Hadrian's Wall Path - following Roman footsteps

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. We do this in a bid to be less polluting and tackle climate change while at the same time keeping a global outlook. Instead of lazing on family holidays guest poster Pete May took his family for a very long walk along Hadrian's Wall. It not only gave his family a taste of life as a Roman, it even got his young daughters walking the whole way across England (the secret is don't rush!).

Pete and daughters Nell and Lola had different views about cows
on the footpath at the early and late parts of the 84 mile long walk.

The Hadrian’s Wall Path is one of the most thrilling long-distance walks anywhere in the world and now there's a new booklet to help you conquer it. The route is only 84 miles long  - a lot easier to walk than to make - and you won’t have any problem remembering when it was built, as the accompanying walkers’ bus is the AD122.

Hadrian’s Wall Path by Mark Richards is a comprehensive guide to the path, with full directions, maps, and information about all the towns and places to stay on the route.

Real Roman remains. Some can even be clambered over.

We started our walk at Arbeia fort at South Shields, where the foundations of the Roman fort can still be traced and several rooms have been reconstructed. There’s no wall left in Newcastle, but the thrill of seeing your first section of wall at Heddon-on-the-Wall and then the angular Brunton Turret is unforgettable. Some superb Roman forts can be seen on the walk, including Chesters with its well-preserved bathhouse with alcoves for robes, and the foundations of a Roman bridge across the Tyne. The museum there has many excellent statues and gravestones too.

History, wildlife, fresh air, geography... looking at how little the girls are
it's amazing to think they walked the 84 miles. We broke it into several mini
holidays (yes, we call walks holidays) and rewarded walkers with hearty pub meals
of chips at the end of the day.

You soon realise what a massive project the wall was, with regular mile castles and turrets designed to control the border between Roman England and Scotland. In places it is still taller than an adult, though it would once have been three times bigger. There are massive earthworks too, with the Vallum ditch visible on the south side and a ditch to the north. It’s hard to believe, but many of the conscripts manning the windswept wall would have been from places as far afield as modern-day Iraq.

Nearing the end - the Solway Firth.

The most stunning section is the central section over remote crags, where the famous Sycamore Gap (used for filming Robin Hood) is situated.

• At Housesteads fort there are intact communal Roman toilets, which will certainly stimulate some family lavatory humour. 
• The fort at Vindolanda was unforgettable as we saw archaeologists digging up a Roman sandal and a cow’s skull used for target practice. It’s here that old Roman messages on papyrus have been found in the waste ditches referring to “Brittunculi” (wretched little Brits). 
• It’s worth trying the Twice Brewed Inn too for good beer and rooms. 

The fort at Birdoswald was another highlight. After going through Carlisle the walk ended with the beautiful sweeping estuary of the Solway Firth and for the adults, a well-deserved pint.

Blog guest poster Pete May on the Hadrian's Wall path - he liked to make
detours to wherever football was being played!

One very useful aspect of the book is that it covers Hadrian’s Wall Path from both west to east and east to west, so that you can start at either South Shields or Bowness-on-Solway. It can be completed in one week or a more leisurely fortnight - but whatever your pace those 84 miles will feel like you’re walking with the Romans in Britain.

• Hadrian’s Wall Pathby Mark Richards is published by Cicerone, price £14.95.
• Pete May blogs at hammersintheheart.blogspot.com

GUEST POST: Be an explorer in Northumberland

Northumberland is known to be the most sparsely populated county in Britain says guest poster John Jackson. The beautiful countryside, the sparkling coast and the historic architecture make Northumberland an interesting visit, whether you decide to come for the weekend, or for a fortnight.  Here are some of my top locations to help you make the most of your Northumbrian adventure.

Castles

Alnwick, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh, Warkworth, and Chillingham are the most well-known, but Northumberland has many castles waiting for you to explore. See the location on which parts of the famous Harry Potter movies were shot; go trudging in the bountiful rock pools at Bamburgh; walk the Embleton beach to Dunstanburgh; explore the slightly ruined Warkworth; or hunt out the ghosts at Chillingham. The possibilities are endless. If you visit Alnwick, why not have lunch in the treetop restaurant, or take a picnic and visit the Alnwick gardens if it is a pleasant day…

The Coast

Amble marina is famous for its delicious fresh fish, not to mention its fish and chip shop. There are also boat trips out to the Farne islands, where puffins and seals gather, flying and swimming freely. It is a beautiful sight to behold! Further north, if you time it well, you can take a trip over to Holy Island. Make sure you check what time the tide comes in/out though… a tourist gets caught out every week.

