Round The World and other travels

A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries

Planes, Trains & Automobiles - The Sequel

Into position

After a relatively normal day at work, I left the office a little earlier than usual and stepped out into a bitterly cold but dry late afternoon / early evening in Edinburgh city centre. Both descriptions of the time of day seemed inappropriate because at this time of year, it was of course already pitch dark as the clocks approached 5pm. I felt that I'd made a good job of my preparations on this occasion: I had packed the previous evening and my suitcase was now waiting in my car, which was parked nearby. By leaving a few minutes before five, I had also just managed to beat the worst of the rush-hour traffic, which always seemed that much worse in darkness. It still took all of forty minutes to reach my usual car park at Edinburgh Airport, however.

As the shuttle bus made its way to the terminal, it was all change since my last visit. The previous bus stands had now been closed for development of the new entrance and security facility in the relatively new east wing, which at least would be handy for the new tram stop when services finally started in 2014. The check-in experience was very quiet - if only I could say the same about the BA lounge! A British Airways lounge, first in Terraces guise and then Galleries, had occupied this site for as long as I had been travelling with shiny, metallic cards in my wallet. Unknown to me at the time, it would be my last visit before the facility's closure and a move into former bmi territory.

(Link to flight log in side panel)

ABOVE: My Heathrow Express train undergoes pre-departure checks and cleaning at Terminal 5

Following disembarkation at Heathrow, passengers transferred from the remote stand to Terminal 5 on crush-loaded buses, never the best way to end a flight. After waiting to pick up my checked suitcase, I decided to make my way to my hotel for the night using the indirect, but free, train service in preference to the overpriced and half-hourly Hoppa bus. A Heathrow Express took me the short distance to Heathrow Central after a short wait and a Heathrow Connect train then transferred me to Terminal 4 with no waiting time at all. It was then a simple matter of taking a lift to Departures level and briskly striding down the cold and uninviting corrugated metal tube that formed the walkway to the Hilton.

It had been a long day with an early start and the prospect of bed was more inviting than a possible visit to the Executive Lounge. The adventure would start for real tomorrow.