The only downside to our little plan is a 06:15 flight from Gatwick - which means getting up at silly o'clock.
Oh, and the BA Lounge doesn't open until 05:15!!!!
Oh, and the BA Lounge doesn't open until 05:15!!!!
Ian suggested we give Gatwick Valet Parking a go, he'd used it last year on a golfing trip and it's only £10 or so more that the regular Long Stay parking. We usually allow ourselves at least half hour (for the 5 min bus ride back to the terminal), so this meant we didn't have to leave quite so early.
At 03:45 traffic should be light and no problem. What we didn't factor in was roadworks at the Bridgewood Roundabout meaning we couldn't access Blue Bell Hill. The alternative route is M2/A2/M25 which in terms of time is actually a little bit quicker, especially as M20 has speed restrictions whilst its being upgraded, but when we saw road closed signs just before the M25/A21 split at Sevenoaks we did have a mild panic. But no problem, overnight closures a few days later phew!
Valet Parking was terrific, a lovely smiley young lady was there to greet us and take the car keys and we had just a very short walk to the terminal - hope it's as good coming home.
We dropped off our one case and headed for security. Although it wasn't at all busy, we obviously wanted to make maximum use of the perks so presented ourselves at the Fast Track Lane, fully expecting to be told to take our place behind the few "normal" travellers. But no, they were held back and we were waved through. I'd been worrying about security and which hat to wear and decided Nepalese Peasant Hat was the least conspicuous but I was dreading being asked to remove it. The Security Officer was lovely, she came right up to me and very quietly said "Don't worry, I'm not going to take it off" and then just waved her detector all around me - her discretion was much appreciated.
We were still too early for the lounge so had to queue outside for 15 mins or so and I was surprised just how many were waiting by the time the doors opened. We haven't used a BA lounge since 2012 and I'm pleased to say the food was still as delicious. We only had about 20 mins before we had to leave for boarding but we rammed as much food in as possible and just the one glass of champagne - rude not to.
The flight was pretty full and unfortunately by the time the crew got to serving us breakfast (row 7 out of 12) they'd run out of the full English so it was a good job we'd had a couple of bacon butties in the lounge.
With a tail wind speeding us along, we arrived just before schedule and, once we'd retrieved our case, we set off to look for the car. I know when you book with Budget Cars and only pay £11 for 3 days you can't expect much, but I was appalled at how tatty our Chevrolet Spark was. It must have taken a good 15 minutes to inspect, Ian pointing marks out to the guy and me taking photos. The parcel shelf was clearly thought of as an "optional extra" as it was casually lying on the back seat.
Never mind, it started OK. The only problem was the gearing; instead of "biting point" being about 50% clutch/50% throttle, it was 99%/1% and the slightest hint of over acceleration caused a massive roaring sound or the thing stalled. Going to be an interesting few days I think.
Never mind, it started OK. The only problem was the gearing; instead of "biting point" being about 50% clutch/50% throttle, it was 99%/1% and the slightest hint of over acceleration caused a massive roaring sound or the thing stalled. Going to be an interesting few days I think.
When I was researching for our aborted Australia trip, I learned about Excess Insurance so instead of paying £14 per day to avoid the CDW excess, we bought a policy in England covering the whole rental for just £12.
Maltese driving standards are not the best or so I'd been told, but being out of season there wasn't much traffic around and everyone seemed fairly calm.