I fly into Birmingham fairly regularly and its well worth a visit. May i first point out that Pooleys flight guide has it all wrong about peak charges: there aren't any - so if you want to fly in at rush hour then so be it, just be prepared to orbit a few times till they can fit you in. Also landing fees aren't bad too - for a light single it was nine pounds something, plus a one pound fifty nav charge for the boys and girls in the tower. Now thats a bargain for full ATC in class D, ndb, ILS etc airfield. I've paid more at a grass strip with no radio! Obviously you have to pay handling but for me I got a two way trip to the nec, full weather and notam brief, flight planning and filing etc and free coffee! Handling was twenty three quid - almost as much as the taxi would have cost me - I look at it this way - if i'm paying hundreds for the flying anyway whats a few extra quid to fly somewhere more interesting/challenging?