RAF Northolt is situated on the main A40 London to Oxford trunk road about 15 miles west of Central London.  It is three miles east of the M40 junction 1A with the M25 London Orbital Motorway junction 14.  It is about 6 miles north of Heathrow Airport.   Navigable map of the area Viewing Road Access Public Transport Photography Northolt is a military air base with the the consequent high level of security.  RAF police patrol the inside of the fence and take an interest in people lurking on the other side.  By providing this information I do not infer the legality or otherwise of loitering in the area or the use of cameras or other viewing equipment.

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Viewing Aircraft

. There are now very few good viewing points at Northolt.  The best, albeit at a distance, is outside the southern entrance to the airfield.  Due to recent construction of the large Post Office facility only the western part of the main ramp can now be seen from here, at a distance of about half a mile.  Car parking is possible in the side roads on the opposite side of West End Road.  Sheeting has been placed all along the length of the Airfield fence that abuts the A40 to discourage viewing (similar to Heathrow), and this road is also designated a 'red route', meaning that stopping is forbidden anywhere on this section of what is a very fast six carriageway road.

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Access by road

. Official access to the airfield is via one of two entrances on west side of the A4180 West End Road which heads north from the 'Polish War Memorial' junction of the A40.  Head north for about half a mile, through a set of traffic lights and the airfield's southern entrance is on the left, just before a petrol garage. Further along this road, after passing the runway threshold,  is the main entrance.  Being a military base, NO general public access is permitted at Northolt. .

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Public transport

Underground/Tube There are two Undergound stations nearby, both on the 'Central Line' (red line on the maps) but neither of these are 'Northolt' station, which is some 3 miles away! . South Ruislip Station Turn right out of the station and walk about half a mile.  At the West End Road 'T' junction, turn right and the airfield's southern entrance is almost immediately on your left. . Ruislip Gardens Station Exit the station left. You will pass the main base entrance on your right before reaching the runway threshold and then the airfield's southern entrance is on the right, past the petrol station. Bus The 140 bus runs from Heathrow to Harrow, past Northolt tube station, from where you could get the tube one stop to South Ruislip (see above).  Otherwise, get off the bus at the 'White Hart Roundabout' and walk north along the A4180 about a mile.  The airfield will come into sight at the crest of the hill, but it is still about another mile to the southern entrance.  A E7 bus also runs along this road towards Ruislip. . Chiltern Railways The Chiltern Railways service between South Ruislip and Marylebone stations has been much improved of late. On weekdays there are now 8 westbound trains from Marylebone to South Ruislip between 0915 and 1315. There are nine similar journeys scheduled between 1615 and 1930hrs. The full timetable can be seen on the company website: http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk

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Photography

Photography is possible of aircraft on final approach to runway 25 from the entrance road to the office facility, which is on the opposite side of the road to the base, adjacent to the approach lights, although parking in this area is not permitted.  Some may find that the aircraft may still be rather high and too close for perfect photographs from here (see photo left)

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