On May 5, 9:58*pm, Mark Goodge
wrote:
I have a meeting in London on Wednesday afternoon next week. Normally,
when I need to go to London I take the train since that's by far the
quickest option from where I live, but in this case I'll be starting
from the middle of nowhere in Worcestershire and returning thence
afterwards. Trains from that part of the country to London seem to be
universally crap, so my plan is to drive to somewhere on the edge of
the capital and train/tube the rest of the way.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for a good station to use as
a P&R? Essential requirements a reasonably easy access from the
M40, plenty of parking spaces so I can be sure of getting one in the
early afternoon on a working day, a reasonably frequent service to the
centre so I can just turn up and ride without needing to plan to catch
a particular train, and a not-too-lengthy jurney time from there to
Westminster. Someone else will be picking up the tab so parking
doesn't have to be free.


The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...&y=184750&lm=1

Take a Metropolitan line train (*not* a Piccadilly line train - that's
the round the houses route) which will convey you to Finchley road,
where you can make an easy cross-platform interchange onto the Jubilee
line straight to Westminster station (alternatively if you miss
Finchley Road you can change at Baker Street for a not-quite-so-
straightforward interchange to the Jubilee). TfL journey planner
estimates the total journey as being around 50 minutes - both lines
have frequent services (though coming back from Finchley Road/ Baker
Street on the Met line do make sure you're on a train heading to
Uxbridge!).

FWIW here's the Tube Map - Hillingdon's in the top left/north west
corner, one station east of Uxbridge:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-Tube-map.gif

All that said I can't give you comprehensive gen on the parking
situation there, all I can say is what I can glean from the TfL
website - that there's a car park with 283 spaces and it'd cost you a
maximum of £3.70 during weekdays, see:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/tubestationcarparks/

I don't however know how quickly this fills up in the morning, nor
what the deal is with regards to the possibility of on-street parking
nearby - perhaps someone else knows this?

(If you were to arrive after 0930 weekdays and don't have an Oyster
card then get a zones 1-6 off-peak Day Travelcard at a cost of £7.50
rather than 2x £4 single tickets, though obviously there isn't much in
it but it'd save a bit of hassle and would give you the freedom to go
elsewhere should you want that.)


The other more leftfield suggestion I have is that of possibly parking
in the village of Lewknor - which is just off junction 6 of the M40 -
and then catching the frequent Oxford Tube coach service into London,
which ends up at Victoria Coach Station not far from Westminster.
However I have absolutely no idea what the parking situation is there
- one suspects the villagers aren't exactly going to be keen on it,
and other people will of course have had the same idea too... but I
guess it might work if it's early enough, I don't know. Do others?

On May 6, 12:04*am, Mizter T wrote:
On May 5, 9:58*pm, Mark Goodge
wrote:



I have a meeting in London on Wednesday afternoon next week. Normally,
when I need to go to London I take the train since that's by far the
quickest option from where I live, but in this case I'll be starting
from the middle of nowhere in Worcestershire and returning thence
afterwards. Trains from that part of the country to London seem to be
universally crap, so my plan is to drive to somewhere on the edge of
the capital and train/tube the rest of the way.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for a good station to use as
a P&R? Essential requirements a reasonably easy access from the
M40, plenty of parking spaces so I can be sure of getting one in the
early afternoon on a working day, a reasonably frequent service to the
centre so I can just turn up and ride without needing to plan to catch
a particular train, and a not-too-lengthy jurney time from there to
Westminster. Someone else will be picking up the tab so parking
doesn't have to be free.

The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...&y=184750&lm=1

Take a Metropolitan line train (*not* a Piccadilly line train - that's
the round the houses route) which will convey you to Finchley road,
where you can make an easy cross-platform interchange onto the Jubilee
line straight to Westminster station (alternatively if you miss
Finchley Road you can change at Baker Street for a not-quite-so-
straightforward interchange to the Jubilee). TfL journey planner
estimates the total journey as being around 50 minutes - both lines
have frequent services (though coming back from Finchley Road/ Baker
Street on the Met line do make sure you're on a train heading to
Uxbridge!).

