Affordable parking anywhere near Natural History Museum

[Avelandra]

Looking to book a few days in London. I wanted to go by train, but from our local station, the cheapest price is £120pp for a return and there is no way I'm paying that. We were hoping to go to the museum, but can't seem to find anywhere to park that costs less than £50 for 24 hours. Is this just the standard sort of price we will have to pay? The hotel we are staying at offers parking, but again it's £64 for 24 hours

The tube is fairly easy to negotiate. The lines are colour coded and interchanges are well marked. Station signage is usually very clear too. You can pay for fares on tubes and buses using your cards just tap it in and tap it out, it will automatically charge you the correct fare and if you use it more than once for different journeys on the same day will cap the fares to the maximum daily rate. Once in the station check the destination boards to make sure you are on the right platform and going in the right direction. Londoners are friendly people and will help if you ask, or even offer help if you look puzzled.

Use the TFL website to plan journeys, it will show you alternatives like using buses , tubes or a combination. Sometimes it is quicker to walk, the tube map does not always conform to the topology of actual streets. And walking shows you more of the city obviously.

Have a lovely time. The NH Museum is just across the road from a great tapas restaurant, well worth it if you like tapas. Or you could go next door to the V and A and have tea in the most beautiful tea room in London.

@Mumdiva99 I've tried that but £120 is the cheapest available

[quote mobear]@viques The Residents Bays have their hours of operation on them. The rules regarding single yellow lines are set out here: www.rbkc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/Single_Yellow_Line_CPZ_April_2020.pdf[/quote]
I know that now. I am older, wiser and poorer!

[quote Avelandra]@PatriciaHolm North Somerset. My car is quite old, so driving into the centre definitely isn't a good option it seems. Now just trying to work out which tube/hotel etc would be best[/quote]
I travel up to London fairly frequently in normal times from the south west, I drive up and park at Hatton Cross tube and tube in. It's dead easy to get to, just on edge of Heathrow.

We've parked in the ncp at Richmond Station a few times. It's about £25 per day. Then it's district line all the way to South Kensington for about 30 mins.

Tap your credit or debit card at the barrier ls in and out to pay.

How about getting a coach orMegabus? DD and I did Megabus from Chippenham to London for £4.50 one way, £3.50 coming back!

Definitely try off peak. Also look at doing a ticket from where you are to somewhere part way eg Reading and then another from there in. Often works out cheaper.

Try a ticket splitting app such as Trainsplit - can work out much cheaper and you don't have to change seats, etc unless there's an actual change of trains. Or National Express. I used NE a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. And it was cheap. You'll probably have to get from Victoria to your hotel by bus or tube, but not difficult in London as public transport is much more plentiful and joined up than elsewhere in the country.

Without wishing to add to your stress levels, taking the tube is a lot easier than driving in London. I drive into London regularly and a few of the busier multi-lane junctions require a fair bit of concentration. Plus trying to navigate outside the congestion charge zone/ULEZ. Easier with another adult but my kids "helping" just makes it worse!

Go by Berry’s coaches?

Sorry, just realised that I got your post mixed up and it's your partner with you, not kids. That's easier.

When we stayed near Kensington there was a B&Q that had a car park you could leave your car in overnight. Was ten years ago though.

I’m a little bit surprised that you’re nervous about negotiating the tube but happy to drive into central London. It’s not how I would look at those two options.

You could drive to Reading and get a train from there? Or you could drive to Westfield in White City, and parking there is about £7 a day, then Tube the rest (from White City/Shepherd's Bush etc), changing lines is no problem at all, and it's worth looking at a proper map too - sometimes one station over another is better. Goodness you could probably even walk to NHM from there (but I wouldn't particularly want to!!).

We always park in a multi storey in Hammersmith and get the tube in - we're coming off the M4

@Chemenger I'm not nervous about using the tube, I've just never done it before but it looks simple enough to work out

I would not be contemplating driving into South Kensington - despite living and working there for several years as a student/young adult.

Look at staying somewhere out on the District Line. South Kensington Station is still open for the District and Circle lines as far as I know.

The District Line is very user friendly and mostly above ground if you're coming in from the west. Another alternative is to stay somewhere with a train into Victoria (some may even stop at Wimbledon where you can get onto the District line) - you can walk from Victoria to the NHM but you'd need Google Maps.

Personally, I would drive to Wimbledon and book a spot to park (park on my drive.com). Someone upthread mentioned Richmond which may actually be a better option. If you're staying overnight, I would be looking at hotels with parking in Richmond, Wimbledon, or somewhere with a mainline train link to Victoria.

I think staying further out and getting the tube in looks like our best option. I didn't realise parking was so much cheaper a little further out, and the tube is a lot cheaper than I expected too

The tube is fairly easy to negotiate

Most important rules - stand on the right on escalators, and have your card/ticket ready as you approach the barrier!

Park at Westfield and get the bus or tube in

@Avelandra

I think staying further out and getting the tube in looks like our best option. I didn't realise parking was so much cheaper a little further out, and the tube is a lot cheaper than I expected too

Can you let us know what you went with in the end and how you got on for future reference please. Many thanks

Probably easier to park near a district line station but if you're coming from a different location, Chorleywood and Rickmansworth stations are both 5 minutes drive from junction 18 of the M25. You can take the Met Line in to Finchley Road or Baker Street, or the much quicker Chiltern Line into Marylebone. Both stations have large and safe car parks with CCTV. Good luck!

@Window1 I've booked a hotel in Park Royal, parking is £12 for 24 hours and less than 5 minutes walk to the nearest tube station

I always park at Imperial College - you can pre-book and it is £11 for 4 hours and a very short walk to all the Kensington Museums

Try the JustPark app, I’ve had good luck finding reasonable parking with it before.