‘Slow travel’ sees fast growth from tourists
The best trip of your life could be within cycling distance
Friday, 18th August 2023 — By Anna Lamche
Photographs of Mr Taylor’s European tour. [All images courtesy of Stephen Taylor]
THE summer holidays are in full swing – and the best trip of your life could be within cycling distance.
At least, that’s according to Stephen Taylor, a Hampstead resident who recently returned from a cycling tour of Europe, visiting friends, staying with strangers and camping as he travelled through France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
He is one of a growing number of people subscribing to the idea of “slow travel” – an alternative to the last- minute getaway, package holiday model that currently dominates the tourism industry.
“When I think about the future, it’s obvious to me that tourism is going to decline,” he said. “It’s so energy intensive… but what opens up for us is a culture in which travel is respected and valued. You should definitely travel, but don’t go to Thailand for the weekend. Go for six months, get a job, learn Thai.”
This can be difficult for people who live busy, pressured lives – but it can also be more rewarding than a quick trip away, Mr Taylor said.
“I think that there’s a distinction to be drawn between tourism and travel. Travel is where you go out into the world and you’re exposed to things and you’re willing to let it change you. Tourism – what it’s become – is just consumption on steroids. We consume transport, hotels and meals.”
Mr Taylor’s most recent cycling tour took just over a month. While he was “daunted” at first, he took the trip one day at a time.
“As the days pass you become fitter and you probably choose to ride further. You don’t need to train for cycle travel – it trains you.” He also makes sure to avoid setting himself goals or targets, cycling only as far as he “comfortably can” in one day before stopping for the night.
And according to Mr Taylor, you don’t need fancy accessories or lycra either: just the equipment to carry your bag, a raincoat and some comfortable clothes.
“It’s very cheap,” Mr Taylor said, adding the most expensive part of a cycling trip is the ferry crossing. And it’s also an option for parents with children, depending on their age. “People do this as family travel,” he said.
Cycling holidays are for everyone, not just men. “Women can and do [complete solo cycling tours]. You’ve clearly got to use discretion and so forth, but the world’s not as hostile or as dangerous a place as we tend to think,” he said.
“You want to pay attention to your intuition about things, but you’ve also got to recognise that there’s a bit of general fear and nerves that you’ve got to learn to live with… when you come back from it, you’ve got a confidence that I don’t know any other way of getting.”
Cyclists travelling through Europe often enjoy greater road safety than in England, thanks to “decades of investment and early intervention” from European governments, Mr Taylor said. This is in marked contrast to the cycle network in England, he added.
“Every time I come back from a tour, I’m angry about it. It’s an infrastructure-free cycle network. When you see what the French and the Germans have got, you think: it’s horrifying, why don’t we have that? Why can’t I go and ride my bike away from traffic and actually get places?”
Mr Taylor hopes to see more people picking up the idea of “slow travel” across Europe in the future. “We need to live more lightly on the Earth, demand less and enjoy ourselves more. I wanted to spend the time alone just turning the pedals, and I came back feeling very much more grounded,” he said.
