Armchair TRAVEL

This month, we’ve got an ethical retailer for winter sports, a handy app for finding plastic alternatives, a wildlife book and an informative website for athletes looking to make their race trips more sustainable

WEBSITE: ZAFIRI.COM

A collection of city guides for triathletes looking for the best places to run, cycle and swim in cities around the world, Zafiri is packed with helpful information. As well as a series of guides, it includes tips on where to stay, the gear to seek out, and recommendations for great places to eat, both pre and post race.

BOOK: 52 WILDLIFE WEEKENDS, BRADT

Spot wildlife every weekend for a year with this excellent guide to British wildlifewatching breaks, reaching from the Isles of Scilly to northern Scotland. Written by experienced naturalist James Lowen, the guide suggests 52 short breaks that celebrate the full range of Britain’s most exciting wildlife, from tiny silver-spotted skipper butterflies to gargantuan basking sharks. It’s packed full of engaging descriptions, detailed directions (including grid references and postcodes), accommodation suggestions, and assessments of accessibility and childfriendliness. £15, bradtguides.com

APP: REFILL

City to Sea, an environmental organisation on a mission to stop plastic pollution, has produced a handy app to help you find over 400 local refill schemes across the UK and refill stations where you can refill water bottles. It also lists places that’ll give you a discount if you bring your own cup, eateries where you can take your own lunchbox, and shops selling refills of groceries and toiletries. refill.org.uk

RETAILER: ECOSKI.CO.UK

With winter fast approaching now is the time to start planning your cold weather clothing. Online trading company EcoSki vets winter gear for how it is manufactured and how suppliers are treated to help customers choose more ethical brands and products, limit unnecessary purchases (and waste) and keep all that hard-wearing kit in circulation for longer. In particular, they select kit that has non-toxic durable waterproof repellents and utilises post-consumer waste, as part of four criteria: Repair, Rent, Preowned, or New ‘kit with a conscience’ that aims ‘to provide a more positive step towards a circular solution’.

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