I completed Bristol Medical School’s Carbon Literacy training in early 2024. One of my pledges was to help reduce flights taken by for my project team. While not all trips can avoid air travel, those within northern Europe can often be reached by rail and ferry. I decided to test how easy this was when attending the Universities’ Transport Study Group (UTSG) conference in Dublin in June 2025.
The first challenge is the extended journey time. Travelling by rail and ferry takes around three times as long as flying, although this time can be offset by working while travelling or just taking time away from the laptop.
Booking travel
Flying is normalised in society. Key Travel’s portal automatically defaults to flights. It was easy to switch to rail travel on their website to book my train. To book my ferry I contacted Key Travel to request a quote. After several emails my ferry was booked. The process was relatively painless.
The final leg of the journey from the port to the university was the biggest challenge as there is no bus service from the port (according to Stena’s website). I decided to book an electric vehicle Uber.
The journey to Dublin
The ferry departed 20 minutes late and was then placed on standby to assist a yacht in distress. Once the RAF completed the rescue, we were off. I settled into a reclining seat and enjoyed the view of the Irish Sea.
Arriving in Dublin, having rescheduled my Uber on the app, I was able to disembark and continue to University College Dublin ninety minutes later than planned ready to enjoy the conference.
Returning home
After presenting my paper Elephant in the Road, exploring ways to reduce society’s dependence on cars, I ironically found myself stuck in Dublin traffic on my return journey to the docks. I later learned there is a bus service to/from the port to the city centre, but the website is rarely updated. The lack of up-to-date information can be a challenge of slow travel, especially when you have to meet the departure time of your next service. Fortunately I made the ferry with a few minutes to spare and enjoyed a relaxing trip back to Wales.
I decided to break my journey so I could attend the whole conference. This meant a quiet night in Holyhead, in a B&B on a road with no traffic. An early start and another long journey meant I was back home for lunch time on Saturday. The return leg brought back memories of childhood holidays in North Wales, especially passing through Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch station and seeing the beautiful Menai Bridge as I left Anglesey and returned to mainland Wales.
Summary
Slow travel is more time consuming and not suitable for everyone. I would not have been able to choose this option when my children were younger. With some advanced planning I found it a wonderful way to reconnect with old colleagues and travel through places from my past. If you have the time and flexibility, I would highly recommend choosing alternatives to flying.
Did you know?
If you work at Bristol Medical School, you can do Carbon Literacy Training and make your own pledges to reduce carbon emissions in the workplace. If you’d like to take part, contact lucy.westover@bristol.ac.uk. If you’d like to find out more about Carbon Literacy, see the Carbon Literacy Project.
Author: David Williams.