hello guys, me and my m8 are goin to london on sat (7hr drive), and with us two not knowing much about the place, I thought maybe some of you guys could come in handy AGAIN!!!:slayer: basically I was reading that there are no congestion charges at the wkend, but we were gonna go on the london eye etc, anyone know what the parking situation is there???? and also what I wanted to ask, is the road to london bad for cameras (m6 then m1) any help here would be amazing. thanks in advance

Erm...best advice I could give you...don't drive into London

You would be lucky to find parking...if you do, double check you are actually allowed to park in the bay (not residential only), or it is normally £120 to remove a clamp.
Last time I parked, it cost £28 for approx 3 hrs, that was in the west end.

And no there isn't a congestion charge at the weekend.

Also, couple of other things...don't go in the bus lanes, you will be caught and fined (camera's)
And be prepared to sharpen your wits if you're not used to city driving...every man for himself

Park at outskirts then catch the underground..cheaper,faster & easier.

Probably a cheaper way to do it would be to leave the car in somewhere like Enfield/Cockfosters, where there are free parking spaces and get the tube into town.

EDIT:
Snap lol

No CC @ weekends
Most places are free to park after 1800 (Becarful or Residents only Bays and weird times such as after 2000 or 0000. Always read the signage)
If you are going Central London on a weekend you will generally find a place to park if you arrive early (Shaftsbury Avenue, Soho, Victoria and surrounding areas). Can park along the riverbank easily.. or it was easy last time I was there for a boat party. If you arrive late expect all the theatre and clubbers to have taken up all the spaces. Weekday evenings is usually easy to find a spot.

Lots of London areas, but not all, provide free parking at weekends. Weekdays is for residents only and those who are visiting after 1800, 2000 or 2200.

If you do use Pay and Display Becarful of restrictions such as Maximum Stay times, its usually 2 hours max then you have to move.

EDIT: And if you are going to park as far away as Enfield you might as well leave the car at home as it will defeat the purpose. Its over 15 miles from Central and "Public Transporting It" will take around an hour.

Train?

Trancendental said:

EDIT: And if you are going to park as far away as Enfield you might as well leave the car at home as it will defeat the purpose. Its over 15 miles from Central and "Public Transporting It" will take around an hour.

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Exactly lol

But you can get the tube in from cockfosters onwards.

I always find it fairly easy to find a space at the weekends, especially in early evening. Even if you go to theatre land and it is busy you can get 50% off the parking price in the Master Park garages if have a ticket to a show. You just need to get it stamped by the theatre before you leave.

could take 4 axel stands and a jack, park where you like and put wheels in the boot so you cant get clamped

park up at acton town tube, zone 2, about 15mins from staples corner at the end of the M1, and 10-15 mins to heart of london on piccadilly line

excellent guys thanks for this, im in glasgow every other wkend, city drivin dont annoy me, but i expect london will be a lot worse. anyway will prob try n park nxt to the thames, anyone know if there is a time limit there, i wil be arrivin early in the mornin, so I should be alright for a space i guess. cheers again guys

i live in southgate/Enfield, you can park your car very near to the stations around here and its only about 20-30 mins into central. when in central you do everythink on foot as its the best way to see the sights, so i do recomend you get a all day oyster card(travel card) and bus it everywer. there are plenty small travel lodges etc around southgate so if u want to stay the night you can do. as has been said dont park in london, will cost u an arm and a leg.

maxim

u will love LONDON

Hi
i park near golders green in a residential street 10 mins from M1, much easier than worring about parking in the city, the area is kinda posh so there is no problem with the car being messed with.. good luck!!

Lots of parking near the Thames, shouldn't be a problem, just need to check very carefully any signs nearby

Whatever you do, as others have said read the signs VERY VERY carefully and do NOT park in a permit space

I have a couple of questions about this oyster card, do I have to apply for one, or can I buy one in london, if so where can i get one? also, i read somewhere that it costs a maximum of £3 per day for travel using the card, but can i buy a day card for £3 or is there a catch where you can only top it up with say £10??? I appreciate the help guys!!!

ideally we would want a ticket that would work on both the tube and the buses for the full day, not just up until 5 or something like that. thanks a lot i really appreciate this:slayer:

T14086 said:

Park at outskirts then catch the underground..cheaper,faster & easier.

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Yup totally agree Park and Ride the way to go, you can even park this side of the M25, and its still included in the all day ticket!

jamie03 said:

ideally we would want a ticket that would work on both the tube and the buses for the full day, not just up until 5 or something like that. thanks a lot i really appreciate this:slayer:

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you can buy a travelcard that will work on bus/tube/train/dlr/tram (within zone) from any tube station and loads of newsagents

zone 1-2 will cost £5.10 and covers all of central london and a bit of the outskirts

zones 1-4 costs £5.70 and goes further out (not needed if staying in the tourist areas)

if you want a oyster card, the fares are cheaper (by about 10-20%) BUT you will need to pay a £3 deposit per card and then add an amount to your card.

in my opinion you are better off with the 'paper' style travel card unless you are a frequent visitor.
this brings back memories of when i was a ticket clerk at victoria underground before i started to drive the trains instead!!

sorry forgot to mention it lasts until 04.30am the following day

going to london of your own free will?! thats the craziest thing i've ever heard.