As UK travellers currently in the Balearic islands scramble to adapt their plans after a change to the traffic light system, many may be wishing they had opted for a less stressful trip closer to home.
Enter Byway, the “world’s first flight-free holiday platform”, centred around personalised, slow travel with a minimum carbon footprint. The startup has just announced the closing of a funding round which saw £1.1m raised from a combination of angel investors and the government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Since launching in mid-2020, more than 7,500 trips have been built through their platform. It offers trips in the UK and across Europe.
Cat Jones, founder and CEO, said: “We’re taking the time, and the work, out of planning and booking off-the-beaten-path trips by train, boat and bike - and the reception we’ve had has been glowing.”
The company aims to use the funding to accelerate growth, hire more staff and further develop the technology behind the platform.