Parking in London

[Zerotonine]

First of all, apologies if in the wrong forum...

Tomorrow I am taking a trip to the big smoke, taking my daughter to the National Science Museum for an overnight stay. Her friend is going too, all arranged for children with heart conditions. (It is her friend who has a hole in her heart).
Now I will not be taking the train, I am driving them down there. Does anyone know how much of a pain in the arse it is to park near there? I am expecting the London Mass Exodus (Fri afternoon), so one assumes parking near the venue shouldn't be too tricksy?
Can anyone near there advise on best places to park? I do not want to be too far away, want to avoid the tube, public transport etc.

[Vixpy1]

There is prob an NCP nearby, you will need to take a second mortage out to pay for it though

[Zerotonine]

I was hoping to avoid those too, obviously I will have to speak to the bank for a second mortgage if needs be, I looked at the prices and nearly had a heart attack myself!

[Silver]

Zerotonine said:

I was hoping to avoid those too, obviously I will have to speak to the bank for a second mortgage if needs be, I looked at the prices and nearly had a heart attack myself!

There's an app called Park-Up which might help. Unfortunately, free or cheap parking spaces in central London are (as you can probably imagine) at a premium.

You might be better to bite the bullet and fork out for an NCP.

[Paraicj]

South Kensington is notoriously hard to park in. There are some on-street spaces out front of the Royal Albert Hall, but I dread to think of the price. Your best bet might be to park up along the Piccadilly line somewhere and tube it in.

[Zerotonine]

Anyone had any experience with 'Q-Park' or 'Union Parking'?

[furtive]

This may help:

http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/attraction/scie...

[Ari]

Forget these web sites that are supposed to put you in touch with people with private parking facilities that rent them out cheap. I tried this once, they've either given up, or don't answer their emails, or do but can't accommodate the day you need, or can but for no apparent reason want twice the money they've advertised it at.

[jdw1234]

Fancy a walk through the park?

http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/visit...

[vrsmxtb]

I've parked around London a fair bit, and the best tactic I've found is just to search out side streets with either unrestricted or cheaper pay and display spaces. Can be very difficult, most are resident permit. Parking in the suburbs and getting the tube in sounds a good plan.

[fulham911club]

Parking on Saturday around there is almost exclusively residents parking. There are some pay & displays but with an hours cap.

There are a couple of NCPs (>£30 per day): one close to the science museum and one behind harrods - the harrods you can get a discount on with a harrods card...


Where are you staying? Does the hotel have a car park?

[s1rallyemark]

try this site, worked well for me when i needed somewhere near kings cross

http://www.parkatmyhouse.com/uk/

[anonymous-user]

Park Lane underground car park - can usually see some nice metal - walk through Hyde Park to the Museums. Bit of a walk, but nice on a decent day and you walk past the Royal Albert Hall too.
There's also a Sainsbury on the Cromwell Road about 500m from the Museums, might be worth a punt to park there and go "shopping".

[Zerotonine]

Well I am not staying overnight, my daughter's friend's mum is. I will be dropping off, sticking around for them to be admitted to the museum, then driving back, then driving back in the following morning. All chaotic, but my other half is very cautious of London and public transport. My daughter is hard of hearing and my other half wants the peace of mind that she will be dropped point to point, so to speak.

[Gruber]

Zerotonine said:

Well I am not staying overnight, my daughter's friend's mum is. I will be dropping off, sticking around for them to be admitted to the museum, then driving back, then driving back in the following morning. All chaotic, but my other half is very cautious of London and public transport. My daughter is hard of hearing and my other half wants the peace of mind that she will be dropped point to point, so to speak.

In that case, there's on-street metered parking around South Ken and some nice little coffee shops to hang around in.

[nsa]

There is plenty of pay and display parking on the south side of Hyde Park, about 5 minutes walk from the Science Museum. South Carriage Drive.

http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/westminster/

If you can't find it there are car parks. Look for the P sign. On street parking will be about £4 per hour, car park maybe £5. The Park Lane car park at Marble Arch is massive and a twenty minute walk from the museum. Book ahead using Q-Park and it will be about £25 for 24 hours. http://www.q-park.co.uk/parking/london/q-park-park...

I think you'll be surprised how much parking there is.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=South+Carriage+Driv...

You might need to work out how to pay by phone.

I am really getting into this! If you drive down Park Lane wave at the BP garage. I work just above it.

Edited by nsa on Thursday 8th November 17:11

[anonymous-user]

Gruber said:

Zerotonine said:

Well I am not staying overnight, my daughter's friend's mum is. I will be dropping off, sticking around for them to be admitted to the museum, then driving back, then driving back in the following morning. All chaotic, but my other half is very cautious of London and public transport. My daughter is hard of hearing and my other half wants the peace of mind that she will be dropped point to point, so to speak.

In that case, there's on-street metered parking around South Ken and some nice little coffee shops to hang around in.

Quite a few P&P bays on Exhibition Road itself and between the Museums and the Albert Hall. Search by "place of interest" on the link below and scroll to the Science Museum.

http://www.park-up.com/Parking.aspx

[Zerotonine]

nsa said:

There is plenty of pay and display parking on the south side of Hyde Park, about 5 minutes walk from the Science Museum. South Carriage Drive.

http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/westminster/

If you can't find it there are car parks. Look for the P sign. On street parking will be about £4 per hour, car park maybe £5. The Park Lane car park at Marble Arch is massive and a twenty minute walk from the museum. Book ahead using Q-Park and it will be about £25 for 24 hours. http://www.q-park.co.uk/parking/london/q-park-park...

I think you'll be surprised how much parking there is.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=South+Carriage+Driv...

You might need to work out how to pay by phone.

I am really getting into this! If you drive down Park Lane wave at the BP garage. I work just above it.

Edited by nsa on Thursday 8th November 17:11

If you see a slightly dented Civic with a very cross guy sat in it, it will be me! (MIL's car, mine is confined to short journeys due to warning light on)

[alangla]

djstevec said:

Park Lane underground car park - can usually see some nice metal - walk through Hyde Park to the Museums. Bit of a walk, but nice on a decent day and you walk past the Royal Albert Hall too.

Alternatively, if your kids aren't up to a long walk, there's always the historic bus from Hyde Park corner, down to the Albert Hall - http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/009H.pdf
If you can't be bothered waiting for the Routemaster, bus routes 9 & 14 would take you from Hyde Park Corner. 14 goes via Harrods & South Ken station as well. All are normal fares. Type the route numbers in here - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses... to see where they go.

[Zerotonine]

Well, I survived the London run, ended up parking on the main road near I think 'Prince Consort Road'.
Thanks for all the help guys.