There are tons of ways to fill your downtime, especially in a major city like London
You can jump in an Uber and head to London Bridge or get a black cab to the West End to take in a show. But, if we’re not mindful about our actions, our leisure activities can place a huge burden on the environment. Some simple changes can be made to make your leisure time more sustainable.
Casinos offer a great way to relax. They’re exciting, offer the chance to win some money, and they can be sociable. However, getting to and from the casino typically means driving or being driven, and the casinos themselves can be power-hungry buildings with excessive lighting and other equipment that gives them a huge carbon footprint. Online platforms like Lucky Block Casino offer the same thrills as the likes of the Hippodrome, with a wide range of games and fast deposits and withdrawals, but without the same carbon footprint.
The Natural History Museum, The British Museum, and Bubble Planet offer educational and enjoyable days out. There are some really quirky museums, too, if you look a little deeper. A lot of museums now offer virtual tours, which enable you to visit and have a look at the exhibits from the comfort of your own home. If you have a VR headset, you can immerse yourself even more in the museum, and you can even find some exhibitions that transport you to the subject or the time of the displays. All without having to leave your home.
If gaming is your thing, try putting the controller down and picking up a board game. Board games are hugely replayable and don’t require any power other than a low-carbon lightbulb. There are board games for player counts ranging from one to a dozen people or more, covering every genre and style of game. There are also adaptations of video games, TV series, and movies.
If you do enjoy video gaming, and board games or card games don’t quite scratch the itch for you, you can at least minimize your impact on the environment when partaking in your gaming hobby. If you’re a PC gamer, buy hardware that can be upgraded. Not only is it more sustainable to upgrade your hardware, rather than replacing it whenever it becomes obsolete, but it is more cost-effective and better for the environment.
From Battersea Park to the South Bank, there are plenty of paths and walking routes in and around London. Walking is a great way to pass time, an opportunity to pop on a podcast, and it can help reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. You don’t have to walk to a destination, the walk itself can be the actual point. It’s a good opportunity to get your steps in and is a good way to get to and from leisure destinations.
If you’ve got longer distances to travel, or you need to get to and from destinations quicker, consider a bike. London roads can be very busy, and there are congestion charges for using a lot of the roads. These charges don’t apply to bikes, and some schemes enable you to borrow or hire bikes while you’re in the city.
Karting is exciting and has even proven the first step to professional racing careers for a lot of drivers. Petrol karts aren’t that sustainable, however, and petrol-karting tracks can be loud and dirty. Electric karts can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, are just as exciting as their petrol-powered counterparts, and they’re a far more sustainable alternative.