Pilgrimage to Filton

[Richard]

Facilities visits are always time-consumming for staff, and consequently expensive.

On a totally different scale to BCL, at Airbus in Hamburg which is where I used to work (after my time in Filton), works tours have been outsourced to a local travel company. They run about 8 tours per day of 20 people each in either English or German. Guides are retired Airbus employees ( I am one) and in a 2.5hr tour by foot you are shown a short introductory film and then given a tour around the assembly line for Single aisle aircraft (A320 family) fuselages and the final assembly line. At present the A380 is not include in this but maybe at a later date will be.
We have many groups of aeronautical enthusiasts visiting from the UK and most are agreed that this is one of the best visits to a large aircraft assembly plant available.

Sorry that was rather off topic.
As far as visits to BCL are concerned I can fully understand that if the company is or was involved in contract work for the MOD then there will be requirements to provide a restricted area into which only authorised people are allowed. So the reluctance to show visitors around is fully understandable.
The other question was about the original location of BCL. This was on the opposite of the A38 road to Filton House, a site which is now occupied by shops etc. I believe that none of the original buildings still exist but am open to correction.

Regards
Richard