Not flying for a year

My personal discovery of the joys of slowmoves was led by a commitment to not flying for a year, something I will come back to in future posts. My thought at the time being, if I do all I can to minimise the carbon I am responsible for at home, why do I excuse in using an aeroplane for travel? How much recycling would I actually have to do to offset my last flight? A flight back home to London from San Jose, Costa Rica. It’d take more than that and being a vegetarian! I thought I would struggle, but that was now two years ago, and I am still without any plans to get on an aeroplane. It’s not to claim I will not fly again. I don’t know what future plans will be, but I do know that to enjoy travel as much as I do, is likely to lead me to places I cannot reach in reasonable time by other modes. That said, to enjoy travel as much as I do, is the single biggest reason I have grown with slowmoves; taking the time to recognise the enjoyment of the journey, not always being preoccupied by the destination.

I hope you will find Anouk and my pages as fun and evoking as they have been in our thought towards beginning with them,

George

The Pilgrimage

I've just finished reading one of Paulo Coelho's first books 'The Pilgrimage', published in 1986. It is a very personal account of his own spiritual journey of walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (also known as The St James Way) in Spain, a famous historical pilgrimage that is still popular today.

Accompanied by his guide Petrus, Coelho walks the whole length of the road over a period of several weeks, only pausing to sleep in the various villages dotted along the route. As part of the journey, Coelho has to do a number of meditation exercises (that are defined in each chapter) and is faced with many physical and mental challenges. I liked the slow pace of the book and it got me thinking how liberating it would be to be a pilgrim and walk for weeks on end.

Here are a couple of my favourite quotes:

"Time isn't something that always proceeds at the same pace. It is we who determine how quickly time passes."

"Changing the way you do routine things allows a new person to grow inside you."

The camino de Santiago de Compostella has existed for over 1000 years and was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages in medieval times. Tradition has it that the remains of the apostle St James the Great are buried in Santiago. You can start the journey from anywhere in Europe, but the most common route is the Camino Frances which starts in St Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago de Compostela about 780Km later, after traveling along the north of Spain.

Increasingly, the route is attracting a modern day 'pilgrim' that embarks on the road for the joys of slow travel and the challenge of weeks of walking in a foreign country. Pilgrims can buy a pilgrim's passport to get stamped in each town they visit and which allows them to stay in special pilgrim hostels along the way. Once (if) they reach Santiago, they can get a certificate to say they've accomplished the pilgrimage.

There's something really appealing to walking towards a common goal and it may just be something I'll attempt in my lifetime.

Anouk

Country retreat in Devon

Over the past few months I've been focusing on exploring England, partly due to lack of time, partly because there are so many wonderful places to visit within close-ish distance to London. St Ives (Cornwall), Bisley (Gloucestershire), Alfriston (East Sussex), Haslemere (West Sussex) are just some of the amazing places I've ventured to in the past year.

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I headed for a country break to Devon for a long weekend. We caught the train bright and early on a gorgeous friday morning and before too long we were driving along the tiny country lanes in East Devon in search of our bed & breakfast. Listening to BBC Devon and watching field after field and horses and cows go by, we felt ourselves slowly being de-Londonised... There it was our turning along a tiny dirt track, past the nearest 'village' Southleigh which consisted of a post box and village noticeboard. We passed a few farms and lovely converted barns and finally drove up the driveway to our bed & breakfast Glebe House, sitting beautifully on top a hill. My kind of place. Breathtaking views of the valley and surrounding farmhouses, wooden table and chairs for that night cap (or in my case peppermint tea) in the evening, and a welcoming host. I'd only just gotten there and I was already dreading leaving. Our host served us tea and cookies in the conservatory and then showed us to our room upstairs with views of the garden. It was a perfect location for exploring the nearby villages, beaches and Moors. We spent a day at the beautiful beach town Lyme Regis, a day in the wild and rugged Dartmoor national park and a day in idyllic and hip town of Totnes.

I'm all about staying local, and luckily there are seemingly never ending options in this very country...

Welcome to slowmoves

The journey has been slow, but then it couldn't have been any other way... We want to build a community of like-minded travellers who want to rediscover and enjoy the essence of travelling.

