HOLIDAYING AT HOME

Holidaying at home is fun and quite cheap, says writer Peter Major from London. This is what he says in one of his books: “We live a couple of tube stops from King’s Cross in London, so we can easily travel by train and help fight global warming by avoiding flying. Flights abroad might seem cheap, but when you consider the taxes and cost of getting to the airport, they’re not. It’s over £20 return to Stansted Airport on the train. What I like doing is booking special fares on the train, and using our family rail card, which saves money and guarantees seats. There’s nothing like getting value for money, and the joy of knowing you will have somewhere to sit however crowded the train. On most trains our two daughters can walk up and down the corridors and enjoy trips to the buffet. Some train services even provide crayons for kids. Our eldest daughter actually learnt to crawl on the train. If you book a cottage or a B&B in advance and shop around, it’s no more expensive than a foreign hotel. And although it rains, it has never spoilt our holiday: wet walks, board games, table tennis or just having the time to listen to raindrops can be fun. There are so many things to do at home. Our children have had great holidays swimming in Lake Coniston, exploring ruined abbeys in Yorkshire and picnicking in beautiful valleys. Staying in the UK is great for your kids’ knowledge of history, too. Europe’s greatest wilderness is in the Scottish Highlands. A couple of years ago, we took the sleeper to Inverness, and travelled on (in a rented car and then in two boats) to the island of Taransay – where, on a summer day, it looked like the South Pacific and we had a beach of beautiful white sand all to ourselves.” This is an extract from Save Cash and Save the Planet. Find out more – see our books about holidaying in the UK, ethical tourism and ideas for getting away from it all – with traffic-free cycle trails and wildlife walks.