Ecoescape Green Travel Guides
We've written two eco-travel guides to the UK and Ireland. In these practical guides, we’ve put together inspiration for ecoescapes around the UK and Ireland. These handpicked experiences are sustainable from start to finish. The writers travel slowly and have included details of cycle, bus and rail routes so you can do the same. There is also a comprehensive directory that covers places to stay, visit and eat, so wherever you go in the UK or Ireland, an Ecoescape is never far away.
slow travel - green places to stay - local food and drink - eco days out
Ecoescape UK by Laura Burgess
ISBN: 978-1-905731-40-4
paperback | 208 pages | 198mm x 130mm | March 2008 | Markham Publishing
Ecoescape Ireland by Catherine Mack
ISBN: 978-1-905731-29-9
paperback | 192 pages | May 2008 | Markham Publishing | £8.99 (RRP €11.69)
Reviews:
"Catherine Mack captures the soul of slow travel in Ireland. Her book is an excellent port of call for green travellers." Richard Hammond, the Guardian's eco travel correspondent and founder of Green Traveller
“Extremely informative and amusing. Catherine sensitively conveys the dreams and commitment of Ireland’s tourism providers who are doing their bit to make a difference. These are not just ecoescapes, they are great escapes.” Miriam Donohoe, Travel Editor, Irish Times
“Thorough and well-researched, this book has unearthed some real gems and is a useful starting point for anyone looking to go green on the Emerald Isle” Joanne O’Connor, Former Travel Editor, The Observer
Join our membership scheme
Ecoescape is helping travellers to rediscover local places and holiday closer to home in the UK and Ireland. We help travellers to get to know local people, places, transport, food and wildlife.
Our membership scheme rewards businesses that protect their environment and local communities. We connect our members to consumers who care about their impact on the planet. As the owner of a sustainable tourism business you care about recycling, using natural materials, renewable energy and encouraging sustainable transport. Above all you'll want to provide a haven for people to escape to, feel welcome, eat quality local produce and enjoy nature. At ecoescape we care about the same things, which is why we've created the UK and Ireland's first national business membership scheme to promote sustainable travel within the industry and to consumers.
Membership costs just £49 per year and we'll give you a free trial to get to know us a little better before deciding.
If you'd like to join Ecoescape as a member, email laura@ecoescape.org for more details.
What do green businesses say about ecoescape?
"We're proud members of Ecoescape, and we love working with Laura and the team at Ecoescape on promoting sustainable tourism close to home." Claire, Preseli Venture, Wales
"We were delighted that ecoescape chose to feature Orchard Lodge. We'd no idea we would get such a glowing report." Shelley, Orchard Lodge B&B, Cornwall
"We have already had people come to stay as a result of seeing ecoescape, and they were such lovely people! Bonus!" - Aspen House, Herefordshire
"We were delighted to see The Savoy represented in your fab book" - Debra, the Savoy Hotel, London
"ecoescape is great" - Nicola, Aberhyddnant Farm Cottages, Wales
ecoescape is a community interest company registered in England number: 6667992
Team
Director and series editor: Laura Greenman
Laura is the founder and director of Ecoescape Community Interest Company - a not-for-profit organisation that supports sustainable tourism in the UK and Ireland. She is also a travel writer and the author of a guide-book series to sustainable travel in the UK and Ireland. Laura writes regular features for the Guardian and the Observer on responsible travel, and has helped gain extensive media coverage for many green businesses.
Laura studied French and Russian at Nottingham University. During this time she developed her interest in sustainable travel after volunteering for an environmental NGO in Siberia. Following graduation, Laura worked for the destination marketing organisation for Nottinghamshire, Experience Nottinghamshire, before taking up a communications role at East Midlands Tourism.
While working at the regional tourism board, Laura discovered some eco-holiday gems and felt that destinations in the UK weren’t promoted enough to consumers. With some Lottery funding, Laura took matters into her own hands and self-published the first edition of Ecoescape in 2007. The guide was an instant success and later in the year, Laura pitched the idea for a series of Ecoescape guides to a publisher. In 2008, an updated and expanded Ecoescape UK guide was published by Green Guide, shortly followed by Ecoescape Ireland, by Catherine Mack and edited by Laura.
Laura also manages Magnetic North Travel - a tour company specialising in travel to the 'Wild North' including Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and Iceland. Visit www.magneticnorth.travel.
Email laura@ecoescape.org
ecoescape Ireland: Catherine Mack
Catherine is the author of ecoescape Ireland, which was published in May 2008.
She is a freelance writer specialising in responsible tourism and her work regularly appears in the Observer, Metro, Daily Telegraph, the Irish Sunday Tribune and various other publications and websites. Catherine recently graduated with a Masters degree in Responsible Tourism Management from University of Greenwich, London, gaining a distinction for her research on Travel Print Media and Responsible Tourism. Catherine writes about the issues of ‘green’ travel, as well as destinations practising genuine responsible tourism policies.
Catherine was born in Ireland and now lives in London with her two young sons.
About Ecoescape - eco friendly holidays and trips in the UK and Ireland
Ecoescape helps travellers to have memorable, inspiring holidays in the UK and Ireland. We promote the best and most unique (and often unusual) places to stay and visit that are closer to home and close to our hearts.
When the industry takes care of the environment and communities which it relies on, you get the best of all worlds. And we want to share that with you. So enjoy searching for your next weekend away, holiday with the family or summer adventure - and don't forget to tell us all about it.
Our aim is make tourism a positive part of everyone’s lives and ensure that the industry contributes positively to economies, environments and communities in the UK and beyond.
We’re not a usual tourism company. We think profit is great, but when it’s driven to good use it’s even better. So any profits we make go straight back into doing what we do best: communicating sustainable tourism. That’s backed up by our legal status as a Community Interest Company.
Ecoescape was founded in 2006 by Laura Greenman (then Laura Burgess). Seeing the lack of promotion given to sustainable tourism in the UK as an opportunity to change things, Laura set about researching and writing the UK’s first eco-travel guide. This was followed in 2008 by a published two-book series expanding into Ireland. The books have won awards and gained loads of press attention. But that wasn’t enough for Laura. She wanted to work on projects, large and small, that would have a lasting impact in the industry and in consumers’ minds. To this end, Ecoescape became a CIC and continues to do industry projects and communicate the benefits of eco holidays to the public.
Join our membership (for green tourism businesses)
Find about more about the Ecoescape Green Travel Guides
