Where to park outside London for 3 days and get the train in?

miss_bargainmad

We are going to London on 7th April for 2 nights but because of work on the Manchester to London line Virgin trains will take over 4 hours as opposed to just over 2. Apparently all the advance saver tickets have gone and this will cost us over £120 return at the cheapest (with a family railcard).

My husband has suggested driving but he does not want to drive into central London - we are staying near the Houses of Parliament.

Can anyone suggest anywhere to park up for 3 days which is safe and secure so we can get the train/tube into Euston?

Actiongirl_2

miss_bargainmad wrote:

We are going to London on 7th April for 2 nights but because of work on the Manchester to London line Virgin trains will take over 4 hours as opposed to just over 2. Apparently all the advance saver tickets have gone and this will cost us over £120 return at the cheapest (with a family railcard).

My husband has suggested driving but he does not want to drive into central London - we are staying near the Houses of Parliament.

Can anyone suggest anywhere to park up for 3 days which is safe and secure so we can get the train/tube into Euston?

You could park in one of the long stay carparks at the airports?

Or you could try west london as you will be coming in that way anyway.. anywhere off the west way/A40 - Ealing or Hangar Lane etc? Not sure about safe and secure though.

tanith

Hillingdon tube station is very close to the A40 and the roads around there are fairly quiet and normal... of course you take your chances parking anywhere but I can't see why your car should be picked on more than a normal resident.... Also there are places to park nearer in at Perivale or Northolt all have tube links to town.....and quiet residential streets.....

fatboyonadiet

Have you tried booking as singles? Does work out cheaper sometimes, also try going into Piccadilly train station, I've often looked online and seen it sold out and then got them from the station.

miss_bargainmad

I'm sure virgin call centre staff are based in India and they haven't got a clue what's going on. I was told by the customer service people that they probably hadn't even been released yet.

I was going to try at Piccadilly but the queues are always so long.

pennylane99

a saver return is £57 each...

you can usually get 2 single fares cheaper than a return...but if you are travelling back on the Monday, doesnt look like there are any cheap single tickets available.

ahall41116

i always use luton airport prkway when i travel into london - i even use it when i fly from luton- there is a shuttle bus to te airport, much cheaper than long stay car park.

didnt realise it had gone upto 4.7- per day. last time i used it it was £4

ash

suffolkb

If you don`t mind joining the great unwashed, you can get the Nat Express coach down to £22 for 2 people using the `fun` tickets. No idea what that means though, but gives you an extra £100 to spend compared to the train and the Victoria coach station is very close to where you are staying.

chika

I sometimes park at Brent Cross but I've never stayed there for more than two days.

Two other travel options - The plane, if you book about a month in advance you can normally get a bargain to a London airport from Manchester. I flew down for Christmas and it cost £44 return - cheaper than the train!

Also try the megabus. A few people turn their noses up at these but it is a bargain way to travel. If you book in advance you can usually get manchester to london return for £1 each way plus 50p booking fee. Sometimes you get an old bus but the last couple of times I have been on it we have had a nice new coach. Bargain of the year!

fatboyonadiet

The call centre staff may have been right, I used to get told that a lot by the UK staff, they normally get released about 3 - 4 weeks before the travel date, but they never know when. Going into the station they seem to be able to always get them, from experience. Best to try and go in before lunch, about 11ish.

But as suggested think about the megabus, takes a while but seriously cheap.