We are ushered to travel the same way, to the same places. Indeed, we have become used to only appreciating where we are going, not how we got there. We'd like to take the time to watch the world go by, observing, commenting, analysing people and sceneries on our way. Once we get there, we want to immerse ourselves in the local culture, chatting to locals, trying local dishes, and staying in guesthouses rather than big chain hotels. Some people call it 'slow travel'. We call it slowmoves.

Are you interested in Slowmoves? We'd love you to join us in sharing your experiences and promote the reasons for moving slower, whether they be environmental, social or economic. Read on about our journeys, trips, tips and adventures. Do leave us a comment or get in touch if you'd like to contribute. Enjoy the journey.

Anouk & George

Springfield park & marina

Springfield park is officially my new favourite park in London. I still love my 'local' Clissold park of course, but there's something really enchanting about Springfield park. A 10 minute cycle ride from Stoke Newington, the park is in Upper Clapton and sits alongside the river Lea. As you near the park, there's a steep hill with great views of the park on your right and Springfield marina straight ahead. I always feel like I'm on holiday somewhere (for some reason it makes me think of San Francisco?!) as I cycle down this hill.



The park has lots of different levels, tennis courts, weeping willows, great views of the river and surrounding marshes and a great cafe with yummy healthy food (I had a Moroccan salad). As you walk down to the marina, there's another cafe, a rowing club and endless walking routes along the river. If you cross the bridge and take a right, you can walk through Hackney marshes (you would never believe you were in London) until you reach a huge green with the largest collection of football pitches in Europe.



[Anouk]

Cyclosport events

Worth checking Cyclosport out if you are in to cycling, and not fainthearted.

It's all about the bike.

Within the site (along with places for reviews, photos, training tips and a lot more) Cyclosport list events taking place all around the world, search able first by continent, then country. You can find one close to you, or one that provides you with the destination to enjoy the journey to. Perhaps something to think about for next year but even a look at the beginning of October for the UK alone shows a month including tour of the Pennines and another of the Peak District.

It's worth reiterating the not fainthearted bit, but also making clear you can use the site how you wish. If you prefer to be independent and going at your own pace - rather than the peleton's - you can still be inspired by the rides on the website, they each come with summaries, 'getting there' information, maps, downloads and useful links.

Thanks to Rory who recommended the site following his completing of Atlantic to Mediterranean over Pyrenees peaks, in 100 hours this summer. The harder end of a journey written about earlier this year on slowmoves...

[George]

Picture from www.cyclosport.com

Crazy Guy On A Bike

Grateful to the Crazy Guy for giving us the cycle route between Bordeaux and Biarritz.

Mixed emotions about revisiting the site as I was hoping the slant of this post might be about achieving cycling 400kms. The first line I re-read is: "after last year's trip we decided on another one to a flat part of France".

Crazy Guy On A Bike is practical a website, offering easily searchable cycling trip ideas and routes around the World in a series of postings, muddled together. Aside, it offers journal and forum facilities. It's well worth a visit.

Our Bordeaux and Biarritz tour was indeed flat, and at times frustrating, to be by the sea but not in view of it. However we were struck by the quality of ride itself. Of 400kms, the vast majority was on maintained asphalt, purely for cyclists, away from any roads and traffic. In fact away from just about everything other trees making up light, airy woods. slowmoves in the most peaceful of surroundings. June felt like a good time to be there. I am sure September also.

We did our trip slowly, albeit over four reasonably long days. Our route was Bordeaux of Cap Ferret, via Lacanau, before around the Bassin Arcachon and on south. Trains to and from Paris go from on the same line for both Bordeaux and Biarritz.

Along with the woods, highlights were Dune du Pyla and Biarritz, for very different reasons. Dune du Pyla (pictured) is something I simply didn’t know Europe had. Biarritz is more diverse and vibrant than my preconceptions had given credit to. I must also acknowledge the fantastic Hotel De L'Ocean, where we stayed for three nights, right in the heart of Biarritz and at very good value.

A recommendation of website, route, journey and destination.

[George]


Pictures from our trip to follow, but in the meantime from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Dune_du_Pyla-08.jpg