Notes on the Geography of The United Kingdom: Harmondsworth Barn and More

Got a long LHR layover? Is it a nice day? Well, here's a suggestion, but first you have to go outside and rent a car for four hours. No problemo.

Make default image size larger

Maybe it's a five-minute drive to this vestige of another world. The sign? Hang on, hang on: you've been on the plane too long.

Feel better now? Even piqued?

How's them tiles?

Much tarred walls.

Worn timbers.

A foundation enough for an M.A. thesis or (maybe) more.

Stick your head or your camera through a crack.

Just how long will oak last?

Oops. We're done, but we've driven a few miles to a private school from which we'll soon get the polite boot. We've come for the statue, which as luck has it is shrouded for maintenance. Any ideas? Here's a hint: the bulge on the left is a camel's nose. Now don't tell me you've already given up.

A nearby plaque gives it away. The statue, of Gordon on a camel, used to front the Nile in Khartoum. After independence, the Sudanese asked if the British would like it back. It wound up here, though under wraps in 2013.

OK: back to the airport; no rest for the wicked.