many of us think Britain is becoming a better place to spend holidays, millions of us would still rather go abroad. In fact more Brits have been to Barcelona than Bath.
So what will it take to persuade us to look closer to home?
Read more below
305kg of CO2 (by car) or 435kg of CO2 (by train)
789 Bloomers are doing this
CO2 reduction 
Cheapness 
Popularity 
Cost £45 (car) - £108 (train)
In this article:
How will it make a difference?
Pub Fact
- The average income of people using Stansted Airport is £47,000
- In 2006, Dublin and Edinburgh were in the top five plane journeys taken by Brits
- One in three people say they'd be willing to switch a holiday to avoid flying, but only one in 25 put their holiday money where their mouth is and actually do it
- In 2003, spending by domestic tourists accounted for four-fifths of the UK's £74 billion tourism earnings
- 18% of people would rather become a vegetarian than miss holidays by plane
- 15% of England is covered by Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- UK residents made 69.5 million visits abroad in 2006, with 45.3 million of these being for a holiday
Holidaying at home cuts out the emissions from flying, but your exact savings largely depend on how you get around instead (see What's the debate? below).
Making a return trip from Cardiff to the Lake District instead of Malaga will save about:
- 435kg of CO2 if you go by train - about the same as car sharing
- 305kg of CO2 if you take a car - about the same as driving more efficiently for a year
The train fare to Lake Windermere is £108, around £35 more than a flight to Malaga. Driving to Windermere would cost about £45 in petrol.
For another comparison, taking the train and slow ferry from London to Dublin produces 85kg less CO2 emissions than flying there. At around £50, the combined train and ferry costs are similar to a flight, and the journey takes roughly an hour and a half longer than flying.
What's the debate?
Accommodation, food and activities can actually be more expensive here than abroad - especially when compared with cheap package deals to Europe - and public transport is expensive too. So people often take the car, which can save money but eats into your emissions savings.
Filling the car or lift sharing makes road travel more CO2 efficient by splitting the emissions between several people. Meanwhile, you could find a petition for cheaper public transport on the government's website.
What's stopping me?
"But the plane still goes whether I'm on it or not"
Flight scheduling works by supply and demand. Demand is at an all-time high and increasing the number of scheduled flights. This can be reduced by consumer choice.
"What about our 'great' British weather? I don't want to sit and watch the rain for a week"
Research suggests that we are indeed put off holidaying in the UK by the risk of bad weather, but that during heat waves and hotter summers Brits book fewer foreign holidays.
As climate change progresses over the next 60 years, popular tourist spots such as Spain's Costa-del-Sol may become too hot for us and it's predicted we'll take more holidays at home. This could revive traditional British holiday spots like Blackpool and Brighton.
"If people fly less, won't the British economy suffer?"
It is, in that time-worn phrase, a case of swings and roundabouts: money not spent on flights - as in periods immediately following terrorist attacks - tends to be balanced, or even outweighed, by an increase in domestic spending. In fact, the majority (four fifths) of the UK's £74 billion tourism industry comes from UK, not foreign tourists.
How do I do it?
- If you've opted for a UK holiday, remember: taking public transport saves more CO2 than going by car
- Save up to 60% on fares: book in advance, travel off-peak and get a young persons, student or family rail card
- Check routes, ticket prices and CO2 emissions at Transport Direct
- Sustrans can advise on low emission travel in the UK
- Take slower ferries that mix passengers, cars and freight instead of fast passenger ferries that can use up to five times more fuel and can produce as much CO2 as planes
- If you do drive, take fewer, fuller cars
- Stuck for ideas on domestic delights? Check our list of holiday ideas (see below)
Holiday ideas
Where to go?
Regional BBC holiday links
City breaks
- Go clubbing in another city with the UK Clubbing Directory
- The best city breaks (from the Observer)
- Visit Britain's Heritage Cities
- Search UK breaks (Travel Supermarket)
Go by train
- Go to sleep in London, wake up in the Scottish Highlands on the Caledonian Sleeper train from £19, single
- Splurge out on the Royal Scotsman - it even boasts an open veranda
- Travel the Welsh mountains on the Snowdon railway
Stay in a castle
- Stay cheaply in "Scotland's most beautiful youth hostel"
- Stay in a Gloucestershire castle with the YHA
- Hire an historic building with your friends, through the Landmark Trust
Adventure sports
- Go surfing in Cornwall
- Best of British surfing (Times)
- Go sailing in Scotland (Visit Scotland)
- Go kite surfing in Devon (BBC Devon)
Festivals
- Go to a music festival (eFestivals)
- Try a food festival
- Choose a hot air balloon festival, listed on eballoon
- Be creative with the British Association of Arts Festivals
- Go to a science festival at the British Association for the Advancement of Science
Low impact holidays
- Stay for free on an organic farm with WWOOF
- Plan a lower impact holiday or day out with ecoescape
- Green Tourism in Scotland
- Holiday in a tree from GreenTraveller
- Charlie Brooker's holiday at home, on Guardian.co.uk
- Plan a slower holiday: SlowTrav
Outdoor escapes
- Visit a Wildlife Trust
- Visit an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Lakes, mountains and moors: the 14 national parks
- Go walking with The Ramblers
- Go camping or caravanning (Camping and Caravanning Club)
- Go camping and then to the pub (Fantastic campsites by the pub)
- Stay on a houseboat (The Inland Waterways Association)
- Cruise on the Norfolk Broads
- Go yachting or sailing (Royal Yachting Association)
- Cycling holidays (CTC)
- Explore the Nature of Britain
- Enjoy a wild weekend with Breathing Places
Beach getaways
- Britain's best beaches (Times Online)
- Explore the British coast
- Go beachcombing
Views of Britain
- Best of Britain (Times)
- See photos of Britain from Travel Britain
- BBC England 360 images
- Britain on View - online image library of Visit Britain
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Flying is one of the big polluters that each of us can directly control, but taking a staycation in the UK can also save money. If you compare a 4 star holiday in the UK against a 4 star holiday in Majorca, for a family of 4, you could save £1,500+ and a tonne of CO2 and it helps the UK economy. My blog has more info like this is you're interested in more green ideas for saving money or green shopping. www.freegreenmarket.com
Holidays/ short breaks in UK over the past few years - all self-catering: Isle of Mull (once as couple, twice with young family)
I have not been abroad for the last two years but I've just had a wonderful week in Dartmoor in a 15th Century thatched cottage. We visited some of the most beautiful villages in England and enjoyed it more than many holidays abroad. Plus you can take as much luggage as you want with you!!
It's just a shame that there's not more for a single person to do in this country in the evening - when you go abroad many museums and shops and facilities are open much later. Take a radio so you can listen to Mark Radcliffe when you get stuck in your B
My wife and I run a small holiday cottage business where walking, fresh air and fun are at the heart of reducing CO2 emmissions.
Take your bike on the train and be here in no time. The devon hills will definitely keep you fit. Our nest is built from straw, mud and horse poo, as they all were back in the day...
So I suggest there's no contest, stay closer to home and get snug with your love and enjoy a piece of Devon this Christmas and New Year, in The Nest.
© MMIX
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