I am, however, keenly aware of the environmental impact of flying and the need to cut down our emissions.

So, with this in mind, I decided to walk-the-walk and set myself a challenge: travel overland from London to the inaugural Greek National Tourism Office Sustainable Travel Agora conference in Crete on a self-imposed £400 budget (as for travel in this way to become a real alternative I could not allow costs to spiral).

https://twitter.com/ChrisStosWright/status/1707537625261769067

That’s doable, I hear you say. Now let’s throw into the mix the ability to work remotely; my attendance at the Travel Industry Awards by TTG on Thursday 28 September; and the start of the event on Monday 2 October.

I had three days to travel 1,700 miles, a distance covered in a mere four hours by flight.

The route

Working backwards, I knew that in order to arrive at the Agora on time, I had to reach Piraeus – the main port in Athens – by 11.59pm on Sunday 1 October at the very latest.

If I did not make this ferry crossing, then I would not make the start of the conference.

Planning

If you put London to Piraeus into Google Maps, it will tell you the journey time is 44 hours by public transport with a minimum of 11 connections – and not factoring in sleep either.

While this journey via Vienna, Sofia and Thessaloniki would, no doubt, have been stunning, I opted for a somewhat less frantic route.

London to Paris; Paris to Milan; Milan to Bari; Bari to Patras (Greece) – a 7.30pm overnight departure on Saturday 30 September; Patras to Athens; Athens to Heraklion (Crete) – an 11.59pm overnight departure on Sunday 1 October

The landslide

Knowing my challenge was feasible, I started to look forward to making the journey. Then news of a landslide closing the line between Paris and Milan reached me and I needed to factor in additional legs to my route via Zurich, including getting to Paris earlier than planned.

Time was not on my side, especially with Eurostar’s earliest departure being 6am and the latest being 8pm. What other options were there? Inspiration came while watching the BBC’s Race Across The World – could I use Flixbus like the contestants?

Yes, there was one leaving The O2 in London for Paris at 11.30pm on 28 September (the night) – that was it, my very own Race Across Europe was on. And I made it, arriving in Crete with 40 minutes to spare.

What I learned

• Travel is still about that sense of adventure – following closures on the French motorways, I arrived into Paris 40 minutes late, missing my first connection. After some moments of self-doubt and a sleep deprived mini-meltdown, I gave myself a slap around the face and came up with a plan: Paris – Mulhouse – Basel – Zurich – Milan. Without this detour, I would have missed some of the most dramatic scenery of my trip.

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• Be open to meeting new people and sharing experiences with them – my budget allowed me to book a sleeper cabin on the night train and a shared cabin from Bari to Igoumenitsa. My companions for the former were a young lady and her three-year-old daughter, complete with cat ears, while for the latter it was a young French truck driver with whom I spent hours sharing stories via Google Translate. These chance encounters are full of potential friendships and opportunities to make memories.

• There’s always time for exploration – I walked across Milan at night (magical) and allowed myself some time in Rome to explore. Travelling from city centre to city centre maximises your time within a place and there are countless options for stops en-route, if time permits.
  
  
• Overland travel creates new opportunities – yes, the fragmented booking process is still a pain, but as with anything complicated, it creates openings for operators and agents willing to provide their clients a service.

Would I do it again?

Despite the sleepless nights and stresses of missed connections, I really did enjoy the overland experience – and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

There is no doubt it adds time and expense but, with careful planning and less time pressures, I really think I can start to include it in my travel plans, especially as connectivity for work was not a problem with the use of 4G/5G and WiFi.

https://twitter.com/ChrisStosWright/status/1708154041480425931

I promise you that when you plan your next Race Around The World, or Europe, or just the UK, it’ll remind you of some of the joys of travel, and opportunities it creates, that you’d forgotten about.

Chris Wright is managing director of Sunvil. He was named LGBT Trailblazer of the Year at the Travel Industry Awards 2023 by TTG.