The AIRPORT RUN

Sunday 12th November 2006

Heathrow to Brooklands

Barry & Sue at Mercedes Benz World

Who remembers the old Motors song ?  Airport of course ... I was listening to this and had the inspiration for this year' s Winter Warmer. A run from Airport to Airport.  Colin had suggested in the summer that we might be use the Heathrow Air Ambulance Station as the start point for a run so we took him up on this offer and headed for the Northern Perimeter Road at Heathrow and the old fire station - now the base for HAA.

Once everyone had negotiated the one way system and found the back entrance we warmed ourselves with mugs of tea courtesy of Colin before being treated to a ride on the Aircraft platform - used for retrieving stricken patients in hospital beds from aeroplane fuselages. Great fun for those that went up providing great views across the wide expanse of Heathrow. A couple of us kept our feet firmly on the ground as the rest of the Effers teetered precariously above us.

This was a bit of a mystery tour as the final destination had not been revealed and if you didn't look at the last page then it would come as a surprise. Time for the off - we shot out of the ambulance station's doors and straight on to the Perimeter Road to circumnavigate the airport driving past the vast construction site that is the new Terminal 5 before heading out into the countryside. The route took us through Datchet and on to Eton where we drove past the world famous colleges and the "playing fields of Eton" . Then it was out across Dorney Common where and on to Maidenhead before doubling back towards Bagshot and the dual carriageway where Neil cemented his 2006 maddest moment award in three figures. Is that what they teach you at the Institute of Advanced Motorists ?  From here through Chobham and out to Fairoaks Airport where a surprise awaited in the form of an airship moored on the airfield. "The Palm" was on a promotional tour for a hotel complex in Dubai and was heading off in that direction a couple of days later.

It was short drive then to Ottershaw and Woking where we passed the front gates of the Mclaren F1 team - a subtle hint as to our final destination for those who hadn't peaked at the last page on the route plan.

Zig zagging back to Weybridge the Fs headed for Brooklands and the new entrance via the industrial estate - from here you can see more remnants of the old circuit as well as the old central runway where VC10s and BAC111 used to thunder on their newly built way. The old control tower from the original 1930's Brooklands Flying School still remains sandwiched between Curry's and another office block. The new entrance takes you straight to our final destination - the newly opened Mercedes Benz World.

This steel and glass structure glistens in the sunlight as we park our cars on another piece of the ancient banking and raise the Register flag to the chagrin of a nearby security person !

Outside to greet you is a Mclaren SLR in silver and a huge Maybach limousine before you get to the ingenious Smart car roundabout and enter  into the three storey atrium of MBW. This is a fantastic new way to display cars and the complete range of Mercedes cars was on display and available to sit in and play with along with the latest Smart cars as well. It's part museum, theme park, driving experience and showroom. Inside you can see the historical Mercedes cars on display including the famous Gull Wing and you can sit in a cinema to watch the Mercedes timeline  or take an interactive bumpy ride as a Mercedes car is built on a production line.

It was fun to sit in some of these cars and some of us became a little too enthusiastic about some of the SLK's on show - I don't think anyone put a deposit down though.

Outside there are driving circuits with a skid pan and off road course and a chance for under 16's to try out driving on the Brooklands Track. These are all available at extra cost in a variety of Mercedes cars.

Having exhausted ourselves looking around we headed off to the Rose & Crown at Thorpe for sunday lunch and managed to just about squeeze everyone into a very tight space.

That was it - the Winter Warmer was over and we headed off with a warm glow and a tight hand on our wallets. Those SLK's were rather tempting.