Somerset family travelled to Australia without a single flight to celebrate their relative's wedding

Shannon Coggins, Theo Simon and their 19-year-old daughter Rosa left East Pennard, Somerset, to begin their 10,000-mile journey to Sydney on August 16.

The family decided to stop travelling by plane 21 years ago for environmental reasons. When Ms. Coggins' sister, who lives near Sydney, invited them to a wedding, they decided to try to make the trip without flying, Itv writes.

"The world is a huge thing, and it's huge, and one personal thing I do is never going to make a difference in the way we need it to be, but I want to live by my principles," Ms. Coggins said.

"I want this kind of world for my daughter when she grows up and for my grandchildren. The world is getting hotter, there's so much going on in Australia right now with floods and fires and I think we all need to take it seriously," she added.

The family arrived on the other side of the world just in time to see Ms. Coggins' sister get married on December 28. They said there were many moments during their three-and-a-half-month journey across continents and oceans when they thought they would not make it to Australia. In particular, they doubted whether they would be able to cross the border with Russia, take a bus to China, or cross the Timor Sea between Indonesia and Australia.

Both Ms. Coggins and Mr. Simon quit their jobs in August to begin the 9-month round trip. They started saving for the trip 16 years ago when their sister first emigrated. Although it would have been cheaper to travel by plane, the couple believes they left five times less carbon footprint.

"If we had taken a direct flight from London to Sydney, we would have each accounted for about three and a half tonnes of carbon," Mr. Simon says. "Even if we had to take one flight from East Timor to Darwin, a short flight, that was 0.1 tonnes, and if you add to that the 0.6 tonnes we used for public transportation, we think we each used 0.7 tonnes, so hopefully five times less."

He added, "One of the best things about this trip was that we learned to appreciate nature and see its wonders and beauty. We want to preserve this beautiful planet, don't we, so if there is any way to reduce our carbon footprint, we're willing to find it."

In a few weeks, the family will begin their long journey back to Somerset.