Hi All I'm planning a family day trip to London tomorrow and wonder if anyone can give me any tips on the best way to approach it? We will be traveling south from Derbyshire.(Don't say down the M1 ) I've been given two options by different people based on what they've done in the past albeit not recently, one is to park on a residential street in Harrow (HA1) and take a ten min walk to the tube station and the tube it in. The second is to drive directly to Euston station and park in the underground car park there? Any opinions on the above or other ideas would be greatly appreciated, I though about the 5 of us just catching a train but to be honest for the cost I might as well go abroad for a week! Cheers Matt
There's something about the phrase "tube it in" that makes me think strange things about your public transportation system.
Errr, depends how much hassle you want in terms of parking I suppose, and what you are planning to do/go once in London. To start with, if you drive into central london, chances are you will need to pay some parking charges even on a Saturday, and this varies in different boroughs. Assuming you find a bay in the first instance, if you are staying in that one area, great, if not you're need a tube/bus ticket or travelcard. One each for adults, children travel for free on tubes and buses. If this is all too much, yes park up the car for free near a tube station, and then tube in. Personally I like to drive to closest I'm going, park and travel around, then back to car, much for convenient for any bags you carry round and for tried little legs. the decision oils your.
Matt Both are sensible suggestions. If you are intending to come into town, then Euston is as close in as you can get without paying the congestion charge. An alternative to the Euston car park is to park on a meter in Regents Park round the back of Baker Street station. It's a bit more scenic. Personally, I'd drive into town - as long as you will be hitting Central London after 9.30am. People are still on holiday so the traffic isn't too bad, but it's still better to avoid rush hour traffic.
Hi thanks for the replies, just been given a 3rd option which seems quite reasonable and that is to come down the M40 and park at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, pay a slight premium on the parking but with a 5 year old in tow after a long day! SpikiSpikester does this sound like another viable option, any ideas if it hits a congestion zone? cheers
That's right on the edge of the congestion charge zone, I'm not sure if it is just inside or just outside But if you're thinking of doing that and have a 5 year old in tow, then I'd have a total change of plan. Best to go into the congestion zone & park in Selfridges car park. It will cost about the same as parking at the hotel & you'll be right in town and save all the hassle. As long as you leave by 4.30pm you'll miss the rush hour traffic to get back out of town. It's the only way to do it if you have a little one who is going to get tired out being schlepped around all day.