Take a London Helicopter Tour

Thanks to the birthday-present-buying generosity of a very kind Aunt and Uncle, for a slightly-surreal 35 minutes on Sunday afternoon, your author took to the skies by helicopter to see London - and the London Marathon - from a different angle, travelling at 90 miles-an-hour from Redhill Aerodrome, over the North Downs, and then from Richmond Park along the Thames to Greenwich and back to base.


Regular helicopter sightseeing trips leave from the London Helicopter Centres up to ten times a day, and the one taking the trip on Sunday took six passengers, so it didn't feel cramped. Before being waved out onto the airfield by a personable ground crew, they even did a full safety briefing on the grass beside a Discovery 4x4, assuming that if the helicopter hit the Thames everyone would fuss around putting on life jackets before swimming to shore. It turns out helicoptering is quite good fun, but whilst obviously it would be a bit vulgar to look how much a birthday present had cost, your author is fairly certain he can't afford to go again next week.

For more, see http://www.london-helicopters.co.uk/