That there London - parking

[soxboy]

On the weekend before Christmas my wife has thoughtfully booked us a day on the Sunday at the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. We went last year and I actually quite enjoyed it.

This time we’ll be driving down from oop North and staying with friends in Wanstead on the Saturday and then driving back Sunday evening. I’m undecided whether to leave car in Wanstead and get tube into London and back on Sunday, or drive to somewhere in North London and then get tube to Hyde Park, then be in with a chance of hitting M1 easier on way back.

Can anyone suggest somewhere handy to park in North London where I can get to Hyde Park and back easy(ish) and won’t take me too long to get on to the M1?

[essayer]

Stanmore usually a good option. Straight to Green Park

Edited by essayer on Tuesday 24th October 21:12

[numtumfutunch]

Stanmore as suggested or West Hampstead would be great apart from the Wanstead bit

"North London" to Wanstead would be inelegant at best especially as Wanstead is on the central line and not terrible for Hyde Park

Plus you get to hedge your bets with M11/A1 versus M25/M1 on your way back to whippets and flat caps

Have a great trip

Cheers

[Mark V GTD]

Park at Cockfosters at the end of the Piccadilly line. Easy access to HPC and five minutes to the M25.

[hellorent]

I normally park on Garlinge Rd, NW2, no restrictions over the weekend and 5 minute walk to Kilburn station which is in zone 2 of underground

[soxboy]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, I will get journey planning.

[andyjo1982]

Last few times I've driven to London, I've used 'your parking space'. Always seem to be able to find competitively priced spaces, and saves the stress of thinking about train strikes. Paid £20 for 30 hours parking last 2 times. Worth a look.

[Earthdweller]

Wanstead is straight onto the A406 at Redbridge ent then M11 north

Loads of options from there to cut across to M1 either M25 or further north

Going up the M11 will be easy and free flowing and you can take the A14 to either the A1 or M1

It’ll be a ball ache crossing London on a Sunday and will take much more time than just hopping the Central Line to Hyde Park corner and back

[soxboy]

Earthdweller said:

Wanstead is straight onto the A406 at Redbridge ent then M11 north

Loads of options from there to cut across to M1 either M25 or further north

Going up the M11 will be easy and free flowing and you can take the A14 to either the A1 or M1

It’ll be a ball ache crossing London on a Sunday and will take much more time than just hopping the Central Line to Hyde Park corner and back

Yes I’ve pretty much come to the same conclusion.

I think I’ll just move the car from where we are staying to a side street by Wanstead tube (no permits on a Sunday), so we can jump straight in and go.

[Greenmantle]

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

Planning to go into London on the Friday after Xmas.
Congestion Zone Charge is scrapped over this period.
Was planning to park at the Q-park on Park Lane and spend the whole day there.
Yes car park will be expensive but hassle free.
Yes Winter Wonderland will still be one.
Am I mad?

[numtumfutunch]

Greenmantle said:

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

Planning to go into London on the Friday after Xmas.
Congestion Zone Charge is scrapped over this period.
Was planning to park at the Q-park on Park Lane and spend the whole day there.
Yes car park will be expensive but hassle free.
Yes Winter Wonderland will still be one.
Am I mad?

Not necessarily.......... as long as youre happy with the "interesting" driving in central London and have a vague idea where you're going or a decent navigator in your passenger seat

I drive into the centre now and again, my only rule is to avoid peak commuter times so you should be good

Having said that if you're not a regular down there Id probably park a bit further out and tube in as described above

Have a great trip!

Cheers

[Griffith4ever]

Greenmantle said:

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

Planning to go into London on the Friday after Xmas.
Congestion Zone Charge is scrapped over this period.
Was planning to park at the Q-park on Park Lane and spend the whole day there.
Yes car park will be expensive but hassle free.
Yes Winter Wonderland will still be one.
Am I mad?

No, just don't put even a dustcap over a bus lane, not even the last cm of one before it finishes. And dont stop in a box junction, at all. TFL are out to get you :-)

[croyde]

And it's all dreary 20mph Limits.

Sure, OK when gridlocked but numbingly boring when free flowing.