FWIW here's the Tube Map - Hillingdon's in the top left/north west
corner, one station east of Uxbridge:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-Tube-map.gif

All that said I can't give you comprehensive gen on the parking
situation there, all I can say is what I can glean from the TfL
website - that there's a car park with 283 spaces and it'd cost you a
maximum of £3.70 during weekdays, see:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/tubestationcarparks/

I don't however know how quickly this fills up in the morning, nor
what the deal is with regards to the possibility of on-street parking
nearby - perhaps someone else knows this?

(If you were to arrive after 0930 weekdays and don't have an Oyster
card then get a zones 1-6 off-peak Day Travelcard at a cost of £7.50
rather than 2x £4 single tickets, though obviously there isn't much in
it but it'd save a bit of hassle and would give you the freedom to go
elsewhere should you want that.)

The other more leftfield suggestion I have is that of possibly parking
in the village of Lewknor - which is just off junction 6 of the M40 -
and then catching the frequent Oxford Tube coach service into London,

Incidently the Oxford tube also stops at Hillingdon very close to the
tube station, so if the tube is misbehaving then it's not too late to
switch to coach there.

On May 6, 12:21*am, D DB 90001
wrote:

On May 6, 12:04*am, Mizter T wrote:

[snip OP's question]

The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...&y=184750&lm=1

[big snip]

The other more leftfield suggestion I have is that of possibly parking
in the village of Lewknor - which is just off junction 6 of the M40 -
and then catching the frequent Oxford Tube coach service into London,

Incidently the Oxford tube also stops at Hillingdon very close to the
tube station, so if the tube is misbehaving then it's not too late to
switch to coach there.

Though I'm not sure that you can use it for journeys from Hillingdon
into central London and v.v., though the website doesn't say this -
but the website is a bit shabby at providing the more esoteric
information (e.g. about the stop at Lewknor) so I wouldn't take what
it says (and doesn't say) as being definitive.

Mizter T wrote:
The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...D184750&lm=3D1


Beware. It is a poor choice for two reasons.

First, the car park is small, and is invariably wedged (and beyond) by
mid morning. Second, the trains are very slow - there are an awful lot
of stops between Hillingdon and central London.

In message , at 01:18:33 on
Wed, 6 May 2009, Tony Polson remarked:

First, the car park is small, and is invariably wedged (and beyond) by
mid morning. Second, the trains are very slow - there are an awful lot
of stops between Hillingdon and central London.

I used to park at Ickenham - the next station up the line - having
arrived via the M40. As an end-to-end time it's not bad compared to
driving. The next place up the A40 it's worth using is the Hyde Park
car-park (not far from the A40 if you use the shortcuts near Paddington
Station, rather than Edgware Rd). But it'll still be half an hour from
there to Westminster, and the parking fees are quite high.
--
Roland Perry

On May 6, 1:13*am, Mizter T wrote:
On May 6, 12:21*am, D DB 90001
wrote:



On May 6, 12:04*am, Mizter T wrote:

[snip OP's question]

The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...&y=184750&lm=1

[big snip]

The other more leftfield suggestion I have is that of possibly parking
in the village of Lewknor - which is just off junction 6 of the M40 -
and then catching the frequent Oxford Tube coach service into London,

Incidently the Oxford tube also stops at Hillingdon very close to the
tube station, so if the tube is misbehaving then it's not too late to
switch to coach there.

Though I'm not sure that you can use it for journeys from Hillingdon
into central London and v.v., though the website doesn't say this -
but the website is a bit shabby at providing the more esoteric
information (e.g. about the stop at Lewknor) so I wouldn't take what
it says (and doesn't say) as being definitive.

I can confirm that it is possible because I've done the journey
before, iirc, the fares were very reasonable as well, I think it was
about £2/3 for a single to central London.

