Fog, London's delayed flights, Stansted Airport Car Troubles Solved

Problems
1 What do you do when your car won't start at the airport?

Answer
On the bus the driver told us: "If you can't start your car, go to the help point in the bus stop. Tell the person who answers the number plate of your car. That will enable him to work out which car park and the exact position of your car and he will call the AA for you."

Story
Fog in London has delayed flights in Heathrow and Gatwick. Also a multiple pile up on a motorway.

We were very relieved to touch down at S t a n s t e d after a 45 minute delay on the runway at Prague.

(Sorry about the spaces I have had to insert in the airport name. Predictive text tried to change it to Stagnated and Satan!)

We saw all the cars in the long stay car park at S t a n s t e d were covered in ice. The bus to the long stay car park runs every fifteen minutes and you may have to wait up to 15 minutes.

London was colder than Prague. Luckily I had prepared for cold weather. Boots. Gloves. Hat. (For warmth I wore two hats, one over the other.)

You pay in advance for the long stay car park. As you enter the car park has number recognition. The system automatically connects your number plate and your parking place. A sign tells you which section of the car park to go to.

The advantage of leaving your car at the airport is that if your flight home is delayed, you are not keeping your taxi nor your relatives waiting.

Tips
1 In any car park, photograph your car, its position in the car park, the car park name, and any ticket you have been given. That way even if your ticket is lost by the time you get back, you still know where to find your car by looking at your phone.
2 The long stay car park at Stansted is better if you have luggage to carry. The long stay car park has a bus. the short stay car park is nearer but is so large that you may be at the far end of it. You also have to drag your luggage up the long ramp up to the terminal building, whilst the bus from the distant long-stay car park drops you right outside at the bus stop.
3 If you see fog at anywhere, you can still get a good photo of fog, perhaps two photos side by side, comparing the same scene before and after the fog.

Here's an atmospheric picture I took of a street in fog in north west London.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright December 2016.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.