To think that I can drive to London?

[Flossyfloof]

I’m a bit of a country bumpkin and live a pretty quiet life. Perfectly fine driving around here and up and down the M1.
I have 2 events I need to go to - ironically, a wedding and a funeral. Both in Surrey, one in Wimbledon and one in Epsom. I’ve thought about the train, but especially for the wedding, I think it would be a bit impossible to arrive fresh and pressed, having crossed London and done the tube, taxi from tube station, etc. I’m happy to stay overnight if necessary.
I just don’t know if I can drive in London! I don’t really know what I’m asking because clearly you don’t either! But if you do...is it ok? Is everyone impatient? Is it straightforward?
Yours pathetically...

That's not really london london, both are on the outskirts. Where are you driving from?

Wimbledon is in London, not Surrey.

Why do you need to drive through London to get to Surrey? Use the M25, it's what it's there for!

If you're going to events in Epsom and Wimbledon then you dont have drive to central London!

You'll be fine. Wimbledon is very easy to drive in. I dont know Epsom but its definitely not London. Look at the route beforehand, use Satnav and be confident

Weirdly I find London drivers very courteous, good at letting people in etc. One of the perks of going everywhere at about 5mph.

Epsom isn’t in London, and Wimbledon isn’t in Surrey

Driving through Central London isn't fun mostly because of narrow lanes and thousands of buses. However both Wimbledon and Epsom can be reached from the M1 without going through London. They're basically just decent sized towns.
You'll be fine.

I’ve lived in both, they’re easy to navigate for driving & trains. Choose whichever is easiest for you!

Epsom won't be a problem, driving in the outer suburbs is nothing like driving in Central London.

Wimbledon is a different ball game. It's a lot busier than Epsom and you don't get anywhere very fast. Plus parking is likely to be a challenge.
I'd seriously consider traveling by public transport the night before.

But none of those are really driving in London though are they? I used to live in SW London and drove up North to visit family all the time. They’re all perfectly drivable. M1, M25, come off motorway somewhere. Job done.

Ignore snidey comments re London or Surrey too, they’re both busy & we know where you mean.

Without knowing exactly where you’re coming from I can’t say for sure but I would have thought that somewhere up the m1 to Wimbledon would be a simple A road and not involve going round Piccadilly Circus or anything like that. Epsom would probably be m25 so you’d completely avoid actual London. So yes I think you should be able to manage it if you’re ok on a motorway.

No need to drive through London, drive round the M25 and then go back in, probably on the A3 but I’d have to check

Obviously it’ll depend on where you’ve come from to get to Wimbledon and Epsom but I live close to both, am not the best driver and would not be keen on driving in central London and find both of them absolutely fine. Neither are massive, both have one-way systems but are perfectly fine. If you need to park there’s plenty of car parks, Wimbledon isn’t super-cheap though. Good luck!

Live between them it would be M1 M25 then different options. My mum who hates driving can go between Epsom and Wimbledon it’s not that tricky at all.

It is v different from central London and no congestion charge needed

DH is driving to a Birmingham at weekend reckon no more than 2 hrs 15 from here. Used to do Wellingborough a lot

Whenever I drive in London, I think the drivers there are cunts. Very aggressive. Heavy on the horn if they think you're too slow pulling away at the lights, for example.
And it's rare to get a 'thank you'.

M25 and then they are both off the A3, don’t bother going through central London, that will be horrendous.

Don't forget to pre pay the congestion charge if you do drive into that zone. I forgot and had to pay more iifc.

They are only 9 miles apart both inside the M25 about a 30 min drive or a 35min direct train ride.
M25, A3 into Wimbledon then A3, A240 to Epsom. Busy, but awful and no where near central London.

Thanks so much! Motorway is fine. I hadn’t thought of them as being towns, it’s all London to me 😀. Your comments have made me feel better.
I do think if you live there you would feel far more confident about it.
I am feeling a bit more confident about the whole thing so thank you ever so much.

I live in Wimbledon. Certain times of the day it can be very frustrating to drive in. I'd try and steer clear of rush hour but other than that, it will be fine.

Raspberry I was thinking the same but probably for Epsom the Leatherhead junction might be easier Ewell bypass can have quite a bit of traffic.

That said I guess it depends on what side of Epsom it is

Actually if they are both on the same day. Park at Epsom and get the train to Wimbledon it’s like 19 mins and parking in Wimbledon is always a nightmare. It’ll be easier.

As comments above, you won’t need to drive through London - come down the M1 and round the M25 anti-clockwise. Wimbledon is about 25 minutes on the A3 from junction 10 on M25; Epsom is about 5-10 minutes from junction 9 on M25. Epsom is essential a midsized town - driving isn’t difficult; Wimbledon is busier though. Bulk of journey would be motorways though, so if you’re ok with that then you should be fine.

I’m coming from the other side of Leicester. I think it’s likely to be 2 1/2 hours for each.
The Wimbledon one is the one I’ll probabky stay overnight for. The other one, less likely.