See the picture? It looks like a normal roller coaster car, but it’s not. This car is driven by human power, power that comes from the potential energy created by people walking up a hill and then riding downhill in a counterweight cage, before walking up again to actually take the ride. A brilliant, simple idea that, although not new by a long shot, has found a niche in something – theme parks – normally associated with extreme waste. You can get more information about this ride, and the rest of this extremely sustainable park at this link.

We didn’t set out to make our week long trip to North Wales especially environmentally friendly, although it was a conscious decision to travel there by train rather than the 580 mile round trip by car. Once there, of course, we had to use public transport (rail and bus) and our feet, and it made for a much greener holiday.

Where we stayed was a combination of cost and environmental impact, and we chose to stay at the Bangor Youth Hostel. Youth Hostels are, by their nature, quite low impact, due to the use of communal facilities (dormitory bedrooms; washing, relaxing, cooking and eating areas) and the YHA is trying hard to make themselves even better.

I love riding on buses, and so do my children, but we don’t like waiting too long for them – especially when the companies don’t give any information to the information providers. So it’s a big Thumbs Down to Arriva Buses who do just that, and a big Thumbs Up to K.M.P., who are always on time and have very friendly bus drivers too. Nevertheless, for most of the time we got where we needed to and, thanks to the local council recognising the importance of bus services, for very little money.

So we got to see two of the finest castles on Earth – Caernarvon and Beaumaris – by bus and foot, and with just the odd ice cream and coffee.

What I didn’t expect to see was hoards of traffic at a small rural railway station! Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the longest place name in Europe. It’s not a real name, and was contrived as a tourist attraction, but it’s great nonetheless. We came to see the railway station, with its absurdly long name board, and the kids were very happy to have seen it. But the dark side of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll… is the horrific car park, built to accommodate the slavish hoards wanting to buy tacky good from the adjacent shopping mall. The cark park was full to bursting (at least 200 cars and coaches), yet the station platform, right next to the car park was empty. People wanted to shop – not see the very thing around which the shops were based. That’s just moronic.

On Thursday, as the weather was staying sunny and warm, we had an urge to go up the highest mountain in Wales (and England). From Llanberis you can get a small rack-and-pinion railway up Snowdon to – at the moment – the three-quarter way mark. The summit station is being refurbished, but we fancied the modest 250 metre walk from the existing station. Well, to say I was surprised at the cost of the railway (£52 return for our family) was an understatement – that and the 3 hour waiting time to just get on it. So we walked, just to see how far our 8 and 9 year old daughters could go. After 4 hours, and just our feet as propulsion – rather than a considerably more polluting locomotive – we had made it to the top.

And there I will leave the story, with a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside, and the thought that we had had a truly environmentally friendly holiday.

Keith Farnish
www.theearthblog.org
www.reduce3.com
And low-guilt member of The Sietch.