Concorde's longest haul

The final journey of the last British Airways Concorde, which was due to begin today, has been delayed.

In the air Concorde could travel at twice the speed of sound, but now it has been grounded by a change in the tides.

The supersonic aircraft had been due to travel from London to Scotland on a barge down the Thames and along the east coast but tidal changes have delayed the journey by a week.

Golf Bravo Oscar Alpha Alpha (G-BOAA), the first Concorde to enter passenger service with BA, left Heathrow yesterday via road for the Thames in Isleworth.

It had then been due to begin a nine-day journey to the Museum Of Flight at East Fortune, near Edinburgh. Now the 110-tonne load will have to spend a week on the barge before setting off for Scotland. The move, organised by National Museums of Scotland, is being funded by part of a £2million grant from the Scottish Executive.

When the plane arrives in Scotland it will be taken ashore at the British Energy power station at Torness, near Dunbar. It will then travel by road to within less than two miles of the Museum Of Flight when Operation Big Bird will kick in. This involves 40 soldiers using heavy plant equipment to create a milelong "carpet" to allow the aircraft and its trailer to cross several ploughed fields, a road and two streams to get to the museum.

The aircraft is the last of BA's seven Concordes to find a home following the end of commercial services. The others are at Heathrow, Manchester Airport, Filton in Bristol - where the planes were made - as well as Barbados, Seattle and New York.