On May 6, 9:16*am, D DB 90001 wrote:
On May 6, 1:13*am, Mizter T wrote:





On May 6, 12:21*am, D DB 90001
wrote:

On May 6, 12:04*am, Mizter T wrote:

[snip OP's question]

The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...&y=184750&lm=1

[big snip]

The other more leftfield suggestion I have is that of possibly parking
in the village of Lewknor - which is just off junction 6 of the M40 -
and then catching the frequent Oxford Tube coach service into London,

Incidently the Oxford tube also stops at Hillingdon very close to the
tube station, so if the tube is misbehaving then it's not too late to
switch to coach there.

Though I'm not sure that you can use it for journeys from Hillingdon
into central London and v.v., though the website doesn't say this -
but the website is a bit shabby at providing the more esoteric
information (e.g. about the stop at Lewknor) so I wouldn't take what
it says (and doesn't say) as being definitive.

I can confirm that it is possible because I've done the journey
before, iirc, the fares were very reasonable as well, I think it was
about £2/3 for a single to central London.- Hide quoted text -

And the X90 as well, presumably? Pretty sure that does Hillingdon,
and the prices exactly matched when I last did it.

On May 6, 9:27*am, MIG wrote:
On May 6, 9:16*am, D DB 90001 wrote:



On May 6, 1:13*am, Mizter T wrote:

On May 6, 12:21*am, D DB 90001
wrote:

On May 6, 12:04*am, Mizter T wrote:

[snip OP's question]

The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...&y=184750&lm=1

[big snip]

The other more leftfield suggestion I have is that of possibly parking
in the village of Lewknor - which is just off junction 6 of the M40 -
and then catching the frequent Oxford Tube coach service into London,

Incidently the Oxford tube also stops at Hillingdon very close to the
tube station, so if the tube is misbehaving then it's not too late to
switch to coach there.

Though I'm not sure that you can use it for journeys from Hillingdon
into central London and v.v., though the website doesn't say this -
but the website is a bit shabby at providing the more esoteric
information (e.g. about the stop at Lewknor) so I wouldn't take what
it says (and doesn't say) as being definitive.

I can confirm that it is possible because I've done the journey
before, iirc, the fares were very reasonable as well, I think it was
about £2/3 for a single to central London.- Hide quoted text -

And the X90 as well, presumably? *Pretty sure that does Hillingdon,
and the prices exactly matched when I last did it.

Indeed. Both are equally valid and the frequencies are roughly the
same, so it really doesn't matter which one.

On May 6, 1:18*am, Tony Polson wrote:

Mizter T wrote:
The obvious place when coming in on the M40/A40 into London is
Hillingdon Underground station on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly
lines - it's not far from where the M40 crosses the M25 and becomes
the A40 - you take the turn-off for Hillingdon, and I'm pretty sure
the Underground station is also signposted from the A40 too - see this
map:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.sr...D184750&lm=3D1

Beware. *It is a poor choice for two reasons. *

First, the car park is small, and is invariably wedged (and beyond) by
mid morning. *Second, the trains are very slow - there are an awful lot
of stops between Hillingdon and central London.

Re the journey time - on the Met it's eleven stations to Finchley Road
and takes about 32 minutes, then on the Jubilee a further 14 minutes
to get to Westminster station. The TfL journey planner estimates the
whole journey at taking between 47 and 50 minutes. Jubilee line trains
are very regular, whilst Met line trains to Uxbridge are every 10
minutes off-peak.

From Beaconsfield there are 4tph into Marylebone (not quite every 15
minutes but not far off) which take either 30 or 40 minutes depending
on the stopping pattern. From Marylebone one needs to add on the five
minute walk to Baker Street to catch the Jubilee to Westminster for
the 7 minute journey to Westminster.

So if one caught the slower train from/back to Beaconsfield it
wouldn't be *that* much faster. Though of course parking at
Beaconsfield means leaving the motorway earlier and driving for
slightly less distance (though Beaconsfield station is a bit further
away from the M40).

