A new travel guide that is changing the way travellers see the world

ecoescape: United Kingdom

by Laura Burgess, published March 2008


slow travel • green places to stay • local food and drink • eco days out


208 pages, full colour, softback, printed on FSC-certified paper

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ecoescape is defining a new way to travel proving that we can enjoy the environment but leave no hint that we’d ever been there. And we don’t have to go far to do this. We believe that the best places to escape are closer to home than we had ever imagined.

“ecoescape begins at home. It’s about reconnecting to familiar places – our cities, villages, birthplace or countries – and finding ways to escape that we may never have realised were there. We also want to discover new spaces to think and breathe. ecoescape helps you find ways to get off-grid at home and further afield without sacrificing the quality of travel experience or the potential to relax and escape everyday life.”
Laura Burgess – ecoescape founder and author.

In the UK there are some of the most inspiring people and places that you will find anywhere in the world. It just takes some fresh eyes and a new mindset to enjoy them. For this inspirational and practical guide, we’ve found fifty of the best ecoescapes from around the UK. These handpicked experiences are sustainable from start to finish. The author, Laura Burgess, travelled slowly and has included details of her cycle, bus and rail routes so readers can do the same.

“ecoescape aims to encourage a rediscovery of landscape, attractions, foods and dwellings closer to home. It promotes alternatives to flying to encourage travellers to tread gently as they go.”
Laura Burgess

ecoescape: United Kingdom is a 208-page, full-colour travel guide to the greenest places to escape to in the UK. Each of the featured fifty ecoescapes includes the author’s personal review, inspiring photography and full contact details, plus advice on how to get there slowly. There is also a comprehensive directory that covers places to stay, visit and eat, so wherever you go in the UK, an ecoescape is never far away.

The art of Slow Travel
The art of slow travel involves using our cars less and avoiding flying. Instead we take the train, the bus or the boat and use our bikes and our legs more. Each ecoescape book comes complete with a Slow Travel Toolkit which shows the reader how to enjoy travelling slowly and in the process discover a new way of taking a holiday.

The first in a new series
ecoescape: United Kingdom is the first in a new series of travel guides that celebrate escapism and holidays that are closer to home. May 2008 sees the publication of ecoescape: Ireland and September sees ecoescape: Islands of Britain and ecoescape: Budgets and Backpacks. In 2009, there will be four more ecoescapes, including our first foray overseas to France. But we’ll only be getting across the Channel by ferry or train as no flights are allowed!

This new edition and the editions to follow build on the considerable success of the first edition published in 2007. The days of the 1p flight may well be over but Laura’s journey over the last year demonstrates that ecoescapes are here to stay. Her ongoing research, and that of her team, will continue to expand the coverage of eco-tourism in the UK and beyond.

Green tourism matters
Nowadays we all know that we have to think about our carbon footprint and the resources we use so green tourism matters too. Eco-travel begins at home here in the UK and that’s why tourism businesses are cutting emissions, sourcing locally, generating their own energy, moving off-grid and encouraging travellers and visitors to do the same. Through the books and its lively website at www.ecoescape.org, ecoescape provides a platform for UK businesses to shout about what they do and to connect ecoescapers to the changes that are making the world a greener place.

“ecoescape is all about nurturing a new mindset about what travel is and how we travel through time and space in the world. We don’t dictate a set of dos and don’ts. Instead we aim to create inlets to finding a greener holiday based on things we all like to do and experience already.”
Laura Burgess