Explore Northumberland on line

• http://www.whatsonnortheast.com/ - great guide to things to do in the northeast. It has loads of info on the festivals and different things happening. 

• http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/ - specific site for tourism in Northumberland 

• http://www.northumbriafoodandwinefestival.co.uk – biggest food festival in the northeast 

• http://www.visitkielder.com/ - link to Kielder forest and national park 

• http://www.alnwickcastle.com/ - a link to the historic alnwick castle

Traditional Pub Meal

The Angler’s Arms is a personal favourite of mine, offering an enormous variety of delicious food, whether you prefer a traditional dinner or something a little special. There are many other eateries, with several located in Rothbury. Why not go for a lovely walk in the countryside before tucking yourself away with some cold ale and a warming meal?

Kielder

Popular among cyclists, Kielder and Kielder forest is a beautiful destination for a day out with the family. Take a walk, challenge yourself to a mountain bike track, or go for a ride on horseback through the woods. Or pay a visit to the Kielder Water Birds of Prey centre and check out the elegant and majestic birds close-up. As far as food goes, you can pick up a delicious meal, whether it is a light lunch or an evening feast from one of three locations, each offering different options.  Fancying a day of fishing? Not a problem. Pick up your permit on site from £10 and fish one of many locations in the 2000 acres of water. Fully equipped motor boats are available to hire.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay, you can hire a Yurt or a Wigwam for a week, or if you prefer to explore more, check out Vancations (where you can hire a deluxe campervan for your Northumbrian break). There are a number of camp sites for you to pitch up for the night, so do some research before you come. Check out what festivals are on in the area when you visit. There’s always something exciting in the summer, such as a classic car show, a bike show, a beer festival or a food festival with a European market. Most importantly, just enjoy our open air and beautiful scenery!

Info on blog posts - occasionally guest posts are put on this site. The Aroundbritainnoplane family loves Northumberland so that's how this ended up here. Your comments are welcome. Where do you like going that gives you a sense of adventure?

Treehouses, poison plants and broomstick lessons

THIS IS A GUEST POST 

The historic town of Alnwick is a fantastic place to visit. Despite being a small town on the rural coastline of Northumberland, it is home to one of the most recognisable tourist attractions in the UK: Alnwick Castle.

Alnwick Castle

The castle was chosen to play the role of Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter saga, and has since become a focal point for fans of the films from all over the world. The castle has all sorts of Harry Potter-related attractions and activities for fans of the films such as broomstick training, and is a great day out for all the family.

One of the largest inhabited castles in the UK, Alnwick is owned by the Percy family, who have spent significantly in order to restore the castle to former glories: take a walk around its stately halls and stunning grounds to fully experience the majesty of the castle.

Alnwick Gardens

A short walk from the castle, Alnwick Gardens are owned by the Duchess of Northumberland and since 1995 her efforts to transform the gardens have resulted in a beautiful area where surprise and imagination are present in each garden. Look out for the incredible Grand Cascade – the dramatic focal point of the garden which will draw you in as soon as you enter the garden.

The gardens have been designed by Jacques and Peter Wirtz, celebrated Belgian designers of global renown. They have brought the most beautiful trees and flowers in the world together to create fantastic displays; most recently the addition of 300 Tai Haku cherry trees that are native to Japan and China have added a touch of elegance.

The Poison Garden is a huge attraction too. Filled with plants that can quite literally kill, it’s fascinating to learn about them and the gruesome effects they can have on the human body.

Alnwick Gardens are also home to the Treehouse Restaurant – literally a restaurant up in the trees! The food here is absolutely delicious, although it can be a little pricey, but children are well catered for and you really will not be disappointed.

The town of Alnwick also has plenty of places to eat, whether you feel like some traditional fish and chips or if a spot of tea and cake is more your preference, there are lots of affordable and delicious places to grab a bite to eat. Staying in holiday cottages in Northumberland is a good idea, as there are plenty of cosy places to stay in and around Alnwick that are a little bit nicer than an ordinary B&B.

Steeped in history and a truly beautiful little town, Alnwick is definitely worth a visit thanks to the sheer variety of things do see and do in such a small place.

Around Britain No Plane verdict - we visited with the kids in 2007 and it was wonderful. The link above gives you a place to stay.

Over to you

Where's your favourite British town for a wide ranges of things to do and see?

