Londoners help me please...Tube and where to stay

[Flowersandbread]

Hi all. I am going to watch Wimbledon this year, I've been to London once in my life so have very little knowledge.

Google is not currently helping me with regards to the tube. I'm not totally helpless and I'm sure once I am there I will navigate it fine but I need to plan a bit. My train will get into King's Cross, is it easy to get to Wimbledon grounds from there on the tube?

Also, which area do I look to stay in? I don't want to spend mega bucks but I want to be able to get to the grounds easily

In an ideal world I could get on a line at KC that passes through a station where I can walk to the grounds and maybe a couple of stops before that one there's one in a nice area for staying at

will spend up to £150 per night

Good luck!

There's a premier inn (called Premier Inn Wimbledon South) in Colliers Wood, which is very reasonable. There's a bus from outside that drops off about 15mins walk from the tennis or you can take 2 buses that would drop you off right outside.

Ah you might have to up the budget a bit for the Wimbledon fortnight.

Get the Thameslink from St Pancras, next to Kings across to Wimbledon - no changes.

Alternatively Kings Cross to Waterloo on the Northern Line and overground to Wimbledon

are you doing anything else in London or just going to WImbledon?

Wimbledon has a lovely buzz around the tennis time - but as other have said places to stay local to the tennis are very inflated during those weeks.

If you are only interested in Tennis and not seeing any London sights - you might be better off going to Travel Lodge or Jury's Inn or similar in Croydon - there are busses and a tram that go to Wimbledon and are quick, reliable and cheap.

Not as nice. The overground trains from Waterloo to Wimbledon are a good option if you want to stay more central and see some of London while there. Or stay Clapham which is easy reach of central London and Wimbledon

Not sure that the Premier Inn in Colliers Wood is open to guests - it was being used to house asylum seekers until recently.

For a possibly cheaper option could try the two new hotels built in Sutton recently. Direct trains to Wimbledon on the Thameslink. One Premier Inn, the other Ibis. You’ll hardly be in the hotel anyway as the days at the courts are so long.

Or you could stay at the Travelodge in Morden, get the 93 bus that stops outside it to Calonne Road by Wimbledon Common, walk down the hill and 10 mins max, you're at the grounds. And you have the added bonus of being able to look out for tennis players on that 10 minute walk because loads of them stay in that area. The Morden Travelodge is also by where the park & ride for Wimbledon is from, if they bring it back this year. It's also less than a 5 minute walk from Morden South Station which has a direct train to St Pancras / King's Cross every 30 mins

@downtonupton

are you doing anything else in London or just going to WImbledon?

Wimbledon has a lovely buzz around the tennis time - but as other have said places to stay local to the tennis are very inflated during those weeks.

If you are only interested in Tennis and not seeing any London sights - you might be better off going to Travel Lodge or Jury's Inn or similar in Croydon - there are busses and a tram that go to Wimbledon and are quick, reliable and cheap.

Not as nice. The overground trains from Waterloo to Wimbledon are a good option if you want to stay more central and see some of London while there. Or stay Clapham which is easy reach of central London and Wimbledon

Not sure that the Premier Inn in Colliers Wood is open to guests - it was being used to house asylum seekers until recently.

@downtonupton no that's the Holiday Inn in Colliers Wood. The Premier Inn is not being used and my family stay there regularly when they come to visit me.

The Earl's Court area has lots of reasonably priced hotels, and is on the District Line so has easy access to Southfields station. I think you can also get down to Earl's Court fairly easily from King's Cross. Wimbledon is a ling day, so easy travel back to your hotel us a big plus.

@GuidingSpirit
[...] No that's the Holiday Inn in Colliers Wood. The Premier Inn is not being used and my family stay there regularly when they come to visit me.

ah sorry - getting my hotel chains mixed up

I live in Wimbledon. From Kings Cross you can get straight down to South Wimbledon station on the Northern Line, with no changes.

