Dawn Chorus: Heathrow gives its VIP terminal a facelift and King Charles’s Land Rover Defender comes up for sale

Ready for take-off?

Heathrow’s private terminal has reopened following a £3million facelift.

The Windsor by Heathrow — previously The Windsor Suite — serves a select 50,000 guests annually, compared to Heathrow’s total 83.9million passengers. The space comprises an entrance lobby and eight private lounges, and access to it comes with a chauffeur-driven, all-electric BMW ride from the front door to the plane, menus curated by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton and a personal shopping and butler service.

And Atherton isn’t the only famous name associated with the refurbishment: the interiors were reimagined by the Oliver Burns Studio, the launch campaign was lensed by Rankin (whose photography was once described as ‘high-gloss, highly sexed and hyper-perfect’) — and the walls are dripping in Bacons, Warhols and Banksys, all of which are shoppable via a QR code.

The best bit? The Windsor comes with its own Border Force officer which means, on arrival, you won’t have to stand in any pesky immigration queues.

Heathrow has a longstanding history in the world of private aviation and launched the world’s first VIP service more than 60 years ago — initially catering to just diplomats and royalty. The Windsor Suite opened in 2008, trialling a commercial offering during the Beijing Olympics which, it goes without saying, was then officially rolled out (in time for the London 2012 Olympics).

The Windsor by Heathrow service costs from £3,177 (excluding VAT) for up to three guests. Click here for more of our top travel tips.

A game of chicken

This week's High Court decision to define farming manure as 'waste' is particularly important because pollution from agriculture — much of it from animal manure — is the biggest source of water pollution in the UK.

The ruling means that councils can require the manure to be disposed of properly and safely (under council waste rules). If left lying around and not handled properly, livestock manure can cause a dangerous build-up of phosphates in the soil which then 'run-off' into neighbouring waterways causing, for example, environmentally-damaging algae blooms.

In a statement, Charles Watson, the chair of River Action, a charity that has long campaigned against industrial-scale chicken farming in Wye Valley, said: 'We believe that the ruling clarifies once and for all that the intensive factory production of livestock is clearly an industrial manufacturing process, whereby the often-toxic waste that it produces must be treated as such.'

As a result of the High Court ruling, chicken producers in Herefordshire will now have 'to provide a detailed plan at the planning application stage to ensure chicken manure can be disposed of safely, including full transparency on the manure’s destination and application.'

Royal seat of approval

A 2010 Land Rover Defender 90 Hard Top that once belonged to His Majesty The King is due to be auctioned off on March 22.

According to Iconic Auctioneers, who are handling the sale as part of their ‘Classic Sale at the Practical Classics Classic Cars and Restoration’ event, the utilitarian vehicle was ‘supplied new in 2010 for the sole use of King Charles III, then The Princes of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall’.

And, as well as the car (manual, with less than 25,000 miles under its belt) the successful bidder will also get their hands on a confirmation of sale letter, addressed to Tim Williams, the head chauffeur to the then Prince and Duchess — and the person who took delivery of the car at the Royal Garage at Highgrove House on November 15, 2010.

The hardworking Defender isn’t best known for its creature comforts, but royal twitchers will likely still be surprised at just how sparse The King decided to keep things, opting only for heated seats, and a heated front and rear screen. There is also, notes Iconic Auctioneers, ‘minor wear to the driver’s seat’ which, according to them, indicates ‘that this was not a chauffeur-driven Defender’ — although we haven’t been able to work out how the level of wear-and-tear offers up any clues as to who was in the driving seat. (Unless The King was light years ahead of everyone else when it came to driverless car technology.)

Our only outstanding question is… If The King read James Fisher’s piece on Tati Reed and Blue Tit the Land Rover (‘the only honest thing on the internet’) would he try to buy the vehicle back?

The estimated price is between £42,000 and £50,000, excluding a buyers premium of 12.5% and VAT. Click here for more information and to register your interest.

Everything's golden

Last week, the National Gallery's long-awaited 'Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350' exhibition opened. The show, which has transferred from New York's Metropolitan Museum, celebrates the Italian city's brief, but dazzling golden age in which its artists redefined painting as an art form and laid the foundations for the Renaissance.

You can read all about it — and Siena's golden age — right here.