1. 1
SUSTAINABLE LEISURE TRAVEL NETWORK
V i s T r a v ’s Fi r s t
Wo r k s h o p
Welcome to the First
Pa g e 1
A suc c essful
Cy c l i n g Pr o j e c t Summer 2009 Issue 1
i n Po r t u g a l
VisTrav’s First Workshop
P a g e 2 -4
Thirty Participants came to
Staverley in Cumbria for
El e c t r i c c a r s f o r
t ourist s in
VisTrav’s first workshop to
Co r n w a l l discuss whether low carbon
tourist travel can be eco-
P a g e 5 -6
nomically viable. The morn-
ing’s presentations by Jo
Ro b B r o c k Guiver, Alistair Kirkbride
Pa g e 6 and Rebecca Willis covered
a recent survey of bus users
in the Lake District, the cal-
Moorsbus culations about whether to Participants at VisTrav’s First Workshop
Pa g e 7 continue supporting a lei-
sure bus service and the op- She also spelt out the consequences of global
portunities for reducing the warming to the Lake District’s fauna and flora. In
Eu r o s t a r N e w s
carbon emitted in the Lake the afternoon the discussion ranged wide. Partici-
New s in Brief District. pants said they would like further workshops on
Pa g e 8 packaging experiences such as a public transport
Rebecca Willis made the itinerary, walks, food and drink and possibly ac-
point that changes in life- commodation, integrating transport offerings and
Sustainable Leisure styles often follow a life promoting them and car-free leisure travel for the
Travel Network less able.
change such as the birth of
(VisTrav)
www.vistrav.org.uk baby, new job or change of
info@VisTrav.org.uk house. Holidays are also Workshop notes available on website.
Institute of Transport times when people are out VisTrav
and Tourism, of their routines and more
University of Central
open to new ways of doing VisTrav has been set up by Natural England and
Lancashire the Institute of Transport and Tourism (University
Preston PR1 2HE things. A trip to the Lake
District offers the opportu- of Central Lancashire) to support people working
Co-ordinator nity to encourage people to to make travel to and in the countryside and natu-
Jo Guiver travel more sustainably. ral environments more sustainable.
Tel 01772 894923
New Good Practice Guide for Attractions
The views expressed in ‘Widen the Choice’ Transport Partnership has produced a good practice Guide for
this newsletter are those doing a green travel audit for tourist attractions. The Guide gives easy-to-
of the authors, not of the
understand instructions about how to find out about non-car travel to the destina-
organisations they repre-
sent. tion and promote it to visitors.
Good Practice Guide Available on website

2. 2
VISTRAV NEWS
EDITORIAL Cycling Murtosa: Sustainable
Mobility and Strategic
Spatial Planning in Portugal
Change is in the air, new values, or old
ones long over-shadowed by short- By Jose Carlos Mota and
termism and economic growth at all Gonçalo Santinha,
costs, are emerging. Perversely, the eco- lecturers at the
nomic recession may mean more people University of Aveiro
visiting the British countryside, as they
downsize from holidays abroad or are
attracted by the weak pound. Concerns Large number of municipalities in Portu-
about personal health and global climate gal see ‘leisure cycling’ as an opportunity
change are also getting through to more to enhance Rural Sustainable Develop-
people. So we can expect more visitors ment strategies. Traditionally cycling is
who want to enjoy the countryside with- viewed in terms of infrastructure (the de-
out their car and away from the sight, sign of cycle paths), but now some mu-
noise and fumes of other people’s cars. nicipalities are beginning to consider cy-
cling as an opportunity for designing spa-
tial and economic development strategies,
Enticing offers of non-car activities, such especially in rural areas.
as a good cycle trail, readily available hire
bikes, walks for different abilities, a handy
bus between attractions, a rail-ale trip, a The Project
vintage bus, pony cart or canal boat can The municipality of Murtosa, located in
make leaving the car at home an attractive Portugal’s Central Region (in the heart of
option. There is no end of creative thinking the Aveiro Lagoon country), is experi-
and expertise going into these projects, but menting with the University of Aveiro in
often it is not shared. the design and implementation of a spa-
tial cycling network targeted at leisure
use to bring economic and spatial devel-
Leisure travel has been sadly neglected opment called ‘Cycling Murtosa’. It was
by researchers, planners and policy- designed to investigate, “the relevance of
makers despite the fact that it applying sustainable mobility as a chal-
accounts for over a quarter of domestic lenge for local development (especially in
trips and a third of the distance travelled rural areas), valuing natural resources,
in the UK We hope that through VisTrav supporting local culture and identity, pro-
we can help rectify this and contribute to moting environmental friendly trans-
a better understanding of how to make port (cycling) and exploring economic
leisure travel more. sustainable and en- opportunities”.
joyable.
