I had a flight to take from Heathrow that had an early start. It wasn’t practical for me to use my normal route to the airport and get there in time, so I was going to have to drive. I decided to have my first go with the Pod Parking connected to Terminal 5. I had seen plenty about this over the years and had watched the pods on their tracks while driving around the perimeter road towards the rental car lot when collecting or returning vehicles.
The whole thing was booked in advance, so the number plate recognition system identified me when I got there and let me in. The car park was pretty full, but I got a spot not far from the station B. A short stroll and I was at the station. There were two pods in the station, but both were charging so I had to wait for a minute or so. Amusingly, the screens told me that demand was high and that there might need to be a requirement to share a pod. Since I couldn’t see anyone anywhere near me, I am not sure what congestion that they were thinking of. After a short wait, both pods showed ready and I pressed the screen to get going.
The doors of the station and the pod opened and I climbed in. I had to press one button to close the doors and a second to start on my way. Given I only had one destination to go too, the chances I was in the wrong pod were limited but, once I knew what was needed, we were ready to go. The pod reversed slightly out of the bay and then we were off. There are two stations in the car park, A and B, and they merge in an elevated section of track which then crosses the road and runs inside the airport fencing.
The route brings you around the end of the northerly runway at Heathrow and I had a flight come in over my head as we transited across. The ride was fine if a touch bumpy. It really was a quick run to be approaching the terminal and then we were inside. We loop around the station before approaching the bays where the doors open and I was done. A quick trip up in the lift and I was at the departure level of Terminal 5.
It really was a very simple process and felt like it was a very efficient way of dealing with parking offsite. The same can be said for my return. I collected my bag from the reclaim and headed back to Level 2 of the parking structure. There were two pods waiting and, this time, there was no delay while they charged.
I did have to select which station I wanted in advance. Then, I got in, closed the doors and pressed start – I have learned quickly. Then a quick run back the way I had come before. I was back at the car park in no time and in my car. Since everything was pre-paid, I drove to the gate, and it opened as I approached and I was on my way. If the timing requires it, I will be happy to use the service again.
We made a short trip to Barcelona recently. We had family that were heading there for a cruise from the US, and we went to see them before their boarded their boat. We actually got there a couple of days early to do a little exploring since, with them having visited before, we wanted to have a look at some things that they had already done.
This trip came just after we had moved house so neither of us had really done much planning for it. Normally, when we go somewhere, there has been a lot of research that has gone into what we might want to see and do. Without this, we were winging it a fair bit. As it turned out, that worked pretty well got us. Partly, this was due to the weather. It was ridiculously hot in Barcelona for the first couple of days we were there. That limited the amount of time we wanted to spend wandering around the streets. Without a hard plan, that avoided us being disappointed (or getting heat exhaustion!).
Our hotel was a short walk from the waterfront, so we did head down there one evening. We also got to see the interesting streets close to the hotel without having to trek too far. We did pass up on some things that might otherwise have been a possibility. No bad thing to leave something for another reason to visit.