I'm a Londoner and driving in Central London was my bread and butter in the 80s and used to cross it daily in the 90s and 00s.

Even taking the kids up to Hyde Park or the museums at the weekend, drive in on weekdays to gigs or theatre.

But since C Charge all week, every dual carriageway becoming single so the cyclists have room, 20mph limit, billions of cameras, ULEZ, ludicrous parking charges etc I avoid it like the plague.

I guess TFL's plan worked on me then

[vixen1700]

croyde said:

And it's all dreary 20mph Limits.

Sure, OK when gridlocked but numbingly boring when free flowing.

I'm a Londoner and driving in Central London was my bread and butter in the 80s and used to cross it daily in the 90s and 00s.

Even taking the kids up to Hyde Park or the museums at the weekend, drive in on weekdays to gigs or theatre.

But since C Charge all week, every dual carriageway becoming single so the cyclists have room, 20mph limit, billions of cameras, ULEZ, ludicrous parking charges etc I avoid it like the plague.

I guess TFL's plan worked on me then

All of this.

I live in East London and the furthest West I ever find myself driving is The Thatched House, a few hundred yards from the border with Stratford.

There's far too much decent public transport to get you all over the place without the stresses and strains of driving and eventually trying to park.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

I live in London suburbs. I've driven in Central London 3 times in the last 20 years. Just....no.

[RammyMP]

I’m potentially driving down to the big smoke next month, arriving Saturday morning and leaving Sunday evening, is White City Westfield still a good option? Cheers!

[andy118run]

RammyMP said:

I’m potentially driving down to the big smoke next month, arriving Saturday morning and leaving Sunday evening, is White City Westfield still a good option? Cheers!

I imagine it's a pretty safe and reliable option. I'm nearer the Stratford Westfield so that tends to be my go to choice over the years, both day trips and overnights. Was there on Saturday and had no issues.

[LHRFlightman]

Greenmantle said:

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

Planning to go into London on the Friday after Xmas.
Congestion Zone Charge is scrapped over this period.
Was planning to park at the Q-park on Park Lane and spend the whole day there.
Yes car park will be expensive but hassle free.
Yes Winter Wonderland will still be one.
Am I mad?

On the Your Parking App, you can park in the Thistle Hotel at Hyde Park for 14 hours in 27th December, for £27.50.

Got to be cheaper than Q-park?

[vikingaero]

LHRFlightman said:

Greenmantle said:

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

Planning to go into London on the Friday after Xmas.
Congestion Zone Charge is scrapped over this period.
Was planning to park at the Q-park on Park Lane and spend the whole day there.
Yes car park will be expensive but hassle free.
Yes Winter Wonderland will still be one.
Am I mad?

On the Your Parking App, you can park in the Thistle Hotel at Hyde Park for 14 hours in 27th December, for £27.50.

Got to be cheaper than Q-park?

I now like using the Just Park app for London parking. It offers loads of parking in apartment blocks in weird and wonderful places. Obviously only a certain % of residents have cars and the wasted spaces are rented out to the app, the income I presume lowers every residents service fees.

One site I visit a lot is a client next to the Tower of London. I use the Circle Apartments car park which is a 10 minute walk south of the Thames for £10-15 for 4 ish hours. There is a Q-Park nearby that charges £18-24. You get emailed a code to access the gates, and the Just Park spaces are clearly marked. An added bonus is that there are often lots of very interesting residents cars parked, and fun can be had trying to guess the car under the covers.

[omniflow]

Greenmantle said:

Apologies for the thread resurrection!

Planning to go into London on the Friday after Xmas.
Congestion Zone Charge is scrapped over this period.
Was planning to park at the Q-park on Park Lane and spend the whole day there.
Yes car park will be expensive but hassle free.
Yes Winter Wonderland will still be one.
Am I mad?

Barking mad.

I collected a car last Thursday from Stockwell at 3:30pm.

I arrived home in HP16 at 6:30pm, having used the fastest route according to Waze and no stop-offs en-route.

3 hours to cover 40 miles, of which the first 12 miles took 2.5 of those 3 hours.