This project was launched under a
VisTrav (Sustainable Leisure Travel broader national programme on sustain-
Network) has been set up by Natural able mobility, promoted by the Portu-
England and the Institute of Transport guese Environmental Protection Agency
and Tourism at the University of Central (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente)
Lancashire. It aims to spread the experi- a) to provide local government with an
ence and ideas so they can be used to instrument that could help the design of
improve existing and new projects, spar- more sustainable mobility policies and
ing the need to re-invent the wheel. It develop a global and integrated vision of
can only work with your input but to- territory and mobility and b) to develop a
gether we can help give visitors a Good Practice Guide for Sustainable Mo-
healthy, relaxing time in the countryside bility, reporting successful national and
without it costing the earth. international cases.

3. 3
Cycling in Murtosa
Murtosa, one of the selected municipalities for
the innovative project, presented interesting and
unique conditions to sustain a new mobility plan-
ning approach: i) mobility patterns already based
on soft modes (in Murtosa 11% cycle, 1% in Por-
tugal); ii) cycling is mainly by young people
(more than 50% of schoolchildren); iii) favour-
able topography and environment conditions -
close to the lagoon (with high tourist and leisure
potential); iv) the municipality was committed to
improve cycling infrastructure .(paths and park-
ing).
Based on the concept of sustainable development, which combines “the triple bottom line ” (economic, social and
environment), ‘Cycling Murtosa’ opened-up new ways of seeing the problems and the concept of the project
emerged as a combination of:
a network of infrastructure and service activities (cycling paths, parking, equipment, services)
activities to mobilize Cycling Mobility (targeted at children and young people, enterprises, families and tourists)
promotion of cycling through ‘entertainment’ (services, information, logistic)
R&D activities (certification, innovation)
definition of a new institutional framework (at national, regional and local level) of activities (sport, culture and
nature).
What is being done
Some aspects of the project
are already being imple-
mented:
Building a circuit of river-
side trails, with scientific
information about the
flora, fauna, culture and
heritage of the lagoon and
surroundings with a net-
work of activities (sport,
culture and nature).
A community bicycle sys-
tem, with information
support - GPS, Internet,
itineraries, brochures
Developing specific soft-
ware for GPS and Aveiro
University incorporating
environmental, cultural
and historical information
about Murtosa, involving
ICT enterprises
Promoting support services (Cycle Garage, Touristic Guides, Shops, Police, Health) involving local institutions
and stimulating entrepreneurship/start-up businesses.
Incorporating the project into School curricula, encouraging students to use the bike as a tool to discover their
place (municipality/lagoon) supported by scientific and cultural knowledge and improving their sense of belonging
and reinforcing their identity.

4. 4
C y c l i n g M u r t o s a – S u s t a i n a b l e M o b i l i t y a n d St r a t e g i c
Spatial Planning in Portugal
Mobility and Spatial Planning 2) the implementation of local projects: Project
The research group of the University of Aveiro NaturRia (http://www.cm-murtosa.pt/naturria) a
wanted to develop strong conceptual support with nature cycling path with scientific information;
the principles of spatial planning applied to the twenty miles of river cycle paths; City centre
context of sustainable mobility. This involved the renewal projects
development of useful (and applicable) knowledge
for local government and other agents involved in 3) a new local authority attitude towards the mobi-
local strategies and nurturing the capacity to mobi- lisation of local and regional stakeholders in the
lise agents for collective action. The methodologi- design of local development strategies and in
cal approach was thus divided into three comple- establishing international and regional connec-
mentary stages: tions: INTERREG application (project BI-
CARE); National Cycling Municipal Associa-
1) defining the main principals and concerns tion.
around which the sustainable mobility policy For more information see:
could be designed http://murtosaciclavel.blogs.sapo.pt/ (English)
2) designing a guiding frame of reference, able http://www.cm-murtosa.pt/murtosaciclavel
to scientifically support the concepts of sus-
tainable mobility and a sustainable mobility Friday Night Specials in Eskdale
strategy/plan
3) territorial analysis based on available infor-
mation about the municipality, field work and
interviews with local/regional agents in-
volved in social, economic and political
fields.
