Driving to the Natural History Museum

Lotus-eater

We want to go to the NHM and the science museum with our kids.

I've just worked out the train tickets including £12.50 parking in a (regional town!) for us all are £85 and at those prices we can only be there from 11.00am till 2.30pm.

I thought they wanted us to go by train!

Anyway, if we leave really early and drive, we can do both the NHM and the science museum, maybe even the V&A.

I've found parking here
http://www.unioncarparks.co.uk/Harrington%20Road%20cp9.html which is £22 for 8 hours, which is not bad and gives us the whole day.

What I'd like help with, is the driving situation, just how bad is it now and am I being silly even thinking about it, are there any better car parks around, do we pay the congestion charge?
And we will take a packed lunch probably, if we do, is there anywhere nice we can eat it......... hoping that it will be nice weather. If we don't take a packed lunch, is there a nice little interesting cafe that we could go to?

I used to work in London all the time and do quite a bit of driving there, but I haven't been for years, so I'm a bit out of touch and anything else I haven't thought about, would be a great help. Thanks

I should have said, that's on a week day, a teacher training day at the school my DD goes to. I'd much prefer that to a weekend, as it should be a much more enjoyable experience than with loads of people about.

dacouch

You will need to get there early to get a space in a car park that is that central / cheap.

The traffic gets really heavy after about 7.30ish.

Where are you driving from ?

Lotus-eater

We'll come in on the A1, I'm not sure yet what time we will hit the outskirts of London, but if we make a decent day of it, that could be about 7.30 to 8am. I realise this is far from perfect and I could make it nearer 9.30, (the museums open at 10am).

It's difficult to make it really early, but we could do it if needed.

dacouch

If your coming from the A1 the latest you want to be hitting the North Circular is 7.30 preferably 7ish. Any later and you will be caught up in some serious traffic.

If your driving in you will have to plan your leaving time to avoid the rush hour traffic as well.

Have you thought about driving to a tube station on the out skirts, parking your car and then getting the tube in ? http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/tubestationcarparks/default.aspx Obviously a lot of the car parks get full quote early though.

Alternatively you could get a train from say Watford etc to West Brompton and then it's a shortish walk to the museums

P.S The car park you are looking at is within the congestion charge which is £8 a day.

You can plan London public transport journeys on this website https://www.tfl.gov.uk

whatmichaelsays

Personally, I would say that anybody planning on taking a car into Central London needs their head testing. It's a nightmare experience at the best of times.

The best option in my view would be to park at a tube station on the outskirts and take the tube into Central London.

This link gives you a list of tube stations with car parks: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/tubestationcarparks/default.aspx

Lotus-eater

I think I've changed my mind, we'll go in on a Sunday.

Anyone know what the parking around the Natural History museum is like on a Sunday? It says on some sites that on all single yellow lines is free. Which is great, but I have no idea where there are single yellow lines

magic_pants

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Anyone know what the parking around the Natural History museum is like on a Sunday? It says on some sites that on all single yellow lines is free. Which is great, but I have no idea where there are single yellow lines

Sunday parking near the Natural History Museum is a doddle. You won't need to park on a single yellow. Just come past the museum (on your right) and turn left just after it down Queensgate Mews. You can park there on a Sunday without a problem and without a charge (residents only parking doesn't apply on a Sunday there). Enjoy!

Lotus-eater

Thankyou very much

susancs

If the weather is nice you could walk from the Museums to Kensington Gardens for a picnic. There is parking on the side roads almost opposite the NHM on Sundays as a lot of residents only parking permit restrictions are lifted, however you do need to get there early to get a space, as parking spaces are very limited.

Lotus-eater

susancs, thankyou for your kind post. Could you tell me what time you mean early?
Do you mean 9am, or 7am?

susancs

Lotus-eater wrote: »

susancs, thankyou for your kind post. Could you tell me what time you mean early?
Do you mean 9am, or 7am?

Before 9am, in our experience. The Museum does not open until 10am. My brother in law works there so we sometimes pop in to see him on a Sunday. To avoid queues, use the side entrance, next to the Science Museum, with the Earth sign banner above the door. You usually go straight in to the bag search area.