Please read this if you are from England!

[Mr. Bones]

hello chaps,

i really really want to go to the RIAT at Fairford this year, but i'm still having some problems to get there. my first option was going by plane and flying into the show...nah, plane full, no place left for me  :(

so i'm quite desperate now and looking for another option: taking the train (Eurostar) to London, and from there on to Swindon and than with the shuttle bus to Fairford. is it possible to take a train from London to Swindon? and how long will the ride last? i looked on the internet, but the English railway site can't help me so much...

any other suggestions are welcome...

[Craig.]

if i remember rightly you are near schipol right? if so theres always the chance to get the KLM city hopper from there to bristol and there is a bus to bristol temple meads station where you should be able to catch a train to swindon. or if i am able to get to fairford i might be able to arrange a ride to there for ya, but i couldnt gaurentee that one as i am not sure that i am going yet. the plane to bristol shouldnt cost to much either.

[Mr. Bones]

thanx for the info, but i looked at the website of KLM and a retour flight to Bermingham (the closest airport to Fairford) costs too much, it's much cheaper to go by train i think. i can also fly to Heathrow, and take the BA 747 which lands at the airshow, but that also costs alot of money (

[Ivan]

Easyjet, Basiq Air or Ryanair, that's faster compared to the train and almost the same price...

[Mr. Bones]

i checked Ryanair, they only fly from Birmingham to Dublin and back. i can go to London with Ryanair, but then i have to leave the show too early!

[Craig.]

can i ask if your working to a tight budget?? if not to tight have you considered staying a night in a cheap hotel to avoid rushing the day?

[Mr. Bones]

no, my flight to RIAT would cost 400Euro so...

about the hotel, good idea, but i think they are all full at the moment, it's only 40 days till the show. by the way...where do i have to start searching for something?

[Hagar]

Tounge. This should give you a start. Once you reach London on Eurostar you would have to take the Tube from the Waterloo terminal to Paddington railway station.

By train:

Swindon is directly linked with Reading and Paddington, London, by Great Western Trains. Journey time is approximately one hour from the capital. Trains run about every 30 minutes throughout the day. Trains run on to west Wales, Bath and Bristol, the Cotswolds, Cornwall and Devon and connections are available to Oxford and the Midlands from Swindon.

For exact train times contact the rail enquiry line on 0345-484950.

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/swindon/info/

PS. Details of the RIAT shuttle bus from Swindon here. http://www.birmingham101.com/101AirTattoo2003.html
[quote]SHUTTLE BUS
Frequent shuttle bus service from Swindon Bus Station to RIAT, taking around 40 minutes on the express route.  First bus leaves Swindon at 7.30am, last bus returns from RAF Fairford at 8.00pm.  Adults

[Mr. Bones]

thanx for the info guys!

by the way...does anyone knows if the B-2 will come to the UK on both saturday and sunday, or just for one day?

[Mr. Bones]

i think my prob is solved. i will be going by bus. it will be a long ride. we depart friday around 0900pm and i'll be back home sunday morning around 0500am. but hey...everything (even two days on a bus crowed with singing dutchman  ::)) for aviation!  ;)