The next time you are sitting in an airliner taxiing from the airport terminal building to the runway, take a closer look at what"s around you.

There is certainly a lot of tarmac to trundle along on your way to take-off, and other airliners will be in plentiful supply. And then there are the fuel tankers, luggage trains, buses, and the re-supply vehicles carrying all those delicious in-flight meals served to you with your wine or gin and tonic or orange juice.

But try and look beyond the obvious. What can you see just off the runway? Just over that fence; at the top of that grassy mound; near those trees? Look there and you will see people; people watching you! Is it Big Brother? Well, no, at least not unless the Channel 4 reality show is camped out there.

But what you will see there are plane spotters. In ones, twos, groups, dozens, hundreds even! These are the people who just love airliners. Airliners taking off; airliners landing; airliners taxiing; airliners being serviced; and airliners just standing and doing nothing at all.

And these plane spotters will have binoculars, telescopes, camcorders, short-wave radios, airline schedules - and perhaps even a picnic chair and a haversack full of sandwiches, hot and cold drinks, and chocolate bars.

Because these are the people who really do love airliners. They love airliners like some people love their pet cat or dog, and would probably like to cuddle those airliners given half the chance!

But apart from the plane spotters there are lots of other things to see on the fringes of an airport. Take Manchester (UK) for example. Manchester Airport is far more than just a spotter"s paradise. The south side of the airport is open countryside, and there are many paths and woodland walks scattered throughout the adjoining National Trust property.

Some of the best locations for watching take-offs and landings can be found along both sides of the second runway. These locations can be reached by following a path that winds its way up from the south exit of the A538 road tunnel, passes through several gates, creeps behind the new airport fire station, and then slopes down to the river Bollin.

A large tunnel has been constructed here to enable the river to flow underneath the second runway, and the footpath through the tunnel provides access to viewing locations on the north side of the runway. This tunnel is a blessing to plane spotters in hot weather as it provides a cool haven to protect them from the sun"s ultraviolet excesses. Here in this tunnel, the spotters, if they can tear themselves away from the airliners passing above them, can listen to the soothing gurgling of the river as they eat their packed lunches and recharge their batteries before returning above ground for more spectacular airport runway action.

This combination of airliner action and beautiful countryside makes Manchester Airport a very special place. After the loud roar of an airliner taking off has faded into the distance, it is replaced by the singing of birds and the rustle of tall grasses in the breeze.

So the next time you are perhaps nervously fidgeting on your way to take-off, look more closely at what"s around you on the fringes of the airport. There is another world out there waiting to be explored. And who knows, one day you might join those intrepid explorers and think nothing of walking two or three miles just to watch and film airliners whisking people off to exotic locations.

But if you do join the plane spotters, remember this; you will also be in an exotic location; a location where the complex and noisy ingenuity of man combines with the beauty and calmness of nature to create an environment where both can be enjoyed to the full.

Regards, and good flying. And good viewing too!

******