Of course it's all very academic if there's nowhere to park at
Hillingdon! I dunno what the side streets are like nearby Hillingdon
station and if parking is allowed there - unlike lots of other London
borough websites, Hillingdon council don't provide any details of
where there are controlled parking zones in their borough so I can't
tell from that.

The one thing I can say is that the Hillingdon option is much cheaper
when it comes to fares - as I said, off-peak it'd be £7.50 for an
Oystercard-less passenger, whilst from Beaconsfield an off-peak day
return to Marylebone is £12.90 and a bundled Day Travelcard is £17.00.
Of course if someone else is paying then such considerations are
likely of far less importance, but they might well be relevant for
people making recreational day trips (esp. as the Hillingdon car park
costs a maximum of £1 for weekend parking - again no idea how early it
gets full up on saturdays and sundays).

I'd probably go with the Oxford P&R plus coach option anyway, or maybe
the Beaconsfield option.

On May 6, 6:40*am, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 01:18:33 on
Wed, 6 May 2009, Tony Polson remarked:

First, the car park is small, and is invariably wedged (and beyond) by
mid morning. *Second, the trains are very slow - there are an awful lot
of stops between Hillingdon and central London.

I used to park at Ickenham - the next station up the line - having
arrived via the M40. As an end-to-end time it's not bad compared to
driving. The next place up the A40 it's worth using is the Hyde Park
car-park (not far from the A40 if you use the shortcuts near Paddington
Station, rather than Edgware Rd). But it'll still be half an hour from
there to Westminster, and the parking fees are quite high.

City of Westminster council refer to it as the Marble Arch/ Park Lane
car park, as it has two entrances. Their webpage on it is here -
prices are, as you say, pricey:
http://www.westminster.gov.uk/carparks/marble_arch.cfm

Depends where in Westminster one is headed, but it could be a pleasant
walk through Green Park and St James' Park (and poss a bit quicker
than half-hour). The other options would be to head to Bond Street or
maybe Green Park for the Jubilee line into Westminster, or take a
frequent 148 bus from Park Lane which goes via Victoria along Victoria
Street to Parliament Square where it then heads across the river.

Regarding getting off the A40 (the Westway) - there's ways of doing it
and ways of not doing it, additionally these ways differ according to
whether or not the congestion charge is in force / whether or not you
want to avoid the CC zone.

Regardless of this however if you're coming west along the A40 and
want to head south to Marble Arch / Park Lane and beyond, one should
pretty much always take the so-called "Paddington slip" off the A40
(which IIRC is signposted "Ring Road South"). Once you're off the road
here it's a question of whether you continue direct along Westbourne
Terrace to Lancaster Gate (though the CC zone) or otherwise travel via
Edgware Road, which is a 'free road' that cuts through the CC zone, as
is Park Lane and the whole of the Inner Ring Road.

Continuing along the A40 will mean you end up on the Marylebone Road,
which has limited opportunities for turning right into (though they do
exist, but I can't remember where), and these right turns will lead
you into the CC zone. It's not possible to get off the A40 on to the
top of Edgware Road directly - you will instead be conveyed on the
Marylebone Flyover (properly called the Harrow Rd Flyover) over the
top of Edgware Road and onto Marylebone Road.

This helpful PDF from TfL outlines all the various permutations for
getting on and off the A40 avoiding the CC zone:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/roadusers/...AccessMaps.pdf

Of course this will all be largely irrelevant from some time in 2010
onward when the western extension of the Congestion Charging zone is
scrapped (though the central area CC zone south of Marylebone Rd will
remain) - a retrograde step IMO (coming from a somewhat retrograde
Mayor) but that's another discussion - point being that in the mean
time, if you want to come off the A40 and park at the Marble Arch/
Park Lane car park (or indeed just drive to points south) then there's
absolutely no need to pay the £8 congestion charge for the privilege
of driving little over a mile in the CC zone when you can avoid it
quite easily.

I guess I should be saying that one could avoid adding to the
congestion and pollution and could also save oneself the hassle of
driving into central London by doing 'The Right Thing' and making use
of a public transport option.