During the process, the community (in general) and
key stakeholders (in particular) were actively in-
volved, creating a network involving the High
Schools and the National Association of Bicycle
Manufacturers (to promote future cycling users),
BIORIA (a successful project on ecotourism) and
the Department of Biology from the University of
Aveiro (to develop ecotourism activities) and fi-
nally INOVARIA (a cluster telecom agency which A cyclist enjoys a drink on the train home on
will promote ICT for cycling activities). the Eskdale Railway in North Yorkshire. The
special evening service on a Friday between
Although this is a new and innovative experiment, Whitby and Middlesbrough is proving very
results show that Murtosa demonstrates good prac- popular. With a bar and live music, passengers
tice in the promotion of sustainable development can just go for the ride or stop off at a station in
through cycling. They include: the Esk Valley for a drink and a meal.
1) a change of attitude towards sustainable mobility
from Murtosa municipality: it is now starting a
new Project called CICLORIA, promoted by The trains also run for Whitby Goth Weekend
three municipalities and the University of and on the Monday of Whitby Regatta for the
Aveiro, costing 1 million Euros, approved by fireworks. A special Transylvanian Express
national government in a national innovation will un on 30th October. Beware!
programme contest.

5. 5
Electric Cars for Tourists in Cornwall
By Matthew Trevaskis
We liaised with accommodation pro- means sites gain trade and users
of Eco-Drive viders to ensure they had could pro- know they can recharge if necessary.
vide an over-night source of electric-
Background
ity, and, on some days, with their Partners
Inspired by research to buy an elec- day-time stops.
tric moped while a student in Bath, I The largest holiday park in Corn-
arranged for the University to trial wall, Hendra at Newquay, in asso-
After initial curiosity, intrigue and
an electric van. Back in Cornwall, I ciation with Ecodrive, has provided
worries about the cost (no more than
founded Ecodrive, with a small fleet the first dedicated parking and
£1 to recharge), providers are nor-
of high-quality electric vehicles, charging area for electric vehicles in
mally happy to oblige and arrange
which I demonstrated to a wide Cornwall and is providing free elec-
the most convenient place to park
range of users including the Devon tricity for the first 5 years to encour-
with access to a socket. Although it
and Cornwall Constabulary who age the take up. Whether users are
would take too long to plan in this
used one for six months attracting residents or visitors to the site, Hen-
detail for every customer, as the
local media coverage. dra will recoup their investment
scheme grows in popularity, it be-
since they offer a variety of enter-
It has always been a long-term goal comes less of an issue as site-
tainment and dining options on-site
to use these vehicles for visitors, operators become familiar with what
during the peak season, open to non-
because in Cornwall, the tourist sec- is needed.
residents.
tor is so significant, and travel is re-
sponsible for much of the tourist car- It will take the cooperation of local
bon footprint. authorities to introduce and promote
charging points in car parks that they
The Cars operate. These ‘idle’ times are a
great opportunity to recharge and the
These are totally electric, no engine facilities also benefit local residents
at all (not hybrids or city cars). They who may opt to switch to an electric
have a maximum speed of 55 mph vehicle, which I feel is an important
and a range of 50 miles, although ‘payback.’
soon we want to replace older batter- One of the fully electric powered Peugeot 106 cars
ies with newer technology which Last year, I drove 680 miles in an
will improve performance and over electric Peugeot 106 around Den-
Soon, once a site has been inspected
double the range. They can recharge mark, Sweden and Norway in 6
and suitable dedicated sockets in-
in under an hour from dedicated days. Although Scandinavia lacks
stalled, we will promote it on our
charge points and about 5 hours genuine charging points having
website.
from a normal socket, although this high-power sockets at garages and
is limited by the amount of power rest-stops and the generosity of the
Ambassador
you can safely draw. people to let us use them (often for
free!) meant that we could charge
Eco-drive is an Ambassador busi-
Range and Recharging quickly whilst having a meal or even
ness of the Cornwall Sustainable
just a coffee.
