Was at the dinner a couple of weeks ago but not in anything GA.
It was good food and I think 50 quid for an engineer, FO and me including a double round of soft drinks. Nothing from the steak menu mind. I think the café is cheaper but as the company was paying. The diner was good food and worth it just to see what the fuglies where bitching about. Its been de odorised from its atlantic freighting days.
ATC were fine with an IFR outbound and were pretty busy with VFR traffic and seemed to handle things effectively even with one hand tied behind there backs waiting for radar release from Brum which is understandable.
There is loads to see round the airport.
In some ways its a bit of a missed location. Everyone thinks its to hard to get into because of Brum being so close when actually its a pretty interesting place to go to.
http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadba...2012-08-23.pdf
I don't think there are VFR routes in but its not that hard as long as you don't go above 1500ft. I would attack it from the east and just get myself North of the 101 radial tons of fields and stuff that side