The end of the year is coming, I’ve just made it back from my final big international trip of 2023, so it’s time to see how I did at making greener choices for travel.
The rundown
JANUARY:
– Edinburgh – Oxford by train (with a bike)
FEBRUARY
– Oxford – Amsterdam by Eurostar for a conference
MARCH:
– Oxford – Edinburgh by train
– Edinburgh – Heathrow – Prague/Prague – Heathrow by plane to give a seminar and undertake a research visit
– Long weekend in the Lake District for a joint 30th birthday with my BFF. We picked a location with relatively easy train access, walk in/out activities and encouraged all our friends to car share where possible.
APRIL:
– No big trips, but I visited my grandparents and parents by train for the Easter holidays.
MAY:
– Long weekend in Dartmoor by train, bike and foot (read more here https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/06/16/depraved-in-devon-the-trip-that-launched-the-blog-revival/)
– Oxford – Toulouse via overnight bus and overnight train (more in this bold decision here https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/06/16/oxford-toulouse-by-train-and-bus/).
JUNE:
– Oxford – Edinburgh by train
– Edinburgh – Glasgow by train for a conference (feat. my first time on the Glasgow subway!)
JULY:
– Walked Edinburgh – Glasgow along the canal and returned by train (advice: do this in at least 3 days not 2 like me)
AUGUST:
– Edinburgh – Eindhoven by plane for a househunting trip
– Eindhoven – Oxford by ferry (https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/10/16/stena-line-hoek-van-holland-to-harwich-and-back-again/), train and coach
– Heathrow – Calgary – Vancouver by plane for a 2.5 week work and holiday trip
– Vancouver – Banff by coach (more on this epic adventure to come)
– Calgary – Heathrow – Schiphol by plane to move house!
SEPTEMBER:
– Edinburgh – Eindhoven by plane for a research visit
– Edinburgh – Oxford – Eindhoven by train and ferry with a bike (more on that here https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/edinburgh-to-eindhoven-via-oxford-with-a-bike/)
– Eindhoven – Bonn by Flixbus
OCTOBER:
– Eindhoven – Dusseldorf by Flixbus for a daytrip
NOVEMBER:
– Eindhoven – Budapest return flight for a friend’s birthday
– Eindhoven – Copenhagen for a workshop (more to come on this semi-disaster)
DECEMBER
– Schiphol – Bristol by plane (my Eurostar was cancelled with 24h notice)
– Reading – Eindhoven by train, bus and ferry
The very tail end of the year will involve at most: 1-2 trips to Bonn (Flixbus) and one short Christmas trip within the Netherlands (by train)
The statistics
This year I took 23 trips, of which 7 were only for work, 11 were personal and 5 combined work and personal travel. I took 15 planes across 7 trips, over 50 trains, 15 coaches, 3 ferries and multiple rail replacement buses.
For the trips where I flew, 1 return trip was long haul and the remainder were short haul. My most frequent route was Edinburgh-Eindhoven (one trip in each direction) because the plane is 25 euros and the ferry via Newcastle was over £200.
I spent over £1243.15 on trains, £243.94 on coaches, £1557.42 on flights and £337.60 on ferries. (Note this includes a lot work travel which was either covered by my employer, the people hosting me or grant funds, as well as travel covered by my relocation allowance).
I have travelled over 20,337 miles – over 4500 of which was via a method of transport other than an aeroplane.
I gave 7 seminars (in Prague, Toulouse, Vancouver, London, Didcot, Bath and Delft), 5 conference talks (Banff, Amsterdam, Bristol, Glasgow, Copenhagen) and went on 5 research visits (Edinburgh, Reading, Toulouse, Prague, Vancouver). 3 of these trips involved flying (Banff-Vancouver were part of the same travel) and the rest all took place by train or coach.
2 of these journeys (Birthday weekend in the Lakes and Glasgow back to Edinburgh post ridiculous hike) were undertaken with a companion, all the remaining travel was done alone.
1 of my (one-way) flights involved hold luggage as past of my move to NL, all other flights involved hand luggage only, with 2 journeys just involving an under-seat backpack. I paid for Send my bag to move a suitcase Oxford – Edinburgh for the summer so I could take my bike on the train. I was joined by my bike on 5 long distance train journeys.
Reflections and goals for next year
Fly less: I’ve flown more than I would have liked this year, which is partly due to time and financial constraints (we typically get a fixed work budget for travel, and when it runs out there are no more trips!), strikes, and in one specific case a lack of good routes. I’m hopeful with prior planning (and a less chaotic life!) I can reduce the number of flights for work purposes. This will also be made a bit easier by living in Mainland Europe. So far in 2024 I have work trips to Belgium, Germany, France and the UK planned all of which will be undertaken by train/coach/ferry.
Only fly long-haul for trips that are 1) worth it and 2) are multi-purpose. My only long haul trip in 2023 (to Canada) was a combination of 2 work activities as well as holiday. In my industry in-person visits are really useful for kicking off new projects and making connections, and this was definitely the case with the 2 work trips here. I’d be very unlikely to fly long distance for just one week of conference these days: I either want to add on holiday, a second work visit or maybe both.
Continue writing and speaking about my slower travel adventures! I’ve had a lot of fun both on my trips, and writing them up when I get home. A surprising number of people have told me they follow my escapades on twitter, and I’ve even inspired a few to try out train/ferry options instead of flying – what a result. Many of my new colleagues in Eindhoven are also keen to share knowledge and best practice regarding greener travel, which is something I hope we manage to start doing actively in the new year.
Travel a bit less? This year has involved an international move, a new job move, significant work travel plus a long distance relationship. I find myself in December absolutely knackered and looking at this list it’s no wonder! At the time of writing I have visited 5 countries in the last 6 weeks, so I’m very ready to spend some more time at home and exploring locally. Part of slow travel is making sure that trips are really worth it, and I want to be more mindful of not trying to cram absolutely everything in to my calendar going forward just because it appears there is a gap!
Adventures of a Mathematician 