You could stay at the Premier Inn Wimbledon Broadway (currently £81 a night) and then you could walk/bus/shuttle/taxi to and from the grounds. You’d also be able to spend any free time with a long walk on Wimbledon Common and enjoying the tournament atmosphere in Wimbledon Village, every business puts up decorations and the pubs have open air screens, it’s brilliant.

Hope you have fun, we went last year on the new system where you could buy tickets, it was fab

@BlueAbacus

I live in Wimbledon. From Kings Cross you can get straight down to South Wimbledon station on the Northern Line, with no changes.

You could stay at the Premier Inn Wimbledon Broadway (currently £81 a night) and then you could walk/bus/shuttle/taxi to and from the grounds. You’d also be able to spend any free time with a long walk on Wimbledon Common and enjoying the tournament atmosphere in Wimbledon Village, every business puts up decorations and the pubs have open air screens, it’s brilliant.

Hope you have fun, we went last year on the new system where you could buy tickets, it was fab

This! Don't stay in Croydon or Sutton. Book a hotel in Wimbledon

Look also at which bus routes go to Wimbledon, as you can still get the shuttle bus, and it opens up areas that those who think Tube only don't consider.

For example route 156 (goes pretty much through the night) takes you to Clapham Junction and Lavender Hill area (where there's a Premier Inn, which might not be ramping prices as it's not an obvious choice).

Several buses from there take you to Vauxhall, for Victoria Line to Kings Cross

You're not going to get accommodation in Wimbledon where it is pretty limited anyhow cheep as chips during the championship fortnight given the whole circus/media/spectators arriving. The Premier Inn shows no availability and others close by touching £150.
Balham / Tooting Collies Wood have limited accommodation but a fair number of places to eat and area a reasonable journey.
Croydon for all its uglyness has a good range of budget mid price hotels and the tram to Wimbledon plus from Kings Cross its easy to get on to the St Pancreas Thames link to Croydon.

Re the buses, the 493 is always diverted away from the grounds during the tennis fortnight!

Croydon’s not very nice though! It’d be better staying somewhere closer to Wimbledon

I'm not from London but just back from a short trip to it. As pps have said the Citymapper app is wonderful. It gives all the travel options from your location to your destination, cost and times and seems to know your location to about the nearest metre. And you can ask it for restaurants, hotels etc.
The London transport is fantastic. Changing tube trains is super easy.

I don't live in London anymore, but when I moved there as a naive 21 year old CityMapper saved me! It's a great app and will help you out tons.

@LittleBearPad

Croydon’s not very nice though! It’d be better staying somewhere closer to Wimbledon

Croydon is grotty in parts - but only really because it is tower blocks and a fairly rundown shopping centre - There are plenty places to eat and there are cheaper hotels with good bus or tram links to Wimbledon - also has a direct link to Kings Cross, It has Box Park if you want something in an evening (rain stops play and you have some time to kill). or is 20 mins from Victoria if you have a night off and want to go in to London for a show or something.

The closer you go to Wimbledon the more expensive a room is at the beginning of July.

just a quick check of Premier Inn first week of July - it is £219 a night in Wimbledon, from £56 in Croydon - so if only needing a bed for the night it will do - if wanting to stay somewhere pretty and fun, maybe not.

If all you need is a bed and are spending all day inWimbledon it is a sensible option.

Also, if you are travelling down from the north, go the day before. Avoids problems with any rail delays, also you want to be at Wimbledon by 10.30am to have a walk round, shop, eat & go on outside courts. So you will definitely need 2 nights in a hotel. I would imagine that Wimbledon & Putney all sold out by now, as most regular attendees book rooms a year in advance.

You can get the train from Kings X to Farringdon (1 stop) and then a train from Farringdon to Wimbledon, which takes 35 mins. Probably quicker than the tube.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will download the citymapper app and look at the areas/hotels suggested. I've got tickets for the women's final day so I know it will be more expensive to travel and stay on a Friday and Saturday night. I'd have loved to be able to explore London a bit but I'll have to get back for my DC so not planning extras other than Wimbledon right now. Thank you again everyone

Oh and someone said its London not outer Mongolia, honestly I'm the type of person who would fare much better in outer Mongolia 😂