Shoes in the mud

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nicola

Good progress along the wall despite our depleted party. Lola, Nell and I have now spent three days in a row pounding westwards from Chesters and have today done a fabulous, albeit short stretch, from Housesteads to Vindolanda. This bit goes up and down so the mileage doubles, crosses a lough we feel sure inspired the King Arthur legend, and goes through wonderful Sycamore Gap (a spot every fan of the movie of Robin Hood the Prince of Thieves will know). I really enjoyed the turf-topped sections of the wall covered in waving grasses, mats of purple thyme and lady's bed straw and beyond that views to die for.

It was also the best bit though I grouchily found that there were rather too many walkers sharing the route with us (ie, about 50 in total walking in both directions, which I suppose is less than the number I see or push past on the way to school when we are back in London...)

And then we veered off the wall to Vindolanda, not sure of what we'd find, and found absolute treasure. Here an archaeological dig is ongoing and while we were there the team pulled out a leather sandal (about size six and therefore a man's). Pete saw it come out; we saw it popped into a plastic bag for recording.

This is also the place where the anaerobic soil conditions (ie, starved of oxygen) have led to the most amazing discoveries: the letters and notes of daily life. It was here that they dug up a birthday party invitation from a lady (not just an obvious sign that Roman women were at the forts - don't tell Hadrian - but also that this Roman woman could write very elegantly.

Vindolanda is a brilliant place, and if you don't want to be a tourist here you can always come as an archaeological volunteer. From our brief visit it is clear that both Pete and Lola are very tempted, with Lola actually begging to learn Latin (they have fabulous primers there including Minimous (aka Minny Mouse) and Harry Potter in Latin. Nell was content with just being an ice cream taster

Next stop Hexham for Hadrian's Wall

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nicola

Hexham – voted best market town to live in by Country Life readers in 2005 and I’m sure they’d think the same again bar the staggering property prices and lack of homes with gardens – is a brilliant town. It’s very nearly the centre of Britain, though this honour is more truthfully held by its neighbour, Haltwhistle. You can even wine, dine and crash at the Centre of Britain Hotel there, see http://www.centre-of-britain.org.uk/. It has a station with links to Carlisle and Newcastle and loads of independent shops. I’ve already bought mohair socks and nettle cheese – both local specialities and eaten at the excellent Dipton Mill Inn which serves Hexhamshire beers and local cheeses, a genuine cheesey pub...

We arrived via the train station - the second oldest in England - but there's still the Abbey to look around, and Hadrian's Wall to walk (using the wittily named AD122 bus [clue: it's the same number as the year Hadrian visited Britain and commissioned the wall]) but we have had time to visit the Old Gaol http://www.tynedaleheritage.org/ which is the most disabled-access friendly museum I’ve ever been in despite being built in 1332. It had a lift taking you to the dungeons and then up two floors in a bid to explain why the Archbishop of York and later the March Wardens needed a purpose built jail – the first in England – in Hexham. Yet again it seems to hang on the activities of the Border Reivers doing reprisal raids and cattle thieving in the debatable lands.

Into the poison garden

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Lola

This is a cautionary story about Qhat (pronounced cat).

Once upon a time a man went into a poison garden and he saw qhat. He asked what's qhat doing here - in a cage - I've been feeding it to my mates and telling them it is harmless. So the man taking him around says it produces lung cancer, heart disease and makes your teeth fall out. So he had to tell his mates that they were going to get lung cancer, heart disease and their teeth would fall out.

Some other poisonous plants to watch out for - info learnt at Alnwick Garden - are deadly nightshade, ivy, hemlock, dock, stinging nettles, rhubarb, foxgloves, giant hogwee, mandrake and angel's trumpet.

Flying owls

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nell and Lola (pic of Nell with a barn owl)

Nell: It was fun flying an owl. I had to wear a big glove and then the owl flew over to me really fast (and quietly) and the man gave it some food to help it get lots of energy. Harry Potter had a plain white owl with a bit of brown on its head but my one wasn't snowy white.

Lola: They look heavy, but they weren't. It was strange. I know you shouldn't, but I'd still like to keep an owl as a pet.

Knight's quest

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from XX

COPY TO COME

I want a treehouse

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nicola (looking inspired in the pic despite three sleepless nights in a row)

The treehouse at Alnwick in Northumberland is spectacular - and the biggest in the world. I didn't just enjoy visiting it - trip-trapping over the rope bridges, admiring the giant chairs or winding your way up to the crows' nest views - I've now got something to think out how to squeeze into our pocket home in London (other than world peace, education, and climate change concerns) as I lay awake failing to visit the land of nod.

