Ethical Traveller

Holiday on ice. Ice skating in Sweden – one of the best winter holidays

Ice skating in Sweden is one of the best winter holidays

I take my first steps out onto the frozen waters of The Baltic and my legs lock with fear. All that practice on the Christmas rink feels like a futile flirtation as my Swedish guide gently urges me to put my trust in the long metal ‘tour skating’ blades and just slide. Only weeks previously I had been proudly circling the rink, feeling all crisp and carefree, and now here I am, on the precipice of Swedish serenity, and I can’t seem to put one bleedin’ blade in front of the other.

Sustaining the wonderful island of Sark

Sark, one of the car-free Channel Islands

If there is one place I could go back to this mid summer, it would have to be Sark. One of the Channel Islands, it takes a good while to get there but it is so worth it. Sark is a car-free and sustainable Channel Island lying 11 km east of Guernsey and about 40 km west of the Cherbourg Peninsula of France. I discovered it on a trip to (also gorgeous, but not quite so special) Jersey a few years ago, which I was heading to by ferry from the south of England. I got chatting to a crowd of cool young ones, who told me they were en route to Sark. They come every year around midsummer to gaze at the stars, because Sark is not only car free, but it is totally free of street lights and so an astronomical Arcadia.

Blown away at Galley Head Lighthouse, Ireland

Sometimes the best things are on our doorstep and we just don’t even notice them. That’s what struck me when staying at the Galley Head Lighthouse in Cork recently. So many people I met who lived in the area said something along the lines of “Oh, I have always meant to stay there, but you know what it’s like when something is on your doorstep. You never get around to it”. It’s hard to miss Galley Head lighthouse, however, its beautiful beam a familiar sight for many as it illuminates Clonakilty’s coast. Read more about one of the finest places to stay on the Wild Atlantic Way, and perfect for a walking holiday in West Cork.

Wilderness Scotland – wild and awake to its country’s future

It’s ten years since I canoed the Great Glen Canoe Trail with leading Scottish adventure company, Wilderness Scotland, one of the most exhilarating journeys I have been on in the last decade. At the time, this adventure company was already a leading light in sustainable tourism, boasting a minimal carbon footprint and wholeheartedly supporting local communities. Ten years on, I`m taking another journey with them to see if their eco-lights are still shining. From the minute they pick us up from the Caledonian Sleeper at Inverness station in a Tesla, I realise that they are still firing on all carbon-free cyclinders.

One of the best Croatia travel books you will find

If you are planning a trip to Croatia, Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, this poignant memoir, My family and Other Enemies, by Mary Novakovich (published by Bradt Guides), about travels to her native lands in Lika, Croatia, is a must read. I have just put it down, watery eyed and feeling just a teeny fraction of the loss that Mary must feel every time she has to part company with this incredible piece of the world.

Was an Interrail Pass a good Christmas gift?

Our family travel plans were stymied by COVID-19 during Christmas 2021, and so I decided to give my sons an Interrail Pass each for Christmas instead, so that they could at least look forward to adventures ahead. I also gave them a HostelPass each, so that they could get discounts in hostels on their travels. And, because you have to have a book in your stocking, the most recent edition of Europe by Rail, by the brilliant Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries was tucked in there too. Both of the lads travelled during late July and August 2022 and they were 19 and 22 at time. Now, over to them to hear how they got on.