Taking the slower route, a guest blog by Ecosy Travel

We recently joined together with our community rail friends to celebrate #CommunityRailWeek (20 to 26 May), to showcase the innovative projects and inspiring initiatives from across the community rail movement around the theme of 'More Than A Railway'. Explore for yourself how community rail brings people together and creates more inclusive communities here.

To kick off the week we welcomed Katie from Ecosy Travel for a special guest blog, sharing the benefits and delights of taking the greener slower route, opening the door to a world of possibilities and opportunities.

"I often find that when I ask people what their favourite mode of transport is, the answer is often a train. There is a romanticism about trains that you just can't quite get on other modes of transport, whether that be because you can properly relax into the journey, because the railway lines are often through beautiful parts of the countryside, because there are large windows to gaze out of and watch landscapes slip by, or because they are designed well to share a journey with someone, chatting across a table or meeting the person sat next to you.

Whatever it may be, it's never been a hard concept to convince someone of, that trains are the best way to travel. There's no driving involved, no waiting around, no navigating, no queues, you arrive you hop on, you enjoy the journey, simple. And they just so happen to be one of the more sustainable ways you can travel.

When we explore the topic of eco travel, it usually emerges that the simplest things are where the wonders lie. Trains are a joy because you can actually take in the landscape that surrounds you. They aren't offering anything particularly ground-breaking, but what they are offering is space and time. You are able to properly absorb the scenery out of the window, delight in the views, and when you've had enough window gazing, you can turn to a book, a diary, a bit of work, headphones, or a conversation, and there is a magic in that.

If you are going away on holiday, travelling by train can easily be the start of the adventure. Eco travel really embraces the spirit of having time and ability to notice the world around you. It sets you into the right headspace to notice the simple wonders. It's about understanding and embracing a place, a landscape, a culture, and not setting yourself apart from it.

Eco properties come in all shapes and sizes but what defines them is a shared ethos of sustainable experiences and they carry this out in their own unique ways, all rooted in the desire to be kind to the planet. Just as a train travels through a landscape, eco properties are built within a landscape, not apart from it. Materials are sourced locally, energy is used from renewable sources available in that environment such as wind solar or hydroelectric.

Activities are encouraged that are respectful and positively engaged with the community, supporting local businesses, involving local people and benefiting all. If eco accommodations have land, the management of this is often for the benefit of nature and local wildlife and also a way for guests to engage in the natural world, to learn about the ecosystem and to support the restorative work there.

The concept of sustainable travel is discovering the wonder in what is right in front of you. It changes your mindset to take in the natural, to strip away the unnecessary and to embrace the idea that we have enough already, if only we had time to look.

We at Ecosy are really championing this idea, encouraging people to discover the delights at home, finding the beauty in the natural world and looking for the joy in simplicity.

For adventures further afield, we want to encourage a slower route that becomes part of the trip, that requires navigation through a land, that affords you that time and space to notice the world around you and to delight in the journey. Travelling like this is both sustainable and fulfilling. You can take so much more out of every moment whilst treading lightly and consciously.

At Ecosy Travel we want to inspire the enchantment and possibility of green travel. We have a directory of incredible eco properties across the UK, all offering sustainable stays and eco experiences, as well as low carbon travel routes, opting for trains, buses and bikes where possible to encourage purposeful and profound travel experiences.

We all need to look to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle but instead of seeing this as a restrictive outlook, it instead can open the door to a world of possibilities, of adventures to discover, of opportunities to learn and of experiences that will last a lifetime. It's an exciting time to discover the world of green travel so hop on and see where the journey takes you!"

More about Ecosy Travel

Ecosy Travel is on a mission to make it easy for you to find the perfect place to immerse yourself in nature and deeply restore your energy levels. They provide transparency on sustainability, so you can make informed decisions and know that your trip aligns with your values. Enjoy transformative experiences that connect you with the planet you want to protect.

Browse through the curated list of beautiful eco-escapes across the UK, and book direct to avoid commission fees. Use the carbon-optimised journey planner to map out your route, taking the hassle out of going green, and add all aspects of your trip into an easy to manage itinerary.

Ecosy Travel are a social enterprise dedicated to reducing the emissions in the travel & tourism sector, so using their platform supports climate action.