Travel to WCLDN by rail, sea or road

Your guide to travelling to WordCamp London ‘without an aeroplane’

Tom Greenwood, who will be speaking on sustainability at WordCamp London 2019, shares his alternative travel tips. He writes:

As the biggest WordCamp in the UK, WordCamp London draws people from far and wide, not just from other parts of the UK, but internationally too. This year the team is trying to bring together information to make it even easier for people to travel within London to the venue in a sustainable manner. The team also wants to encourage those arriving from outside of London, especially from overseas, to choose the most sustainable methods of transport. That means looking at alternatives to air travel and keeping your feet firmly on the ground.

I’ve been to several WordCamps by train, including some in the UK such as Bristol, as well as abroad in Antwerp, Vienna, and Paris. And I’ve found it to be an amazing experience in its own right and not simply a mode of transport.

Tom Greenwood standing on the platform at Prague railway station
We took the scenic route from London to Vienna for WordCamp Europe 2016, allowing us to visit the beautiful city of Prague on the way.

Here I will share some of the benefits of travelling to London by land, and some tips on how to do so. If you’re travelling from another continent then this might be a stretch, but if you’re coming from within the UK and mainland Europe, and if you’re up for an adventure, then travelling by land is something that I would highly recommend.

The benefits of travelling to WordCamp London overland

  1. It’s good for the environment – We all know that air travel is a carbon intensive way to travel, but have we ever quantified it? As an example, a return flight from Munich to London produces the equivalent of about 300kg of CO2 when you include radiative forcing (that’s the increased impact of carbon emitted directly into the upper atmosphere). By contrast, the 1,400 mile round trip would only emit around 30kg CO2 if travelled by high speed rail and about 60kg by coach.  That’s a huge difference!
  2. It’s an opportunity to slow down – Many of us live hectic lives, constantly stimulated by digital media that we find hard to switch off. Although ‘it takes too long’ is often cited as a reason not to travel long distance by land, it can also be viewed as a reason to do it. Travelling by train or coach gives us time to slow down, digitally detox and let our minds relax as we sit back and admire the views from the window or read a book.
  3. It teaches us where we are – One of the things that I personally love about travelling overland is that it helps us to understand geography. I often refer to plane travel as ‘pop up travel’. It’s like getting into an elevator and getting off shortly after on a floor with different people, food and decoration; we don’t really understand where we are and have simply moved to a different zone in the theme park we call earth. On the other hand, when we travel over land we get to appreciate where we have come from, where we are going and everything in between. We see the landscapes, the culture, the architecture, the food and languages change along the way. It’s a great cultural experience.
  4. It’s not as slow as you think – It is true that until Elon Musk gets his Hyperloops working, travelling by air is the fastest way to travel long distance. But the speed of air travel can be deceptive when you factor in the time that it takes to get through the airport check in and security, plus transfer time to and from the airport.  Trains on the other hand have minimal check in time and travel from city center to city center, meaning that total travel time is often not too much slower than the plane after all.
  5. It’s a pleasure – Long distance overland travel can be a really great adventure, especially when crossing international borders. There’s a sense of adventure that comes from travelling across land that is somehow lacking in air travel, with its soulless airports, stressful security checks and cramped seating. Air travel might be faster, but unless you love flying it is also wasted time, whereas travelling by land can be a fun, comfortable and memorable experience in its own right and a great way to spend some quality time, whether on your own or with friends and colleagues.

Hopefully I’ve sparked your interest in travelling to WordCamp London by land and you’re now you are starting to ask practical questions like “how do I book tickets?”, “how long does it take?”, and “is it expensive?”  Let’s find out!

Practical tips to travel overland to WordCamp London

Travelling by train

Whether you are coming from far flung corners of the UK or from other parts of Europe, the train is almost certainly the fastest, most comfortable and most environmentally friendly way to travel.

Within the UK, National Rail is the official source of rail travel information and allows you to easily plan journeys and buy tickets. If you are travelling from abroad then it gets a bit more tricky but it may well be easier than you think. If you live in one of the cities served by Eurostar, such as Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, then booking a ticket and travelling to London is a breeze.  

Tom standing next to Eurostar at St Pancras station wearing grey, yellow and blue
I seem to have sub-consciously matched my clothes to the train when catching Eurostar from London to Paris for WordCamp Europe 2017

For travel from other cities, the website Loco2 is one which can save you the hassle of buying tickets from different country’s rail providers and makes it as easy as booking a plane ticket. And if you want to plan a more elaborate trip and research things in more detail, The Man in Seat 61 has been there, done that and got a wealth of information to share.

In terms of cost, long distance rail is sometimes a bit more expensive than flying. As an example, a typical return ticket from Munich to London can be purchased for about £175. It takes around 10 hours each way including breaks, which if you leave after breakfast will get you into the centre of London in time for dinner.

Travelling by coach

It might not be as smooth or fast as high speed train, but it has one big advantage – it’s cheaper!

Within the UK, National Express and MegaBus are the two leading providers of long distance coach travel and it can be an absolute bargain.  For international travel, Loco2 now offers some coach routes in addition to rail and Omio is dedicated to booking international coach travel. Of course, other travel booking websites will no doubt exist.

For comparison, a return ticket on Eurolines from Munich to London can be purchased for less than £100 but it does take twice as long as the train.

Travelling by car

Firstly, I should clarify that we are not by any means encouraging you to drive into London.  London has some fairly severe air quality and traffic problems so we ask you to avoid driving in London. However, if you are travelling a long distance, then it is a much more environmentally friendly option to flying so long as you leave the car outside of London and catch public transport into the city.

To drive an average petrol car from Munich to London and back would produce about 80kg of CO2, so it’s a bit more than coach or train but still way better than flying.  And if there are more people in the car, the emissions per person get proportionally lower.

So if you fancy a road trip across Europe, team up with some friends, pack some snacks and hit the road!

Travelling by boat

This might seem like a strange one to include in this list, but I’m aware of the fact that London is on an island (albeit a very big one) and for our friends in places such as Ireland, Portugal, Norway, the Channel Islands, there is quite a lot of water in the way.  But don’t let that stop you!

Taking the ferry to the UK can be a fun experience in itself – there’s nothing like that feeling of catching first sight of land.  Furthermore, although ferries are big dirty diesel beasts, they are apparently still much more environmentally friendly than flying.  I’ve tried to find reliable data on this and it’s hard to find, but Chris Packham says its true so it must be! He-he.

You can pair up the ferry with travel by train, coach or car to make the complete journey from your home to London.

Are you travelling to WordCamp London over land or sea?

If you are planning to travel long distance over land or sea to WordCamp London then we commend you! We would love to hear and share your stories, and perhaps inspire others to plan their own overland WordCamp adventures.

Contact us via Twitter @WordCampLondon or on Facebook at @WordCamp London.

Sustainability at WordCamp London 2019

London transport general information including accessible travel