Genius1

Some really great photos from around London there, matthandy - I would be quite proud of those night shots, although I know the feeling when you're just not quite happy about them.

^ I didn't like to say anything before

Must...Fly!

Beautiful pics! Only went to London for the first time last year for 5 days, you're really making me want to go back!

HoldthePeas

Hi,
I, shamefully, have only just discovered your wonderful TRs and am slowly making my way through them all.
You are very fortunate to have travelled on so many different airlines and in all the different classes.
99.9% of my travel is on Qantas, and I have been fortunate to fly F SYD-HKK, and in J MEL-LAX-MEL.
I am booked to fly Y+ SYD-LAX-MEL at the end of March, but fingers crossed my upgrade request to J goes through, I do love Qantas' A380 J product.
Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Hold the Peas

jv66

Another awesome TR with some amazing photography...

missdimeaner

Wonderful photos of London, I am ashamed to say that I don't visit these places often enough, I will make time.....the last time I went to Exhibition Road my son and daughter were children, Great fun was had by all, sounds like I might recognise some of the exhibits..(I remember the dinosaur from a school trip I took as a child !)

MarkedMan

I was in Bloomsbury at uni for a few years and enjoyed seeing the renaissance of the south bank just down the road, also did a bit of teaching over at IC, so these pics were just a great nostalgia trip, just like UA_Flyer's a few years back of Camden (where I lived). Thanks for the wonderful images.

Seat 2A

Another excellent report from one of FlyerTalk's finest writer/photographers. Thanks for the time and effort you put into these superb reports, Matt. We all appreciate it!

Your report can't help but leave me yearning to fly Qantas in First or Business but via Alaska's Mileage Plan FFP, it's hardly worth bothering. Occasionally I'll find a lonely coach seat out there with no return until weeks later - and this is looking for a single seat with lots of flexibility. Alas, the taxes and surcharges on BA award tickets are so high that BA is no longer a viable option for me. Ironic that my first flights aboard Qantas were in First Class aboard VH-EBA, the original 747-238B. It looks like my next trip to Australia will be aboard the likes of Korean Business Class or via an LCC out of Asia.

matthandy

I just want to thank everyone for their great comments again. I will be posting the next instalment in the next few hours.

Thanks Genius1. I'm happy with a few of them but I didn't really plan properly so they didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

Thank you! You should....

Thanks HoldthePeas! I commute every week by air so I guess that I see both sides of air travel, the day to day and the leisure side.

Sounds like it has been there a long time! Just hop on the tube and make the effort. Maybe your kids would like a trip down memory lane too!

Glad that I could bring back some memories.

Thank you very much Seat 2A, your comments mean a lot. I was inspired by your train journeys to take a first class trip back from Manchester (in a later part of this trip report). It wasn't like the journeys that you take but it was a first taste. I'm planning to take a journey across Australia at some point, if I can find the time...

As for QF's old 747 aircraft, did you see my trip report on my visit to the Qantas Founder's Museum? It's here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ia-qantas.html

matthandy

A Mini FT Do: A Day Trip to Edinburgh

This is a part of the trip that I had really been looking forward to. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to visit my family and see friends but those are all things that I have done before. They don’t really make the trip feel like a holiday. Doing something new is what makes it.

After a few discussions with PETER01 and our forum mod Moomba we agreed to meet up in Edinburgh for the day. PETER01 kindly agreed to show us around and chauffeur us to and from the airport. After a couple more messages, the lovely Jenbel agreed to join us and fellow FTer Flyersj18 decided to take the day off and join us too.

As we all know, Moomba is more accustomed to flying first class to some exotic location rather than getting up at 5am to catch the BA 767 shuttle to Edinburgh on a cold winter’s morning. Still, he agreed and after booking ourselves on the 8am service we selected seats in the front cabin of this aircraft. This would normally be the Club Europe cabin (intra-Europe business class) but on these domestic flights it is opened up to everyone as a single class service.

An 8am flight, with some time in the lounge, and travel time meant, for me at least, catching a very early Heathrow Express from Paddington. I actually got the 5.40am, with the aim of meeting Moomba at check-in at around 6am. Paddington was deserted, and it was rather eerie actually. The HEx was quick, as it always is however there was a slight change of plan as Mr Mod was running late.

I’d checked in using my mobile phone (a first for me) and so tightly crossed my fingers as I made my way towards South security. It worked! My photo was captured and then I made my way through security, using the Fast track lanes. As it often is, fast track was anything but fast, in fact it was a joke. It was totally disorganised, with people queuing to go through the archway because one passenger was taken to the side for a pat down and one of the three or so other security people standing around failed to step in to continue waving people through. Useless.

