A (Nearly) Car Free Week

Two weeks ago, I carried out an experiment. I decided not to use our car for a week. You probably wonder, “why should anybody do a silly thing like that?” At times, I wondered, too.

Well, did you know that 20%, one fifth, of all the carbon we emit worldwide comes from transport? My little experiment didn’t save a lot. But it helped me to think about the problem. Others are doing so. My chemistry magazine often gives heart-warming news about the many ways businesses are using science to help them reduce carbon.

Maybe you feel frightened when they talk about Climate Change on TV? I must admit, I do too, but I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. Maybe if I do what I can, somebody else will copy me and do their bit. And…I think it pleases God when we take simple steps to care for our world. As Psalm 84:5 puts it, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage…”    

I’ve got one big advantage. I enjoy riding my bicycle, and am happy riding up hills. I use it to go to Clifton on a Tuesday, Halifax on Thursday. There are other journeys you can make by train or bus if you plan ahead. Jane and I decided to go and explore for the day, so instead of taking the car, we caught the train to Littleborough, just over half an hour to the west. On the journey we saw fabulous views of the valley and its granite towns. We walked around Hollingworth Lake, a beautiful country park with nice places to eat and drink.  

Cars are useful for carrying heavy loads. I went to visit Alan, a friend who lives in the beautiful Shibden valley. He took me on a gloriously muddy walk from his house. I had to carry some clothes in my rucksack, but also my drill. This was so that I could put up a picture for a lady whose house lay on the way to Alan’s. Ooooh – it was heavy! My back grumbled at me all evening. 

It wouldn’t be easy to do the shopping without the car. I’m sorry, I cheated; Jane wasn’t having a car free week, so she drove to town. Somebody said, “Why didn’t you order your shop online?” Well, I think it important to buy from the butcher and veg shop on the main street, not just the supermarket. Whilst in town I met a lady who shops using a 4-decker trolley which would probably hold half our weekly shop. She kindly offered to give me her spare. It’s just…how would I push it up the 1-in-4 hill at the bottom of our road?

The big test was – could I get to orchestra and back? We practice at 7:30 on a Wednesday, at a community centre on the other side of Leeds. I normally set off in the car at 6:45. Instead, that Wednesday, I caught the 5:30 train. It came on time, pulling into Leeds just after 6 o’clock. “Plenty of time!” said my friend Mr. Googlemaps.

“Now, to find Stop 3 to catch bus S7”, I said to

myself as I walked out of the station. Alas, a terrible sight met my eyes (picture from the Yorkshire Evening Post). No bus stops, just barriers, cones, notices, tape and – a great big quarry had appeared where the road used to be!! I got to orchestra on time after a lot of random walking, taking a bus that went vaguely in the right direction.

How about coming home? Googlemaps told me that, if I got the S7 back to the station, I could catch the 10 o’clock express to Huddersfield, from where I would jump onto the last train to Brighouse. I found the stop and the S7 bus came alright, except it finished its journey 5 minutes’ walk from the station. “Hmm, I’m cutting it fine,” I muttered. Once through the barrier, I squeezed up the escalator, along the bridge to Platform 16, started down the steps…

“Clunk!”. The doors had closed. “Whistle!” and off set the express without John Hearson on board. To be fair, the slow train to Halifax and the last bus to Rastrick ran perfectly to time. But a very tired Me crawled into our house at 11:35 p.m, nearly an hour later than planned. Yes, if I didn’t have the car, I’d have to change to a more local orchestra.

You can do more without a car than you think. But you need to make careful choices, and to plan ahead. I was lucky – all 5 trains this week ran to time. Including, unluckily, the 10 pm express to Huddersfield! But, of course, often they’re late, so you’ve got to make allowances.  It’s when you have stuff to carry like violas, music stands, shopping and drills, that the car comes into its own.

I can tell you, sitting in the car the next Wednesday evening on my way to orchestra was pure bliss!