Travel miles
Ways to minimise the impact of the way you travel day to day
Cycling
There are various cycle routes in Harrogate and a couple of groups that have regular organised cycle rides. To download a guide to cycle routes to Harrogate and one for Knaresborough www.harrogate.gov.uk/immediacy-1206
www.wheel-easy.org.uk A cycling group for those preferring a leisurely weekend cycle ride in and around Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
The government gives tax breaks on bikes under the ‘Cycle to work’ scheme which allows employers to buy bikes for staff at a discount of up to 40%. www.bikeforall.net. We have been informed that Boneshakers Cycle Shop have set up an efficient tax free bike purchase scheme they operate with local companies.
You can buy bikes (some stock secondhand bikes ) at:
Ace Cycles, 178 Kings Road, Harrogate Tel: 01423 508417
Boneshakers Cycle Shop, Regent House, 13–15 Albert Street, Harrogate Tel: 01423 709453
Chainless Bike Co, Crown House, 13 Westmoreland Street, Harrogate Tel: 01423 562497
Helsby Cycles, St George’s Roundabout, Leeds Road, Harrogate HG2 8AW Tel: 0845-3459954*
Psychlosport, 1b Coronation Road, Harrogate Tel: 01423 545413 wwwpsychlosport.co.uk
Spa Cycles, 1 Wedderburn Road Harrogate Tel: 01423 887003
* you can hire bikes from Helsby Cycles
Walking
The "school run" by car has become a significant feature of daily life for many families and, as a result, school journeys account for 20% of morning rush-hour traffic. Ironically, the desire of parents to protect their children by driving them to school has brought about other health and safety problems, increased air pollution from car emissions and greater congestion around the school gates. Children who are driven to school are also less likely to develop essential road sense, which can only be learnt by walking and cycling. If you are interested in setting up a walking bus these sites have some useful information:
And this community enterprise www.brightkidz.co.uk can provide high visibility clothing.
Car Share
You can sign up online to share lifts with people going to the same destinations as you or some of the way. www.harrogatecarshare.com
Car Hire
There is no car club operating in Harrogate. A car club has a membership which can book to use community cars on an hourly basis. Please let us know if you are interested in using such a service -jane@thegoodearthcompany.com . Until a scheme is available you can of course hire a car for the day from various Car Rental Firms. I hired one from Arrow Readydrive Tel: 01423 568861 and once you are set up it works out pretty reasonably for the day.
Car Breakdown services
The Environmental Transport Association (E.T.A) is the only UK motoring organisation that actively campaigns for a more environmentally sound transport policy. www.eta.co.uk
Bus
For bus timetables for the Harrogate District go to www.harrogateanddistrict.co.uk If you are flying from Leeds Bradford airport you can now get a bus direct from Harrogate bus station to the airport for £2.00 one way www.bus2jet.com. But obviously we promote not flying if you can avoid it! If you have a mobility or sensory impairment which means that you cannot use or have difficulty or discomfort, using bus services, you can use the www.littleredbus.co.uk or call 01423 526 655, Mon-Fri between 6am and 8pm.
Train
The train is a great option if you want to get some work done and don’t want to be caught in traffic. If you can book in advance you can get some great deals www.thetrainline.com
Or if you need to go further afield this site will help you plan your journey www.seat61.com
Holidays
Consider going on holiday in the UK, have a look at:
Shropshire - www.ecocabin.co.uk – green holiday home which has had good reviews.
Scotland - www.lagnakeil.co.uk - Tigh Beg Croft which has an idyllic location by a loch, just south of Oban.
Wales www.organigparc.co.uk - These cottages state they try to have a minimal impact on the environment.
…And closer to home
Whitby - www.shoreline-cottages.com
Northumberland - www.cheviotholidaycottages.co.uk
For a range of holiday cottages you can buy a guide to the UK from www.sawdays.co.uk . There are some amazing places to stay.
You may be interested in going on a course – there all kinds going on all over the UK from edible mushroom tours www.fungiforays.co.uk or wild food foraging www.wildmanwildfood.com to sailing in Cornwall www.classic-sailing.co.uk
Join our discussion board if you are interested in unusual UK holidays at info@thegoodearthcompany.com.
Get the scoop on places to stay with www.tripadvisor.com
The tourist board is a wealth of information on local events and places of interest - www.yorkshirevisitor.com
You can download a guide to the UK’s Eco visitor centres at www.greenfutures.org.uk
Eco travel
Conservation International www.ecotour.org
Eco Volunteer www.ecovolunteer.org.uk
Offset
Sometimes it’s difficult not to travel by air, one of the most polluting
methods of transport. But there are ways to offset your impact. See www.carbonneutral.com and www.climatecare.org
Fuel Efficent Cars
Your new car decision will have a greater impact on the environment than any other consumer choice you make, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. A manual car uses less fuel than an automatic. You can substantially reduce the amount of CO2 you produce by buying a smaller car.
See www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk and www.etc.co.uk/news/car-buyers-guide.asp to compare different makes of car. You might like to consider getting a hybrid car or a diesel powered car. Hybrids use a combination of a petrol engine and an electric motor. Hybrids emit far less CO2 than the 171.4g per kilometre produced by the average new car in 2004. Diesel powered cars get between 20–40% better fuel economy than petrol models and so produce 20–40% less CO2. EU legislation that came in during 2005 called the Euro IV, requires diesel cars to be cleaner, producing less nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.
The electric cars like the G-Wiz are only really suitable for city dwellers as their maximum range is 40 miles. For more information see www.goinggreen.co.uk or www.est.org.uk/fleet/funding/lcc. As far as we understand this company only operates in London at present.
Biodiesel and bioethanol are biofuels which are derived from crops such as sugar cane, rapeseed and used cooking oil which are generally blended with diesel, fuel or petrol. Biodiesel is generally appropriate for any diesel vehicle designed to run on low sulphur diesel. Biodiesel filling stations can be found at www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk but currently there are none in Harrogate but there are some in York and Huddersfield.
You could also consider converting your car to LPG (liquid petroleum gas) which claims to be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than conventional petrol or diesel. For more information see www.greenfuel.org.uk