Nat Taplin, founder of Good Journey, on how car-free leisure travel is on the up and local authorities around the country are embracing the opportunity.
Nat will present during the Sustainable solutions for spectator and audience travel session at the National Modeshift Convention on Tuesday 25 November.
Stuck in jams
Most people head straight for the car for a day out or a holiday in Britain. And we’re doing it more and more – on average we each travel over 500 miles a year for day trips, 16% more than before Covid. The result is that honeypot destinations are overrun with cars, putting stress on local people and the local environment. ‘Fly parking’ on roadsides in places like Snowdonia and the Peak District have been in the news. While Scotland’s North Coast 500 touring route has even made it onto Fodor’s Travel 2025 ‘No travel’ list, a list 15 destinations around the world being spoilt by overtourism.
We spend plenty of time couped up in cars for boring things like the daily commute, the supermarket shop and the school run. Is this really the most enjoyable way to spend our days off? Can we tempt more people to break out of their cars at weekends and holidays? Children love to be freed from their seat belts and head for the top deck of a bus. With a car-free day out the adventure begins as soon as you step out of the door. You can sit back and enjoy the view, a book, a picnic, a snooze or even a cheeky drink –all things that will get you into trouble if you try them while driving!
Access for all
Opening up access to leisure by train, bus, bike and foot is also an issue of inclusion. 22% of UK households don’t own a car. Access to a car is even lower among people on low incomes, people of colour and disabled people. This means about 15 million people are denied equal access to leisure, nature and culture – missing out on the health, wellbeing, social and educational benefits which follow.
While many local authorities and ModeShift members are doing great things around everyday journeys – for school, work and healthcare – much less has been done around leisure travel. There are obvious reasons for this: leisure travel is discretionary, spontaneous and harder to plan for. Also, until recently, leisure travel generated fewer trips. Not any more. Leisure travel is now growing faster than utility travel. We each make an average of 36 day trips every year. Roads and railways are now often busier at weekends than weekdays. Leisure travel needs to be at the heart of local transport strategies, not an afterthought.
Image Credit: Go Lakes
Car-free leisure is coming
Things are starting to change. Car-free leisure travel is growing. If you don’t believe me, google ‘car-free days out’. Good Journey is working with attractions and destinations around the country to boost car-free days out. Norfolk and Suffolk have become the first Good Journey destinations – with discounts at attractions, new itineraries and marketing campaigns to inspire people to explore by train, bus, bike and foot. They’ll be joined by the Cotswolds in 2025, who have also commissioned a car-free tourism action plan. While the Peak District and the North East Combined Authority have both teamed up with Good Journey to offer discounts at attractions when you go by bus.
I look forward to sharing these and other great stories at the ModeShift Convention in November. Find out how Blenheim Palace have increased car-free visitors from 5000 to 64,000 a year. Hear how visitors now park and ride to Snowdon. And join Trixie the dog on a bus ride to the National Trust. And I look forward to chatting about leisure travel in your area and ideas for helping more people to enjoy car-free adventures.
Good Journey champion car-free leisure travel in Britain. They work with organisations like the National Trust, as well as local authorities and destinations, to boost sustainable and active leisure travel. Their website goodjourney.org.uk features over 500 attractions and 200 car-free adventures from Shetland to Lands End.
Booking details:
Bookings can be made at cost using the link below – but Modeshift Members get exclusive access, including one fully inclusive space as part of their membership and early bird discounts on additional tickets! Keep an eye on your inbox for your unique booking link.
National Modeshift Convention & National Travel Awards 2025
