The example the Guardian cited was the journey from London to Edinburgh, which is one part of the journey that I completed. 12.5kg for the train and 131kg for the plane, more than a factor of 10 difference. All the trains I travelled on we’re pretty well full, so maximum savings achieved.
From the article “The first result from RDG’s new carbon calculator confirms this figure is actually 12.5kg/CO2e – approximately half the previous estimation, and 10 times less carbon than car travel or 13 times less than the equivalent flight.” referring to trains. I am actually surprised how much better trains are than flying and cars.
Let’s answer the questions on the journey: was it practical, was it fun, did it reduce pollution? And ask some more questions. The journey started and finished in the far north of Scotland and did a small diversion to Bristol, and then travelled to Porto and back.
Was the journey practical?
Flying from the UK is a lot quicker then traveling all the way by train. It turns out that getting to Portugal is particularly difficult. There appears to be very poor rail connections between Spain and Portugal, made worse by industry action on the trains in Portugal. But the trains linking London and Paris, Paris and Barcelona, Barcelona and Madrid are very rapid. Even London to Edinburgh is fast. There is no need to fly these routes. Being able to get from London to Barcelona or Paris to Edinburgh in a day is amazing.
Travelling by train to Bristol turns out to be more practical than flying from Scotland.
Was the journey fun?
Yes, it certainly was. Traveling through France, Spain, Portugal, England, Scotland, watching the changing landscape, agriculture, seeing towns and cities, all from the comfort of a train, can’t be beaten. Meeting a whole load of different people, and chatting. Exploring cities, hunting food, this was a full on experience. Far superior to flying.
I was constrained by having to be in particular locations at the start and end of the journey, otherwise I would have spent more time on the journey. However I realised that I could have spent an extra day on the journey out. Planning and booking the travel and accommodation was challenging, but it all came together.
Does traveling by train reduce pollution compared with flying
The short answer is yes!
Beautiful but slow route into Portugal
Which was the most cycle friendly city?
Paris has undergone a big change, loads of dedicated cycle paths. It was a joy to cycle round, with sights and atmosphere all the way. Even the drivers were good. So Paris was the top place to cycle.
Second place goes to Barcelona. Some good cycle routes but not as expansive as Paris. Cycling turned out to be great way to see the city.
Madrid did not have the clear routes of Paris and Barcelona. Twice when I stopped at traffic lights , I found that a police car was lurking just behind to me on my left. When they clocked that I spotted the police car, they the drove off, through the red light. Almost as if they they were waiting to catch me out. Unfortunately I did not get time to properly explore Madrid, which was a shame.
Fourth London. Some good dedicated routes such as Euston to Waterloo, but Paddington to St Pancras not so good. Some good views from the bike in London.
Fifth, Edinburgh, the tram lines and confusing roads letting Edinburgh down. But good sights.
Porto is beautiful, but the cobbled streets and extremely aggressive drivers bring Porto down. So Porto I have to put in at sixth.
Cycling around all the cities was a great way to sightsee. Faster than walking or public transport. Cooler as well, even in sweltering Barcelona, cycling was pleasant. And you are in amongst it all.
I have not included Badajoz in the rankings , as it is far smaller than the other the large cities. But Badajoz was great to tour by bike. What a beautiful place to visit.
Crossing Spain
The list to finish
Hotels: best value Porto, followed by Badajoz. The cheapest hotels. Badajoz had the edge on quality but had a very loud wedding happening, which negated its plus points. Worst value Oxfordshire.
Food: very expensive in the UK. Good value in France, Portugal and Spain. Struggled to find good food in Porto. Late arrival in many of my destinations and traveling by train all day that often I did not eat enough.
Most picturesque train line: the far north line in Scotland, followed by Edinburgh to Inverness. Badajoz to Entroncamento was impressive.
Portugal rail
Firsts: so many, first time in Badajoz, Barcelona, Madrid, Porto, first time crossing France and Spain by train – each in one day, first time cycling in Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Porto Badajoz. First time speaking in French to a Catalan on the TGV, first time attempting to speak Spanish in Spain. And so many more.
Best train- the TGV. Amazing train.
Tickets: ScotRail cheap club 50 ticket from the far north to Inverness and Edinburgh to the far north. Caledonian Sleeper Inverness to London, expensive. Local trains in SE and SW England, the routes are awkward if not going to or from London. Interrail Oxfordshire to Porto to Edinburgh with extra reservations but excluding Madrid to Barcelona. I had to get a bus from Porto to Valladolid. I will use the Interrail ticket again.
