Travel Beyond Flying
Not travelling to the ends of the world is not the end of the world. Those who have been loooking forwrd to a foreign holiday once cornavurus lock down ends have been met now with the realisation that social distancing measures are likely to rule out flying for quite some time. We hear that airlines sich as Ryanair and Easyjet are going to reccomence flights whch incorporate social distancing however whether this will be practical remains to be seen. Even if it does , it is clear that the number of flghts and the number of destinations are likley to be severy severely curtailed and with much of the British population clamering for any flights that might be available, the chances of boking one is likley to mean that flying is off the cards for most for some time to come.
The unstoppable growth in air travel over the last 50 years has opened the world up to all and to most Millennials a holiday to anywhere other than somewhere abroad and exotic is almost unthinkable. However, coronavirus combined with the push to reduce air travel as part of the carbon reducing agenda combined with the excrutiating hassle that IS flying today , there are still many non-flying options that allow the world to remain your oyster. Since air travel looks like being almost off the cards for the forseeable future then maybe its time to explore those other older, slower but often more confortable ways of travelling.
From the 1970s onwards, non flying meant holidaying in the decaying Victorian resorts such as Ayr, Skegness or Blackpool. Even worse for many, it could mean a caravan or camping holiday or a trip to Butlins. Now however the non flying travel options make the non flying world a lot bigger and more varied and there are many interesting destinations that can be reached relatively easily, comfortably and inexpensively.
Eurostar is, of course, one option that brings much of Western Europe much closer for a relatively low cost in terms of time and money. From St Pancras station London (with links to most of eastern Britain via Kings Cross), cities such as Paris, Amsetdam, Brussels come in to play and further afield Toulouse, Avignon and Nice are but a few hours away with the latter offering quick access to Corsica, Monaco and North Eastern Italy
Ferry travel has also improved greatly over the years with most of the old RoRo ferries replaced with cruise style ships offering comfortable and cheap crossings from places such as Hull and Newcastle to Scandinavia, the Baltic and Holland. Trips to Amsterdam involve only a quick to change on to a Rhine cruiser and the world as far as the Danube and Black Sea is your oyster.
Even within the UK, the ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick makes the beauties of the Orkney and Shetland Isles highly accessible for an overnight cruise on a one of Northern ferries two ultra modern ferries plying the route. At Lerwick cheap car hire from the ferry from the ferry terminal brings most of the Shetland Isles within a few hours travel.
Coach travel and coach packages have also greatly improved over recent years. Most modern coaches run by national fleets such as Shearings’ (sadly now in liquidation) and David Urquhart are no longer the preserve of the pensioners coach party or the Jolly Boys outing but offer comfortable travel to destinations across Europe tied into good quality hotels
Recently, my hatred of airports really took hold of me and I decided to take the ferry to a business meeting in Belfast. This was as alternative to the 7.20am flight from Edinburgh involving a 4.30am rise, a £20 taxi journey to the airport, an interminable wait in an interminably long queue at security an the associated frisking and x raying before the endless delays to get on board an uncomfortably small aircraft. Instead I went by ferry. This involved a relaxing train journey to Cairnryan via Glasgow then a comfortable cruise across the Irish sea on an embracing wind whilst I sipped coffee (too early for champagne) from the poop deck. Yes it did take longer a but it also was cheaper for those on a budget and by here, the trip was a holiday in itself.
https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en
https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/
http://www.poferries.com/en/portal
https://www.shearings.com/river-cruises
Brian D Haris