For most of my adult life I have lived within 30km of one of North America’s largest airports. Getting anywhere has always been fairly easy (if you don’t think about GTA’s rush hour traffic).
It’s not so easy when you are trying to get somewhere from an island. I’m currently trying to work out how to get from my house to Heathrow. Do I:
- Fly Kirkwall to LHR with at least one stop-over?
- Ferry then drive to Inverness and fly to LHR?
- Take the overnight ferry to Aberdeen and fly to LHR?
- Fly (or ferry & drive) to Inverness and take the Caledonian Sleeper train into central London and the Underground to LHR?
And what about staying overnight? I can’t make Kirkwall to LHR all in one day and be assured of not missing my flight. Do I:
- Stay overnight at a B&B near Heathrow that I stayed in 22 years ago?
- Stay in a sensible airport hotel at LHR?
- Stay at an airport hotel in Inverness?
- Sleep on the train or ferry?
The factors impacting my planning are: the obvious – Money; the convenience – Time; and the surprising – Weather (can’t fly or sail off an island in a storm).
Yes, yes, yes, I know – first world problems, Lainey. Well, back to planning – there must be a way to maximize convenience, minimize cost, and mitigate weather.