Clare Wakeham started kayaking 5km to work at the University of Oxford from Sanford-on-Thames, in September. The trip should take about an hour, but she’s often distracted by the view. ‘It’s hard to resist stopping to look around. I’ve seen an otter and kingfishers. I most enjoy the peace and quiet, the rhythm of the paddle, the movement across the water.’ Wakeham, an educational development adviser, kayaks once a week, and cycles on the other days along the towpath. The 54-year-old says it’s been vital for her to get exercise outside – especially in the winter.

While living in Ottawa, Canada, Manon Ragonnet would often skate the mile or so along the frozen Rideau canal, between home and her job at the University of Ottawa. ‘In winter, an enormous Zamboni [ice resurfacer] turns the canal into the largest maintained ice rink in the world for a month or two,’ she says. ‘It made me feel like I was living in a winter wonderland, it was magical. I did it every year, but carrying my laptop in a rucksack had a surprisingly bad effect on my balance. I fell on my bum a lot at the beginning and regularly had bruises throughout the skating season.’

Since moving back to Leeds after 10 years in London, Kimberley-Marie Sklinar opts to travel the mile to work on a yellow water taxi, a free service provided by the company that owns Leeds Dock. ‘It’s a tiny boat – it’s often just me,’ she says. ‘The thing I enjoy the most is feeling connected to nature in a major city. After many years of fighting my way on to the London Underground at rush hour, a seven-minute boat ride to the office on the peaceful river Aire is blissful.’ The downside? ‘It doesn’t always run if the water level is too high.’ On those days, she walks.

Lucy Carter, a nanny in Tignes in the French Alps, says her morning commute via snowboard is one of her favourite times of the day. ‘Going to work by snowboard is invigorating,’ she says. ‘I have the lifts and pistes to myself, and watch the sun rise over the mountains as I board past ... there really is no better way to get to work.’ The 29-year-old has been nannying in the Alps for seven years, and says the journey takes her about 15 minutes. ‘I fall over sometimes and have been known to lose toys from my backpack on the pistes,’ she says.

As the co-owner of a waterski and wakeboard school on a floating barge in the middle of Devon’s river Exe estuary, it’s perhaps not surprising that 24-year-old James Edge takes a speedboat to work. ‘This is my first job since graduation and I feel very lucky that I don’t have a regular office job with a mundane commute,’ he says. But the main challenge is the weather, especially this summer, which was particularly wet and windy. ‘I’d often find myself putting on waterproofs,’ he says. ‘But there are no other options, which I see as a good thing.’

New Zealander James Scoggins commutes by ferry every day from Waiheke Island to an 18-storey office block in Auckland city centre. ‘In winter, everyone hunkers down because the crossings can be cold and bumpy,’ he says. ‘Now it’s summer, it’s great to sit outside for the 35-minute crossing. Occasionally you’ll see dolphins and orca. The seabirds, such as shearwaters and gannets are pretty cool too.’ Although sea fog and storms can cause problems, Scoggins says he’s left with little choice. ‘If you live on Waiheke and want to get off the island, you need to take the ferry.’

Kristina Doyle skis from her parents’ home in rural Idaho to her family’s restaurant for four months of the year. ‘I grew up here and still usually help my parents out in the winter when their seasonal employees are back at college or have fled to warmer places,’ she says, adding that she’s used to the journey. ‘When I was a kid, my commute to school consisted of the same journey by ski, or snowmobile, plus an hour-long bus ride on the icy highway.’

Meghan Cilley McEwen, a funding and development worker at Voluntary Action Orkney, takes the ferry every day from her house in Westray, one of the northern islands, to Kirkwall, the main town in Orkney. ‘My journey is supposed to be an hour and 25 minutes each way, but it can vary because of the weather, tide, or just if the boat’s busier,’ she says. ‘This time of year can be pretty rough. The boat can get cancelled in bad conditions ... and there aren’t any other ways to get home.’ But, she adds, she often uses the nine hours a week to catch up with neighbours over a cup of tea.