Tourism project (CoaST) and
I use the vehicles for all my local through their fantastic network we
travel and can drive up to 125 miles The Future
made contact with a number of ac-
during the course of a day, using The ultimate aim is to encourage the
commodation providers (from yurt
semi-rapid charging, but less experi- visitors to arrive by public transport
camps to luxury hotels) interested in
enced drivers, before they learn a and then to use an electric car for
providing re-charging facilities for
few eco-driving tips, may only their transport whilst they are here,
their guests or day visitors. This will
achieve 40 miles before they need to which would appeal to visitors
provide re-assurance, although with
charge up. For this reason, we have touring locally or for short break.
increasing daily ranges, most electric
carefully planned itineraries for peo- Larger accommodation providers
car users will not need to recharge
ple trialling the cars. might station a car or more on-site
very often. This win-win situation

6. 6
Electric Cars in Cornwall
(continued from page 5)
might station a car or more on-site
that the guests can use on a per-day
basis - as a supplement to walking
and cycling. Of course, this will
depend on the geography of each
particular site, what other locations
and activities are within easy reach
on foot or by bike and the
‘demographic’ of the guest that the
accommodation attracts. It is hoped Rob Brock
to offer the cars to local residents to
use off-season for car clubs (shared In March we were saddened to hear of the untimely death of Rob
usage, billed per hour or half-day Brock. Rob had worked in sustainable travel for many years. In
unit). the nineties, he and his brother developed a bike for goods de-
liveries called the Brox. When talking about it on Blue Peter he
said "This is the vehicle for our small planet. It runs on milk and
cornflakes!".
In 2003, he was appointed Empty Roads Co-ordinator by the
Youth Hostels Association to help reduce the emissions and en-
vironmental damage caused by travel to youth hostels. He brought
in a range of measures including better directions to hostels, hos-
tels giving out public transport information and hire bikes at some
hostels. He recruited Andy Bickerstaffe as his assistant and over
a year Andy visited every hostel in England and Wales using pub-
We have also had interest from site lic transport. With the information gathered they designed an in-
operators for operational vehicles. spired diagrammatic map showing times and modes for getting to
Hendra now regularly use a range of each hostel.
electric vehicles for on- and off-site
use. They are easy to drive and qui- Rob was a great supporter of the Car-Free Leisure Network and
eter so night-time patrols do not dis- known for his wacky humour and helpfulness. Larger than life,
turb campers. with a heart to match, he will be greatly missed, but never
forgotten.
Ecodrive is now involved with the
development of Electric Vehicle
technology and recharging infra-
structure and is supplying a diverse
range of vehicles, including those
powered by natural gas (bio-gas
from farm waste) as a supplement to
the other low carbon vehicles. Inter-
est in replicating the scheme of tour-
ist rental of EVs (and other tourism
sector applications) has been re-
ceived from as far away as the
Cairngorms, reinforcing that its time
is coming!
For more information:
Matthew Trevaskis
matthew@eco-drive.co.uk

7. 7
VISTRAV NEWS
Moorsbus Review New Bridge at Worcester
On June 1st about 30 experts gath-
ered at the invite of the North York
Moors National Park Authority to
share their views about the future of
the Moorsbus. This complex bus
network runs between the week be-
fore Easter and the end of October
on Sundays and Bank Holidays and
daily during the school summer
holidays.
