Flight Review: easyJet – Gatwick to Gibraltar

Flight: easyJet EZY8901
Date: 13 Nov 2008
From: London Gatwick (LGW)
Date: Gibraltar (GIB)

In October 2007 easyJet bought fellow UK carrier GB Airways. Most of the flights operated by GB Airways have since been integrated into the easyjet network. The acquisition meant that easyJet now has rights to fly to Gibraltar.

I am travelling to Morocco and I want to arrive via ferry, so I thought this was a good opportunity to fly to the legendary airport at Gibraltar.

Out of the 5 London airports, I probably like Gatwick the least because it is so expensive to get to. My flight ticket cost me £37 and the train to Gatwick costs £10.

The flight left at 7.30 and checking in with easyJet at Gatwick is relatively painless. They have so many flights out of Gatwick that they have a general check in line and you can check in earlier if you get there before 2 hours.

Over the South of England
[Over the South of England]

As this flight was over 2 hours long they showed a movie (Hancock) on the shared screens. It was free providing you brought your own headsets, otherwise you would have had to have bought a pair.

Gatwick to Gibraltar airshow
[Airshow]

Gibraltar is a UK Overseas Territory at the bottom of Spain, and on a clear day you can see Africa. It is a tiny little peninsula of land not big enough for a runway, so it extends out over the water.

Map of Gibraltar

If you are flying to Gibraltar you will get a great view of the famous Rock if you are sitting on the left hand side of the plane.

Rock of Gibraltar Landing View
[Rock of Gibraltar Landing View]

The runway cuts across a road which is shut down when flight activity is taking place. When you leave the airport the frontier to Spain is next door to the right, so you can walk to the town of La Linea across the border.

Gibraltar Airport and The Rock
[Gibraltar Airport and The Rock]

A self guided tour of Banksy in London

Banksy pieces can be found all over London. I used a Banksy Locations Map put together by Art Of The State to track down many of these. They pin the works on google maps and are quick to mark any that have been removed

Banksy - Cherub with a bullet proof vest
[Cherub with a bullet proof vest]

Banksy - One nation under CCTV
[One nation under CCTV]

Pledge your allegiance to Tesco
[Pledge your allegiance to Tesco]

Yellow Lines Flower Painter
[Yellow Lines Flower Painter]

Banksy - Blur Crazy Beat art work
[Blur Crazy Beat art work]

Banksy - Hoodie
[Hoodie]

Banksy - Fort St E1
[Fort St E1]

World Travel Market – London 2008

The World Travel Market is a four-day travel industry event held in London every year in November. Here tourist boards and buyers and sellers from every sector of the industry meet under the one roof. Here are some photos of day 2.

Danni Minogue at the Etihad stand
[Fellow Melburnian Danni Minogue at the Etihad stand promoting the new Abu Dhabi - Melbourne service commencing in March 2009.]

Kenyan Tourist Board
[The Kenyan Tourist Board have wasted no time in promoting the Obama/Kenya connection.]

Manneken Pis
[Brussels Airlines and a not so Manneken Manneken Pis.]

Charles Bridge statues at the Prague stand
[Charles Bridge statues at the Prague stand.]

Iranian Tourist Board
[I have always thought that Persia sounds better than Iran. So too does the Iranian Tourist Board. Persia or Iran?]

Guatemala Dancers
[Guatemala Dancers]

Hungary Stand
[Hungary Stand]

Promoting tourism to Palestine and the Holy Land
[Promoting tourism to Palestine and the Holy Land.]

The Tomb of Sir Richard Burton

In the leafy suburbs of Southwest London is a small parish church cemetery that has one of London’s most remarkable tombs. The tomb is of Sir Richard Burton and his wife Isabel.

Burton Mausoleum - St Mary Magdalens Mortlake
[Burton Mausoleum - St Mary Magdalens Mortlake]

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 – 1890) was a remarkable man in an age of remarkable men. He is best known as an explorer and linguist (he could speak 29 languages), but he could also be called a translator, writer, poet, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat.

Burton Mausoleum
[Burton Mausoleum]

Burton is famous for his pilgrimage in disguise to Mecca. He spoke Arabic and knew the ways of the Islamic world from his time spent in India. Before the trip he was even circumcised to reduce the risk of being discovered as a non believer. His other notable travels include the exploration of the great lakes of Africa.

As a writer he is best known for his translation of Arabian Nights, whose version is still printed today.

Burton Mausoleum under Heathrow Flightpath
[Burton Mausoleum under Heathrow Flightpath]

Tomb Details

The tomb is in the shape of a Bedouin tent and has great attention to detail such as the crescent moon trimmings and the illusion of canvas tent walls.