For my friend Fiona

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nicola

At last we've got to walk around in your old manor, Berwick-on-Tweed. In fact we went on a mini pilgrimage there to buy the latest Harry Potter and found that WHSmith had sold 450 copies on the very first day of the book's release. Lola hasn't lifted her head out of the book since we bought it for her and will require a lot of bribing, coaxing, pocket money raises to prevent her telling us the ending when she finishes it... all too soon.

The good news is that we've found a ruined peel tower that we think you should snap up and turn into a holiday home... As you said about Mottingham, we can't afford not to.

Practically ever since I met you I've been meaning to visit your old haunts and I have to say that I'm dead impressed. Chips in Seahouses; a picnic on Holy Island with castles behind us and infront of us, fab food and friendly people - really Northumberland is perfect. Thanks for being the inspiration to get us here!

Crossing the border

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nicola (here's Pete in Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland minutes after crossing back from Scotland)

By train you just don't notice the border, but if you go by road from England into Scotland then you are in for a treat. First a warning notice that in a mile you'll hit the border and then at 60mph you can enjoy flashing past the Scottish blue and white flags. You can even park at a border stopping point and take a photo.

But coming back there's far less fan fare and if the van selling styrofoam cups of tea has closed then there aren't even any flags (though they use a Union Jack not the red and white cross of St George). This is a terrible anti-climax, but must be a legacy of history, for the locals reckon you are in Northumberland first, Britain second, England last. And for that reason there are days when you might also snatch a glimpse of the Northumberland flag, which from a distance looks like yellowing teeth in rotting orange gums. Up close it's a great deal more regal - and one you will find on car bumpers and house windows throughout the county.

Water garden

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood whatever the weather. This post is from Nicola

Alnwick Gardens - the amazing 12-acre creation of the Duchess of Northumberland funded by European money and NGOs such as Northern Rock Foundation - is deliberately focused around water, http://www.alnwickgarden.com/about_the_garden/index.asp. While the rest of England seems deluged - Worcester, Battersea are apparently flooded - up in Northumberland they are coping fine with rain, indeed they are used to cold, wet summers.

On the hour, and half hour, the fountains on the cascade are set off by computer and either bubble their way down the waterfall in the manner of a great French palace, like Versailles, or they shoot spurts on to the pavement soaking the innocent who screech in shock. At the base of the fountain is a huge pool with water draining off the walls which children are encouraged to play in.

About 20 solid-looking plastic diggers are parked there and the kids pedal from one side to the other with cargoes of water they have collected, usually getting wet but invariably grinning from ear-to-ear. You'd have to be a strange child not to enjoy doing this water shuttle all day, every day. Even in their raincoats the kids look as happy as children in India celebrating the first rains of the monsoon.

In contrast all those families who have either had to move out of their homes or got stuck on roads thanks to flooding must be loathing the recent deluges. As ever for anyone with insurance it's always alright in the end - albeit inconvenient for days or months - but with so many floods this year I think we can all expect higher premiums, and less coverage from the insurance companies at our next policy renewal date.

In Northumberland the farmers are very worried about the weather spoiling their crops. This is the time for the silage (grass) to be cut and for grains like wheat and barley to be harvested - something that is not easy to do if your crop has been flattened by yet more rain. Potato blight is also a risk too as the endless rain is washing off the chemical treatments conventional farmers rely on to keep this in check. People's immediate misery from heavy rain is of course the most newsworthy, and provides better pix, but bad harvests are in the long term much more worrying for us all.

I want to find out if this year's wet weather results in more people flying off to drier parts of the world for their holidays... I'm hoping it won't. But I know lots of people feel rain is the big bully that ruins their borders, picnic plans and holidays and thus they deserve a bit of sun, regardless of what it takes to reach that location, or how that adds up to making climate change (the very thing they are trying to escape) worse.

Meeting stilt man

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola

Crossing the causeway to Holy Island on foot we were all worrying about tides. Although the tide table assured us the next wasn't due until 5.10pm, it takes ages to walk the three mile route, especially if you get distracted by little terns, crabs, cinnabar moth caterpillars (crowded on to ragwort) or the forests of glasswort on the sea side. Realising that at our pace we'd have no time on Lindisfarne I doubled back, picked up the parked hire car (a strange beast with flat sliding electric doors which make getting in and out of tight spaces easier but seem likely to remove someone's arm at some point), and drove on to the poor crowded island - it gets half a million visitors a year.

And then we saw how it should be done, Pete Thornett towering above us on his bouncy stilts which could surely get him across the causeway whatever the tide height. He was looking forward to the tides coming in so he could engineer a walking-on-water type photo to help raise awareness about epilepsy during his mammoth stilt walk from John O'Groats to Land's End.

