Railroad through the winter…

Slipping on my winter gloves and pulling my coat collar closer against the winter chill, it’s easy to wish myself away from the grey and grim daily routine of household chores and office life.

Though, with Christmas just around the corner, jetting off for sun-soaked climes is a little out of my budget (sob!).

But with discounted rail breaks, it’s easy to steam away from the hum-drum this winter and divert your train of thought elsewhere – even if your purse strings are as tightly wound as mine.

And whether you’re a fan of Thomas the tank engine or fancy yourself as a red-lipped heroine, of the silver screen, waving a loved-one off from the platform, you’re sure to find fun rail trips will help you to speed through the winter gloom.

All aboard? Simply check my pick of low price rail breaks and get set to go full steam ahead!

East Coast Offers

Whether you’re day-dreaming of cosying up in the Scottish highlands, shopping for some tartan knits in cosmopolitan Edinburgh or visiting historic Newcastle or York, it’s easy to indulge with reduced price winter rail breaks to some East Coast hot-spots.

Get on the right track and head to Edinburgh, Newcastle, York and more with our East Coast rail offers

East Anglia Offers:

If you hope to escape to quaint towns and historic cities where you can sightsee by day and enjoy a quick dram of an evening while you warm yourself by a pub’s crackling log fire, look no further than charming East Anglia.

Hop aboard and visit historic Cambridge, Colchester, Ipswich and more for less with our East Anglia rail offers

East Midlands Offers:

One of England’s oldest cities, Leicester and surrounding towns in East Midlands offer the perfect retreat for travellers looking to mix archaeological and historical interests with a little Christmas shopping.

Steam ahead and enjoy a break to Leicester, Chesterfield, Derby, Nottingham and more with our East Midland rail offers.

Go green for your next break

I’m sure we’ve all heard plenty of it – and maybe some of you have had enough of it – but all the hype about going green has got me thinking about how people are feeling about going on holiday. While it’s true that flying to exotic locations uses plane fuel, which equals nasty carbon being released into the environment, I thought I’d take a look at some of the destinations that could let eco-conscious travellers offset some of the damage and enjoy a guilt free holiday.

After a little bit of consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion that adventure type holidays could be among some of the best breaks for people who don’t want to cause much environmental impact. Obviously, I don’t mean skydiving trips or anything like that, but the kind of outdoors holidays where you can hike across amazing mountains like the Appalachians in the US and Canada, or plunge through the jungle of the Amazon Rainforest that spans across the South American countries of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia – to name but a few!

Then there’s heart-in-your-mouth extreme sports like white water rafting – which would be amazing to do in somewhere like New Zealand, what with all of that breathtaking scenery on either side. That is, if you’re not too terrified to take it in. In the same region, there’s camping trips to the Australian outback where you can explore the desert, see stunning mountainscapes and listen to the sounds of a starry night.

Camping is definitely one of the best ways make your trip more eco-friendly. Your accommodation needs no electricity and it’s easy to take any waste with you to dispose of properly and pop into local recycling facilities either on-site in some camping parks or at the nearest sign of civilisation. It’s also a brilliant way to save money – something I wrote about a couple of weeks ago when I noticed the camping trends jumping up around Scotland.

Of course, if it’s an extreme sport style holiday, I know I’d definitely prefer the opportunity for a proper shower and the comfort of a hotel bed after a busy day’s adventuring – and knowing I could do it with minimum impact on the environment makes it all the more worthwhile.

Going green in San Francisco

I was watching the film Milk the last week, which is about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the USA. I liked it a lot more than I expected to and Sean Penn is fantastic in it as Mr Milk, so I’m not surprised he won the Oscar earlier this year. But as well as turning my mind to the awful injustices of the time, the film made me think about San Francisco as a city – and how much I want to visit again.

I’ve been to San Francisco once on a family holiday when I was in my teens and, from what I can remember, I adored it. At the same time, I couldn’t help thinking that I’d get more out of the city if I came back when I was older – especially when we walked past welcoming-looking bars! What’s more, I’m determined to make my next holiday an eco-friendly one, and I think San Francisco might be just the answer.

Yes, I know that California is half way round the world and of course, I’ll have to fly there! But my research tells me that, once I get there, there will be plenty of ways to keep my travel green. San Francisco is widely known as one of the greenest cities in the United States. Its forward-thinking mayor Gavin Newsom is planning to implement mandatory recycling for all households in the city, and he’s also promised to make every taxi in San Francisco convert to become a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle by 2011.

There seems to be plenty of ways to enjoy San Francisco’s main attractions in an eco-friendly way too. For starters, who ever said that you had to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to truly appreciate its magnificence? I’ll walk or bike across instead! There seem to be a few environmentally-friendly tours to take too. Mr Toad’s Tours, for instance, apparently use propane-powered pre-1930s touring cars, while the 74X CultureBus offers an economical and eco-friendly way to see the city’s main museums.

It’s early days yet, but I’m hoping my plan will come together. The official visitor’s guide to eco-friendly ways to see the city is pretty useful but if you’ve got any insider tips on how to go green in San Francisco, I’d love to hear them.