A deserted Paddington


A rather purple HEx


Extra purple carpet

We’d originally planned to meet up in Galleries First (incidently the only lounge at Terminal 5 that I’d never been in to) but as Moomba was running late I made my way up the escalators to Galleries Club South instead.

The lounge was surprisingly busy, but it wasn’t difficult to secure a seat near the windows. I then proceeded to help myself to an OJ and a bacon roll. No sooner had a sat down to enjoy my breakfast I got a text instructing me to come downstairs to the passageway between Galleries First and the Concorde Room. And so scoffed the bacon roll, necked the juice and then made my way down.

The strange thing was that Mr Moomba was nowhere to be seen. I then wondered if he was waiting right at the bottom of the escalators so went to head down there only to see him standing outside the Concorde Room. I said hello and he asked for my boarding pass. Confused, I complied, and the agent manning the scanned mine and his and we were in. What a nice surprise! Moomba had attained a very high level of status with BA which had secured him a shiny Concorde Room card allowing access for him and a guest when travelling on any BA flight.

We made our way over to the dining area to grab a proper breakfast (something a little better than a luke warm bacon roll). The waitress showed us to a table and we promptly ordered. I decided to steer clear of the eggs Benedict which is what I’d had last time I’d been in the CCR. This was for a couple of reasons, last time it came out a bit burnt on top and I knew it wouldn’t even be close to being as good as the one that I’d had in the Qantas First Class lounge in Sydney a couple of weeks earlier. I went with the English breakfast, ironically Moomba went for the eggs Benedict . This was to be served two glasses of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siθcle Champagne.

Breakfast arrived promptly as did the generous glasses of Champagne. Is it wrong to be drinking alcohol at just after 6am in the morning? Possibly, but not when one is flying .

Galleries Club bacon roll and OJ


Place setting in the Concorde Room


English Breakfast

After breakfast we decided to retire to the terrace. I managed to grab a few shots on the way but they didn’t come out too well.

We only had about 30 minutes or so before boarding so there wasn’t a huge amount of time to be spent relaxing. Whilst on the terrace we were approached and asked if we wanted anything to eat or drink, which is good. There have been so many reports of good to poor service in the Concorde Room of late.

Moomba had a quick catch up and then it was time to head to the gate. As tempting as it was stay, we really did have a flight to catch. At that time in the morning, one glass of Champagne is enough to knock me out a bit!

The bar


Seating


Something more comfortable


Seating by the fireplace


The view from the terrace


A nice glass of Champagne

We made our way to the gate which was A6 I believe to be met by a rather large crowd. Luckily, Fast Track was in operation so we skipped past the majority of people and boarded at door 2L. This was the first time that I’d been on a BA operated 767 and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was one of the very few short haul aircraft that had recently been given a facelift.

London Heathrow to Edinburgh – British Airways Domestic

Flight: BA1434
Carrier: British Airways (BA)
Aircraft: Boeing 767-336ER – G-BZHB
Scheduled Departure Time: 08:00
Scheduled Duration: 1h 20m
Scheduled Arrival Time: 09:20
Travel Class: Domestic
Seat: 3A and 3B (seat plan)

It was a pleasure to be able to turn left and enter what is usually the Club Europe cabin. The cabin was already rather full so we took our seats quickly. The purser came on to welcome us on board, followed by the Captain to let us know that we’d be shortly pushing back.

The seats were comfortable enough in this configuration, with a reasonable amount of leg room. From looking at photos, it would seem as though the standard economy seats at the back of the aircraft had been replaced and were of a new design. We didn’t get to see them though.

There was a slight delay before push back and we were informed that we were waiting for the luggage loading to complete. I texted PETER01 to let him know that we were running slightly late. Soon enough the doors were closed and after a reasonably long taxi we were off and through the clouds towards some sunnier weather.

After the seatbelt sign was turned off, the crew came around to offer a hot breakfast, my third of the morning.
I was quite surprised by this but didn’t say no! As presented, the breakfast really didn’t look that good but it tasted fine. I was shocked by the salt content though, something like 50% of your daily recommended intake, ouch.

New/refurbished Club Europe seats


Leg room


Breakfast tray


Not so appetising, but it didn’t taste too bad

matthandy

After breakfast was cleared away I was able to grab a photo of the cabin. I did ask Moomba to do it but he refused. Clearly, he was bowing down to my superior photographic skills, or he just didn’t want to look like an idiot, standing at the back of the cabin with a huge camera.

The further North that we went the better the weather seemed to be and as we came in over Edinburgh the cloud had completely disappeared. It was possible to see both the Forth Rail Bridge and the Castle. I was quite excited as I’d never been to Edinburgh before. I was also looking forward to meeting some fellow FTers. Some again and some for the first time.

