Threshold 23L

The runway 23L threshold and its adjoining taxiways are straight ahead. And the departing aircraft are so close! If you have an Airband Radio (a very useful thing to have at the airport) you can hear aircraft getting clearance for take-off (on 119.400MHz) and, a few seconds later you'll see and hear the engines powering up to max thrust which is pretty noisy! And, if you have binoculars (another very useful item to bring to the airport) you can almost see the Captain's checklists and then watch the aircraft climb out for miles.

Directions

From the Moat House Hotel, walk back up the small road you're parked on up to the roundabout. On the right is a black gate. Go through it and walk up the path under the trees. After a few minutes of walking and the continual sound of aircraft's engines you'll see a large grass mound on the left with a small, soil path that leads up to an 'anti-climb paint' gate. Stay on your path and make your way up via the path that has wooden fencing around it. At the top there's a concrete path going right that leads to a small gate. Go through the gate and head right. After a few minutes you will see a gate on the right that leads to a footpath going to a raised mound (you an usually spot people standing on the mound as this is quite a budy spot. Climb over the gate and walk along the footpath up to the mound. Alternatively, if you're now very good at climbing over gates, carry on for another few metres and there should be an open gate to your right that leads up to the mound.