A few months before starting TXE, I moved out of my flat in Edinburgh and travelled overland to Porto to attend a conference. I was still finishing a PhD, but I got to visit family members, meet old friends, and extend my trip to Lisbon for a holiday too. 

Above: Grassy tram tracks outside UPF in Barcelona, 2022

Own image - Looking out into the Mediterranean at Marseille, Sept. 2023

First published 02-03-2023

First published 17-02-2023

First published 01-02-2023

First published 2022

It's time to see how well I've been doing at reducing my carbon emissions this last year. What have I done well, and what could I still improve?

This is not a new route, but it faltered on and off throughout the 2000s and 2010s, a victim of subsidised air travel. The route was actually very well-used, with around 250,000 passengers each year. Shows how lopsided things are in favour of air travel when a service that popular is cancelled as unprofitable!

We've talked about ferries quite a bit on social media - they're an important piece of the no-fly puzzle, particularly if you're trying to travel into Europe from Britain and Ireland . We'll leave Irish Sea crossings to another blog post, but this post will outline the options for ferry travel.

Sometimes, travel can feel very functional and utilitarian. You go to an airport or station, and it has no personality - you’re busy, looking for the fastest way to leave and get to your final destination. However, part of the joy of flight-free travel is the journey itself, and the chance to experience views and places you completely ignore when flying.