We had a very smooth landing into Edinburgh with the beautiful morning sun casting a shadow over the right hand side of the aircraft as we taxied to the terminal. We arrived on stand but stopped about 20 metres back from the air bridge. Apparently, the guidance system was broken so we had to wait for someone to guide us in which meant another 5 minutes delay or so.

The view from 3A


The front cabin


Somewhere up North


Edinburgh Castle form the air


Nose gear shadow


G-BZHB


G-BZHB

After we parked up the air bridge was attached and we were to disembark the aircraft through door 2L which meant going towards the back on the cabin.

We made our way out into the terminal building, past the BA lounge and then out to the main arrivals area where PETER01 and Flyersj18 were waiting for us. After a meet and greet we headed out to the car. The first stop was the Forth Rail Bridge, arguably, one of Edinburgh’s most recognisable land marks. I’d seen it on TV many a time but had little comprehension as to the scale of it. It’s also rather crazy to think that it was built over 120 years ago. I can only imagine what the locals must have thought of it at the time.

The weather was stunning, we’d been blessed with clear skies and bright sunshine which was great for landscape photography.

The Forth Rail Bridge


The small harbour at Queensferry


The small harbour at Queensferry


The Forth Rail Bridge

After spending some time taking photos we trundled off to the Ocean Terminal at Leith which is where the Royal Yacht Britannia now rests. This is where we met Jenbel and after saying hellos (she’s actually not that scary in real life ) we got our tickets and made our way on board.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned in 1997 after serving the Queen and the Royal family for over 40 years. The Royal Yacht has travelled over a million nautical miles during that time and now rests in Leith, Edinburgh as a tourist attraction.

We boarded the yacht at the top, entering the bridge and then gradually worked our way down. We were all given hand held audio guides which did a good job of explaining the various parts of the ship and some facts along the way.

The Royal Yacht Britannia


Boarding


View down on to the bow


The mast


Very small bridge

After exploring the top decks we made our way down to the sun deck where the ship’s bell is located for a customary group photo (this is where group photos of the Royal family were traditionally taken). We then made our way into the main living quarters. I was surprised by how small everything was. This really wasn’t a lavish residence by any means. It all appeared quite modest, but elegantly decorated. An interesting fact is that there is only one double bed on the ship, and it wasn’t used by the Queen and the Duke.

Port holes


Port holes

matthandy

The group – from left to right: PETER01, Moomba, Me, Jenbel (and Tamsin), Flyersj18
Posted with permission

You may have noticed an additional FTer in the photo, Tamsin, Jenbel’s travelling companion. I’m informed that despite appearances to the contrary, she is not a racoon, but in fact a ring tailed lemur. Looks like a racoon to me .

I must say that Tamsin is quite mischievous and ended up appearing in photos all over the ship. She even offered to pour us a pint in the officers mess. Sadly, the beer had been turned off a long time ago.

We continued our journey by entering the ship through the garden room and then past the main accommodation. The Queen’s and Duke’s bedrooms were rather small but things changed dramatically when we entered the main dining room which was rather spectacular indeed. It is possible to arrange hospitality events on board, enjoying the same level of service and ceremony as the Queen received over the 40 years that the Royal Yacht was sailing. I’d imagine that would be quite something.

At the end of the dining room was the main living area, which again, wasn’t particularly lavish. After that we headed out on deck and Tamsin insisted that she have her photo taken on deck. One is happy to oblige.

The sun deck


The ship’s bell


Maam drinks Mumm? Hmm, surely something better would be in order?


The Queen’s bedroom


Going down a level


The main dining room


The Queen’s office


The main living area


On deck


Tamsin on deck

That was the end of the Royal family’s accommodation and now it was time to go down into the bowels of the ship to see where the officers and the crew lived and worked. This actually seemed to make up the main part of the ship to be honest. The Royal family’s accommodation seemed to simply sit atop what were the real workings of the ship.

First up was the officer’s mess, where those serving in officer positions would relax during their down time. We also saw their rather cramped sleeping quarters. Then as we made our way down the quarters became less refined and more functional. If I ever joined the navy I’d certainly want to ensure that I became and officer.

The officer’s mess


Fancy a pint?


Officer’s bunks


Captain Tamsin


Sleeping quarters for the marines

TravellerFrequently

Great trip report.

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to provide such a detailed and interesting report.

Neiltoo

This report gets better and better! Stunning photographs too^

Could the "Ring tailed Lima" possibly be a Ring tailed lemur?

kipperman

Great reading and photographs. Having just done my first TR, I see that I have a lot of work to do.....

Thanks

cornishsimon

Matt, thanks for posting this, as ever a brilliant report so far


cs