Sir – Whereas most responsible people and political parties are well aware of the environmental warnings which used to be the preserve of fringe groups, we still have to live in the real world, where a certain amount of travel is necessary and desirable.

It has been suggested (Letters, July 30) that places such as Switzerland are perfectly accessible by train. In this real world, I doubt if many people nowadays are prepared to go much further than Paris or Brussels by train, and that option is most attractive to those who live in London.

So for many living in Oxford, especially those on a low budget, the preference is to travel three hours by coach to Stanstead, and then in effect fly back again. I would have thought that flying direct from Oxford to Switzerland was better for “the planet”. The impression has sometimes been given that flying from Oxford would directly increase the risk of flooding in Oxford, but I think this is rather naïve.

Similar arguments apply to environmental objections to the proposed new John Lewis. People will shop at John Lewis whether one likes it or not, and it seems better to have them travelling shorter distances to get to one.

Roger Moreton, Oxford