The Rheingold used to be full of Brits like me headed down to Switzerland for a little light skiing. Now they fly Easyjet! (Museum Folkwang)

The end of November 2010 marks an odd personal anniversary for me: It means five years of no flying. That’s right, I last got on an airplane back in November 2005, travelling from Paris to Dortmund and back again. I was growing increasingly uncomfortable with news about global warming and the damaging impact of flying, and so decided to stop worrying and do something about it. I’ve been taking the train ever since then.