Worcestershire County Council
Although widely acknowledged as have unveiled the design for a
one of the best National Park bus new bridge across the River Sev-
services, after 28 years, the organis- ern at Worcester for cyclists and
ers were wondering what they could pedestrians. The bridge, part of
do better with the same amount of Sustrans’s Connect2 project
money. The invitees were keen to funded by lottery money, is
point out the major success of the scheduled to be completed for
Moorsbus, in the number of people June 2010.
it is carrying, its extensive network
and strong branding. One feature www.sustransconnect2.org.uk/
which appears to contribute to the news/news_detail.php?
high passenger satisfaction is the item=New+Diglis+Bridge+for+wal
presences of co-ordinators on the kers+and+cyclists
buses and major interchanges. As +unveiled&dm_i=6EB,15A0,O50
well as advising passengers, they TM,33RC,1
can co-ordinate the services when
there are problems such as a road
closure, which had happened the Ireland’s Rural
day before the review. Tourism hit by
Cheap Flights
According to Prof Gary Prosser,
Director of Development and Aca-
demic Affairs at the Tipperary In-
stitute, Ireland’s rural tourism
economy has been hit hard by
cheap flights to Ireland. An in-
creasing proportion of visitors
now tend to visit Dublin for a short
break and far fewer are touring the
rural areas in their cars, which has
Diagram used to tell visitors about resulted in falling numbers staying
distances, intercepting roads, bus in rural areas, causing B&Bs and
routes and parking along the northern Moorsbus Co-ordinator helps
passengers and checks bus other rural outlets to close.
reaches of Lancaster Canal Designed
by David Currington running at Helmsley http://www.trbdi.ie

8. 8
VISTRAV NEWS
News in Brief
New Forest Boss Resigns Website for Car-Free Walks ‘Widen the Choice’ Hibernates
Lyndsay Cornish has resigned as Chief A group of keen walkers, concerned The well-known Partnership, ‘Widen
Executive of the New Forest National about the impact of cars on the global the Choice’ responsible for a number
Park Authority after a letter, purport- and local environment, have started a of sustainable leisure travel projects
edly from Park officers, was sent to website for finding and listing car- in the East of England has ceased its
DEFRA complaining about her man- free walks. They list the many advan- work for the time being. At a seminar
agement style. The Park Authority had tages of getting into the countryside organised by the Partnership in Nor-
angered some residents by recom- without a car. wich on 1st July, Richard Powell of
mending dog-free car parks, curbs on See: http://www.carfreewalks.org/ the RSPB, thanked Chris Wood, the
horse keeping and considering road co-ordinator of Widen the Choice for
tolls. Motor Ban Overturned his hard work over the last seven
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/ The High Court has quashed Traffic years. Although funding has not been
4460133 .http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/
hampshire/8118443.stm Regulation Orders to ban recreational currently renewed, he hoped that the
motor vehicles from using green Partnership would resume its work in
Rural Road Safety lanes in the Yorkshire Dales National the future. Chris Wood launched their
The Council to Protect Rural England is Park. They were challenged by the Good Practice Guide for green access
urging people to respond to the Govern- Land Access Recreational Associa- audits to Visitor attractions, before
ment’s consultation on road safety be- tion, which promotes motor sports the delegates enjoyed a boat trip on
fore 14th July. They want it to be made and recreation. the River Wensum, looking at the
easier to put speed limits on rural roads. http://www.lro.com/news.php?sid=297&page=1
plans for cycle routes and bridges.
http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/transport/rural- http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/
transport/safer-roads news/4456836.High_Court_quashes____green_lane
s____decisions/
300% Increase for Eurostar
A new system for booking and carry- The number of bikes carried increased
ing cycles on Eurostar has resulted in a from 347 between April and August
300% increase in the number of cycles 2007 to 1,377 between the same months
carried. Before the system was in 2008. There is no indication how
changed cyclists could not book their many of the cyclists would not have
cycle onto the same train as themselves travelled by Eurostar without the new
but had to send it as registered bag- system.
gage.
Dave Holladay, the CTC’s public trans-
Now, for £20, a bike can travel on the port advisor said the change was a result
same train, bike owners just need to of Eurostar’s willingness to listen and
ring 08705 186 186 once they have institute a pragmatic solution. He hoped
their reservation for their own seat and other train companies would take no- The Kentmere Rambler from
book their cycle into the train’s hold, tice. Staveley, Cumbria will not run
this summer as Friends of the
Lake District have withdrawn
What is happening in your area? Please let us know! We would also like
their support.
your views and news. Contact us on info@VisTrav.org.uk