Our dear friends moved to Aberdeen last year, and we haven't yet visited them. Fiona emailed a few days ago, inviting us up for New Year's Eve, with links to an 'unmissable' deal – £25 flights each way, including taxes. We'll need four seats, so that's just £200. Surely this is too good to miss?

 

My husband and I wrestle with green guilt. What are all the low-energy lightbulbs for if we use up 2007's carbon quota by the 4th of January? We dither and the booking deadline passes. I'm kicking myself, but we feel we can't 'waste' the airmiles on non-essential flights, especially as my father is critically ill in America. My carbon footprint for the next decade is reserved for visits to him.

 

Eureka! My husband had suggested the train, but we presumed astronomical fares and a 12-hour journey – not exactly tempting with two young children in tow. A little research on www.thetrainline.com proves us wrong. Tickets for two came to £127.50 total, which is astonishing. The children travel free, but this means no reserved seating for them – eek! Perhaps a few off-key rounds of Old MacDonald will ensure our fellow travellers move away to make room for the little ones.

 

More good news – we don't even have to change trains, which should come in handy as the crayons and toy cars migrate round the carriage. We can just settle in for a long afternoon – around 7 hours, plus the Tube trip to Kings Cross. It's not that much worse than flying, really. The journey to Heathrow or Stansted can take ages in itself, plus you have to arrive an hour early and then wait around. By that time we'll be well into the countryside, travelling through – instead of above –- breathtaking landscapes. Like slow food, maybe slow travel is the next big trend.

 

A respected carbon calculator estimates the flights would have caused .66 tons of carbon emissions, which we could offset for just £4.97. What an amazing – and completely implausible – bargain! Future generations – if any actually survive – will marvel at our 'indulgences'.