The part of the route Paris to Barcelona – the best train.
A few pictures of Edinburgh before the last leg of the journey.
From the hotel room.An Edinburgh tram
The journey starts again from Haymarket
Grangemouth in the distance A long distance view of the Falkirk WheelStirling The Wallace Monument at a distance At Inverness I change to the far north line after a two wait.Coming into Invergorden Nigh in the distance
Hotel des Pyrenees, great location, crazy room shapes.Street art in a tunnel next to the Seine- converted to pedestrian and cycle use.
Cycled to the Tour d’Eiffel. Paris is really cycle friendly and it turns out that this is a really good way to see Paris. I was surprised by the tunnel with the street art.
La Tour d’EiffelArmed military patrols around La Tour d’Eiffel Time to kill before getting on the Eurostar at Gare Du Nord.Église Saint-Vincent-de-PaulView from Église Saint-Vincent-de-PaulSightseeing routeCatching the Eurostar at Gare Du Nord.
No Window seat on the Eurostar means it’s not easy to get pictures from the train.
Back at St Pancras Next train is from Kings Cross
No seat booking but I am booked on the train. Stood up until we reached York.
Through the blind of the sixth floor hotel room window
Not enough time in Madrid due to the late arrival and catching the 1030 train.
Parque de el Retiro. Beautiful and cool,The super fast Spanish train
The next leg on the very fast Spanish service is not covered by Interrail. So had to pay for the ticket in advance on Trainline. But I had not realised that there is a baggage allowance. So I had to pay extra to get my luggage on the train.
Leaving Madrid Super fast train
Changed to TGV at Barcelona,
View from upper deck of TGVArrived in Paris- Gare de Lyon
Through the blind of the sixth floor hotel room window
Not enough time in Madrid due to the late arrival and catching the 1030 train.
Parque de el Retiro. Beautiful and cool,The super fast Spanish train
The next leg on the very fast Spanish service is not covered by Interrail. So had to pay for the ticket in advance on Trainline. But I had not realised that there is a baggage allowance. So I had to pay extra to get my luggage on the train.
Leaving Madrid Super fast train
Changed to TGV at Barcelona,
View from upper deck of TGVArrived in Paris- Gare de Lyon
The Portuguese railway had let me down. But google maps says there’s a route by bus. The bus station is a short walk from the train station but is an ugly concrete construction with the buses waiting in a concrete cave of doom. To further improve my mood I ate the worst ever pizza in an eating establishment above the cave.
The bus station cave
After asking where to wait several times and being reassured by bus number being shown, suddenly the number is replaced with a different service. Have I missed the bus? I chase around trying to find the bus getting no help whatsoever. Finally I stumble across the bus by chance. Another black mark against Portuguese public transport.
On our way
The bus driver is attentive and helpful, redeeming the service. And I am on my way. Change at Valladolid to get a late bus arriving at 0330 in Madrid. At least I will be back on track for tomorrow.
Arrived at Valladolid bus station just after nine.
On my way to Entroncamento . On the way notices appeared with the word “greve”.
It’s quite green
Arrived at Entroncamento
The single carriage train to take us to Badajoz but…..
Total confusion. The train was being cleaned. Two older English women were also trying to get to Badajoz. We asked around. No one appeared to know what was happening with the train. Eventually we got some sense from the ticket office. Train cancelled, it might go at 1500 or the next day or not. Too late for the connecting trains.
The two English women decided to go back to Lisbon, I decided to back to Porto.
The day before the trip and during the journey to Entroncamento I had checked the Portuguese railway website- nothing saying the train from Entroncamento to Badajoz was cancelled. However the train was cancelled due to industrial action.
Old steam engines at Entroncamento Back to Porto!
Five hours on the train and back to the start,just barter 1300. Disaster!
Hilly with beautiful buildings, cobbled streets and mad drivers. Mixed weather varying from very pleasant to hot. Shops open really late.
Coming off the underground tram.Inside Bolsa PalaceThe modern tram above ground .
A little wander on the bike.
There were loads of people sketching the buildings while sat on the steps.The old tramLots of the buildings are tiled on the outside.Looking towards Porto The Alantic
Insight 