Leaving Poland
Our alarm went off at 0230 and we hopped into a Bolt taxi at 0300 for the airport. At this time, the price was nearly double what I had seen during the day.
At the airport at 0320 for the 0545 flight, one check-in desk was already open serving three flights but there was only a short queue.
We were given a boarding pass but sent away to the ticketing desk for them to be document-checked and stamped before our luggage would be accepted. It’s part of Ryanair’s process when travelling on non-EU passports for non-Schengen routes.
With straps on my pack, I had to drop it off at a special counter while Kim’s wheelie could be accepted normally.
Airside, we managed to get into the lounge around 0400 when it opened. We had expected it to open at 0430. We went through immigration to our gate for a remote gate boarding at 0505.
The Ryanair flight to Stansted was operated by their subsidiary Buzz with Polish registered aircraft. It was perfectly fine for the short flight with no recline, seat pockets or life-rafts. There was even carpet on the floor unlike some budget airline that use vinyl with a carpet-like print.
Arriving in England
We landed at 0655 at Stansted. The gates here had no airbridges but looked like they had been designed so that they can be installed if required. Passport control took 10 mins in the automated kiosk area and once out, we got a free bus (placarded price of GBP4 though) to the Novotel to pick up our rental car.
We were given a Skoda Kamiq which looked nearly new. The property condition chart had been fastidiously marked with damage which we couldn’t see and that was a worry as it could mean that they will be really strict with the condition upon return.
We headed off at 0830 to Solihull on the edge of Birmingham, which was a 2h drive. We stopped halfway at McDonald’s a Kettering and received an excellent McMuffin that was so fresh and crispy around the edges!
Arriving at 1100 at my niece Claire’s place, we had lunch with them. My brother-in-law Mike, nephew Paul and his family had made the effort of coming from Norfolk to see us.
Despite the early wake-up, the afternoon went pretty quickly with afternoon tea and a cheeseboard before we left around 1700.
We took a 30 min drive to Coventry where we stayed for 4 nights with my other nephew Julian.