Obviously conversation was a bit stilted at first but when his offsider (ie, driver of the van) Laura turned up the girls chatted away finding out which bits of Britain we'd all been to. Nell was delighted to find out that there are other people travelling around Britain and recommended Penrith...

Nell: It was lovely seeing some people travelling around Britain too, especially their van with two beds in. And the van had their blog site on it.

Lola: Cool. His stilts are really bouncy. He could jump so high. They're definitely better than heely's! note from a shocked mother - as he uses pro-jump stilts which cost around #135 there's not a hope... unless Lola commits to washing up every day and foregoing all pocket money for years to come...

When people are ignoring Pete - nearly impossible - he goes back to his van and dresses up in some of his many outfits so he can power back into the lime light. We had a bizarre chat in the Lindisfarne mead shop (specialising in a sweet wine brewed up on site just the way the monks used to) http://www.lindisfarne-mead.co.uk/ about whether a full flashing number or a were-wolf would be best for this island...

You can find out more about him at http://www.dangerous-stiltwalkerws.co.uk/charity or give a donation to Epilepsy Action or another charity working for people with epilepsy, FABLE, via http://www.justgiving.com/peterthornett

Stilt man's outfit, and incredible efforts to fundraise, reminded me of Lola's friend Florence's dad, Simon who took four years to walk around the coast. He painted a picture each day but despite setting himself this amazing task in every pub he walked into the locals weren't at all impressed.

"That's nothing," they'd say shifting on the bar stool. "There was a man in yesterday who's walking backwards around the British coastline..." For Peter the inevitable comparison is to the South African disabled runner who is now taking on and beating non disabled runners. I hope he makes it all the way - either to his target of #10,000 or the 1,200 miles stretch between the tips of Scotland and England,and that this keeps him in many stories for the rest of his life, because as artist Simon found, and Nell's found and stilt man Pete says he is finding travelling around Britain isn't just about exploring it's also a chance to talk to the most interesting, passionate and unusual people. And that journey need never come to an end.

1st electric-lit library

Nicola, Pete, Lola and Nell want to travel the world with a difference. We hope to get a taste of many countries without adding to climate change (with needless emissions from aeroplanes) or having to waste hours of holiday time in airport terminals. We hope our adventures inspire you to take a Grand Tour of your neighbourhood. This post is from Nicola

Cragside House, in Northumberland, is a Victorian masterpiece. The owner Lord Armstrong, known locally as the Geordie Genius, didn't just build a huge house he added every comfort. As a result it was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electric power - in the 1880s. In fact the first ever room to be lit up was the library, and the power was switched on by the youngest member of staff, a 10-year-old boy. Lola was definitely jealous.

Armstrong went on to give his home hydro-powered central heating, a passenger lift, rotating spits to help the cooks in the kitchen, fire alarms, phones, servants' bells and even an electric dinner gong. At the time it was dubbed "the palace of a modern magician" and Armstrong was affectionately described as having "water on the brain". Going round the house now it still seems super-comfortable. There's a Turkish Bath (aka spa); vast rooms with cosy nooks around the fireplaces to warm your toes or read a book and telephones. His passion for modern inventions didn't however stop him from hanging numerous family portraits on the walls or pictures of dying heroes mourned by their dogs.

There's also several lakes which have a wildlife benefit, but were used to keep the hydro system working. They have a very good name, Nelly's Moss, albeit this seems to be refering to a local witch not our six-year-old.

Armstrong made his money building battleships (as well as less harmful objects such as bridges and cranes), but he is best remembered for generosities such as giving Jesmond Dene to the people of Newcastle - it is an amazing park - and his former home, Cragside, is one of the jewels in the National Trust's crown. It was good to see that the NT was selling Save Cash & Save the Planet in the gift shop...

Cragside isn't the only home we've seen recently with it's own power history. At Kettlewell our host, Anna, explained that this Dales village used to have its own electricity supply until it was forced to go on the national grid in the ?1950s. In a flatter part of Yorkshire the house we stayed in had solar panels to heat water and at our Aberdeen stop-off we are looking forward to enjoying the insulating properties of a turf roof.

I keep reading newspapers that maintain that it's getting easier to install solar - for instance planning permission may be dropped - but if the system remains as complex, convoluted and ridiculously expensive as it is now most of us will continue to think that creating your own power, by sun or water, is just a game for the super creative or uber-rich - the Armstrongs of today - rather than a logical local solution which helps tackle climate change.