Britain's longest aircraft runway ?

[AAGR]

Not long ago I met a recently retired senior RAF officer, whose last job had included responsibility for keeping a handful of very long runways in good condition 'in case the Space Shuttle ever needed them'.

He wasn't joking either - apparently the MoD had an agreement with the Americans on such matters.

OK, question ? Which are Britain's longest runways, and how long are they ? I'm guessing that this explains why otherwise-redundant runways like those at Bruntingthorpe, Alconbury Hill, and that 'secret' one at Machrihanish in Scotland are kept in such good condition ? Or are we talking about Fairford, perhaps ?

[AAGR]

OK, that got you talking. Now, to spread the debate even further, which is the longest active/usable runway in Western Europe ? And can anything beat the enormously long runway at La Paz, Bolivia (which needed to be long because it was at such a big altitude ....).

[AAGR]

And here's another poser .... how many times did the Shuttle land at other than Edwards AFB (California) or at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral (Florida) ? No - not an exam question. Just curious.

[AAGR]

A runway 5 miles long ? What on earth for .... ?

[AAGR]

OK, let's get back on track.

What does anyone think of the proposal that the northern runway at Heathrow should effectively be doubled in length, though it will really be end-to-end runways with a safety 'neutral zone' in the middle ?

How long will that all be, in total ?