Camel Tribute
[Camel Tribute]

Burton Tent Wall
[Burton Tent Wall]

Burton Tent Wall Detail
[Burton Tent Wall Detail]

Inside the Tomb

At the back of the tomb is a ladder leading to a glass viewing window, where you can peer in to see the final resting place of Richard and Isabel.

Burton Mausoleum - viewing window
[Burton Mausoleum - viewing window]

Richard Burton
[Richard Burton]

Isabel Burton
[Isabel Burton]

In Memorium

Memorial Poem
[Memorial Poem]

Richard and Isabel Burton RIP
[Richard and Isabel Burton RIP]

Location

St Mary Magdalen’s Roman Catholic Church Mortlake
61 North Worple Way
London SW14 8 PR


View Larger Map

St Mary Magdalens Roman Catholic Church - Mortlake
[St Mary Magdalens Roman Catholic Church - Mortlake]

Links
Sir Richard Burton
The Burton Tomb Restoration Fund

English breakfast, 3 times a day

It used to be said to eat well in england, eat breakfast 3 times a day. Things have changed from those days though as there as so many migrants here, and with them they brought restaurants from all over the world.

The English Breakfast is a classic meal and you can have here for dinner and no one will bat an eyelid.

English Breakfast
[English Breakfast]

In Pictures: St Pancras Station, London – UK

Eurostar International Foyer
[Eurostar International Foyer]

Eurostar train at St Pancras
[Eurostar train at St Pancras]

The Meeting Place
[The Meeting Place. That's the name of the statue and the place]

Europe's longest Champagne bar
[Europe's longest Champagne bar]

St Pancras European Departure Board
[Departures to Paris and Brussels]

St Pancras UK departure board
[Visitors from Paris and Brussels can then connect from St Pancras to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. Lucky them.]

Pat Sir John Betjeman on the back for saving St Pancras

At the St Pancras International station is a statue of English Poet Sir John Betjeman. The sculpture was commissioned to recognise the huge role John Betjeman played in the saving of St Pancras from demolition in the 1960s.

Sir John Betjeman statue by Martin Jennings
[Sir John Betjeman statue by Martin Jennings]

It’s hard to believe that this station was threatened with demolition, but during the 1960′s it was. During this time Victorian elegance was out and concrete brutalism was in.

Down the road from St Pancras the grand Euston station was demolished, only to be replaced by the abomination that stands today. Betjeman tried to save Euston, but did not succeed. Fortunately his efforts saved St Pancras from the wrecking ball.

If you are at St Pancras to travel or just there to marvel at the roof as Betjeman is apparently doing, go over to Betjeman’s statue and give him a pat on the back.

Then over the years as appreciative travellers pat him on the back, may a shiny smooth spot appear on his back as a visible token of thanks from all who pass through this station.

London to Paris and Brussels: Train v Plane

Eurostar has a market share of about 71% of the London-Paris and 64% of the London-Brussels air/rail routes, so it has proved to be the most popular of the two options.

Travel Time

For overall travel time the Eurostar is the quicker option once you factor in travel time to and from airports and minimum required time before flight departure.

There is less hassle to travel on the Eurostar as well. You pass through both countries customs before you board. Clearing customs and baggage screening takes no longer than 20 minutes and you only need to be there 30 minutes before departure.

As you carry your bags onboard and you have already cleared customs, once you reach Paris or Brussels you can walk off the train and straight out of the station.

Wireless

The St Pancras departure lounge has a good laptop work area. Never mind Europe’s longest Champagne bar, this may be Europe’s longest laptop work bench.

Laptop Work Desk
[Laptop Work Desk]

I was soon to be disappointed though as there is no free wireless service on offer. So far none of London’s 5 airports offer a free wireless service and there are currently no airlines that are capable of offering wireless inflight (yet).

Surely Eurostar could strike a blow to their airline competition by offering free wireless in the departure lounges and on the train. If a bus can offer WiFi, then why not a train?

Complimentary Newspapers - Eurostar Departure Lounge
[Complimentary Newspapers - Eurostar Departure Lounge]

Ticketing

This is where Eurostar, and British trains in general, are way behind the pricing reforms that have swept through the airline industry since the low cost boom. Ticket prices are still structured like the airline tickets of old, where a one way ticket can cost more than a return.

Looking for tickets on the UK site I found one way tickets for £150. Then I searched for a return ticket using the same start date and the total price was £60. So it is more economical to buy a return and not use the return half if you want to travel one way.

The one way price is different again on the US version, and there are price discrepancies, as reported by the Independent, where the same ticket is cheaper if you live in Europe rather than Britain (though cheaper prices in Europe than the UK won’t come as a surprise for British readers).

In this age of DIY travel booking, it is easy to travel to one destination and leave from another, so it would be a good option to be able to book a one way train ticket, and return via air from another destination.

Finding cheap Eurostar tickets is easy enough. If you book in advance you can find return tickets for £59.

Note: London-Brussels travel was provided by Eurostar.