London trip help

86JR

86JR

86JR

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Going to london the 28th of this month.

this is my journey.

blue line = car.

red line = subway (parking outside of london)

13569_183613293863_584073863_2837819_8104433_n.jpg


This is due to several people informing me that parking in london is, and i quote "£200 a day". We are in some art gallery / hostel in south kensington. Not bothered by congestion charges.

Will take all valuebles and ICE out of car, and probably put an asset on it (tracking device).

Any better ideas ? I can fly to london city airport and back for £180, but then i got to get subway to the hostel anyway.

Trains, i only fit on virgin ones, and there arent any available.

Buses, see above, and its 5 hours. Everyone else is going on the megabus, I would rather not go at all than have a 7 hour trip crushed like a sardine.

Im there sat day, sat night, sun day then home.

help!?
 
That doesnt bother me, I love roadtrips, last time I ended up in Rhyl, North Wales, from the same location in a cramped car (focus) :)
 
If you have to drive i'd park at Heathrow or somewhere out of London, it won't cost anywhere near £200 though, even in central london.
From heathrow you can get the tube to South Kensington with 1 change, or get the Heathrow express also with one change onto the tube but slightly quicker & more expensive.
 
Hounslow West on the Picadilly line has a car park and it's nowhere near £200!! Last time i was there it was something like £2.50 for the day (i think it's free now on weekends but check the signs). It's open 24hrs and secure too. 12 stops on the Picadilly line to South Kensington which will take roughly 30 minutes. It's not a tiny car park either; at least 400 spaces on a weekday. Less on Saturday as there is a market on one side using up half the car park. You may have to wait 10 minutes or so for a space but you'll get one. It's also very easy to find as it's just off the A4.

-edit- link with maps and prices etc.

http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/hounslow_west_london_underground_station/tw3/hounslow/

-edit again - it's also a sweet spot as if you start driving further into London on Saturday from around there, you're likely to hit loads of traffic.
 
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I drove to Plymouth from Croydon the other day for a wedding. The journey isn't "too" bad :p. Just try and time it so when you hit the M3/M25 junction you don't get there at rush hour!!

As for parking, £200 p/d sounds a little bit steep. Find an NCP car park and you can park for £25-30 per day. There's one at Earls Court which isn't far from South Kensington at all :).
 
JoeMama said:
Hounslow West on the Picadilly line has a car park and it's nowhere near £200!! Last time i was there it was something like £2.50 for the day (i think it's free now on weekends but check the signs). It's open 24hrs and secure too. 12 stops on the Picadilly line to South Kensington which will take roughly 30 minutes. It's not a tiny car park either; at least 400 spaces on a weekday. Less on Saturday as there is a market on one side using up half the car park. You may have to wait 10 minutes or so for a space but you'll get one. It's also very easy to find as it's just off the A4.

-edit- link with maps and prices etc.

http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/hounslow_west_london_underground_station/tw3/hounslow/

-edit again - it's also a sweet spot as if you start driving further into London on Saturday from around there, you're likely to hit loads of traffic.
Click to expand...

Is it 24 hour access ?

Much Thanks for that information.

Im planning to get there around 6am :D so the roads should be empty.
 
1. underground, not subway:)

2. sure its not quicker (and easier) to go M4?

3. will never be £200 a day! £30 or so of you're central, less as you go further out. parking at a station is probably a good idea. does the place you're staying at not have parking? perhaps give them a call and see if they can recommend somewhere. Congestion charges don't apply at weekend btw.
 
twoblacklines said:
Trains, i only fit on virgin ones, and there arent any available.
Click to expand...

FGW HST's, which you'll get from Plymouth to Paddington, have as much if not more room than an (ex, as they dont have the franchise anymore) Virgin Crosscountry Voyager.

I've made numerous trips to London from Plymouth. If possible, I'll go by train. It's considerably quicker, it's more comfortable (Normally book in advance and travel First Class for £45 return) and its far less faff.

I drove in February and stayed at the London Hilton Metropole which had underground parking and despite this it was STILL a pain. It cost me more in fuel than the train, the traffic even on a Sunday was ridiculous, etc etc. Going M4/M5 is super dull, the A303 is more interesting but its a crap speed camera infested road anyway.

Don't drive to London. Just get the train.
 
Ooh you live near where I used to :)

Book train in advance, drive up A30 to Exeter - train from there is an epically better route.

As an aside, if you decide to drive all the way, take the A30 anyway it's quicker than going that way.
 
Rich_L said:
Ooh you live near where I used to :)

Book train in advance, drive up A30 to Exeter - train from there is an epically better route.
Click to expand...

What? There is absolutely no point in doing that at all? Exeter St Davids is right in the centre of town and parking is expensive. If you are going to that trouble surely better to drive to Tiverton Parkway?

The 'route' is the same anyway as any train to London from west of Exeter goes through Exeter anyway :confused:

And the A30 is only quicker if you live on it, which he doesn't - by the time he's made his way up to the A30 he'd be almost at the dual carriageway part of the A38 anyway?
 
Exeter St Davids is ridiculously easy to get to from the A30 :confused: The rail station parking isn't expensive is it? Tenner for a weekend?

I agree Tiverton isn't a bad idea though, just depends how far he wants to drive I suppose :)

And it takes longer to get the train from Plymouth than it does to drive, so if he is going to drive as far as Plymouth to get the train, it will take an hour to get from where he is to Exeter, as opposed to 45 minutes to get to Plymouth and then another hour to get to Exeter
 
Rich_L said:
Exeter St Davids is ridiculously easy to get to from the A30 :confused: The rail station parking isn't expensive is it? Tenner for a weekend?
Click to expand...

He has to go into Exeter, what on earth is the point when Tiverton Parkway exists and was built entirely so that people could park there? Thats why its there and its why its free to park there. It's even right beside the M5.

If it was quicker to use the A30 Google Maps would throw that up as the preffered route. You seem a bit obsessed with the A30, it is not the jesus christ of dual carriageways :p He's definately more than an hour from Exeter where he lives.
 
No, I've just driven both the A30 and the A38 from Launceston about a million times, and invariably the A30 is quicker, because you don't have to faff around with the Saltash bridge and the Plymouth traffic.

It takes 50 minutes from Launceston to Exeter St Davids, I don't think he's that far further, it's difficult to tell from the map.

I agree about Tiverton being more accesible mind - I was saying that to drive to Plymouth then catch the train is a bit daft as it would be way quicker to drive to Exeter :)
 
Also, that has the potential of being a very frustrating route - not necessarily slow, just annoying. You might consider just going M5, M4, it's more miles but its all motorway, despite what the God of routing that is Google Maps has to say ;)

*edit*
Ah see it was suggested earlier :)
 
Rich_L said:
No, I've just driven both the A30 and the A38 from Launceston about a million times, and invariably the A30 is quicker, because you don't have to faff around with the Saltash bridge and the Plymouth traffic.
Click to expand...

Plymouth traffic? I don't get held up on the A38, ever, during the day and he's going to be coming through at 1-2am!

It takes 50 minutes from Launceston to Exeter St Davids, I don't think he's that far further, it's difficult to tell from the map.
Click to expand...

He is - Launceston is on the A30 so obviously far quicker. He's nowhere near Launceston, he's across country from there on the A38, he'd have to cut across the lanes etc etc just to get to the A30, this is going to add time to his journey.
 
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