Sorry for the totally off topic post but a football forum is definitely the best place for these sorts of questions. Can you get parked at Stanmore station car park midweek after 9am or better to find someone’s drive? And do they do multi-day tariff or have an app you can add extra time on? Only ever used it for in and out on a weekend day.
Stanmores invariably very busy - more so with whats going on... an option is Cockfosters.. straight on the Piccadilly line. Parking is usually good. It's where I drop my car. M1 down to M25 and then around I think 3 junctions Potters Bar turn off...
That’s a decent shout. Taking the missis to the Harry Potter studio for a birthday treat but then gonna tube into London for a couple of days. So right near Stanmore already but Cockfosters ain’t too far down the road. I dunno what’s going on though?
Just lots of people doing what you are because of all the restrictive Mayor of London bollocks... SW3 is probably the best advisor for you..
I’m no expert mate. Driven to London twice in 10 years. 4 hours + down the A1 or 110min on the train in central London, it’s a no brainer!!
The ULEZ doesn’t apply to most cars. But never mind the facts, eh? Parking at Croxley is a good option. On street parking in an affluent area where crime is unlikely. Met Line into London in no time.
When granddaughter went to Harry Potter World they stayed in Watford. Found getting there and to London for sightseeing a breeze.
If you're staying in London for a couple of days, why not get the train straight there, you can then get a train from Euston to Watford Junction in 20 mins and there's free electric busses from there to the Studio (and you can walk to Euston easily enough from anywhere in the West End).
Need the car on the days either side. Which is no biggy, it’s going no further than Watford which is fine to drive to. I did look at the train but it’s over £100 for 3 from where we’re travelling from, then another £25 to and from Watford. Also means I can take advantage of the cheaper hotels north of Watford (premier inn kings Langley £60) vs £120ish in Watford or £200-250 in central London. So saves a lot of money for the sake of ~90ish mins in the car. Also doing the Warner bro’s studio tour in the evening and you have to leave early to get the final 10pm shuttle to the train.
I've stayed Uxbridge and Staines the last couple of trips I've done to London in the car with the family. Easy access into London from both. I've got an electric car so the parking in Westminster is cheaper than Hull. Pay for the first 10mins and you get the full parking allowance. Cost less than £1.50 to park in Berkeley Square for 4 hours, we then moved to theatre district and it was the same with restrictions finishing at 6.30pm. Also parked at Wembley central before.
We’ve successfully done a halfway house between your two extremes there in the past. The Premier Inns at Harrow-on-the-Hill and Edgware are both close enough to the end of the motorway to not be full on London driving, and both convenient for tube connections, whilst not being central London prices. The Holiday Inn at Brent Cross is a bit nicer, but can be cheaper if your kids are sixth form age, as they’d be adults and need their own room at the Premier Inn, but can share with you there.
The travelodge at Brent Cross is usually even cheaper but it's not the nicest and its a trek to the nearest tube through a rough estate. Literally drive to the end of the M1, turn right at the roundabout and your car park is there. It's just a bit of a dump and full of contractors.
Yep, I’ve been there with work, but I’ve never taken the family. Horses for courses and all that. Edit - I should have added that your point about walking through Brent Cross applies to the Holiday Inn there too, but certainly the last time we stayed the taxi office next door to the station advertised (and honoured) transfers to the hotel for a fiver so it wasn’t an issue for us.
I was in it for about 3 months during lockdown. The walk to Hendon Central was actual nice considering there was nothing else to do ha ha. Occasionally I would get the bus which allowed me to mix it up a bit!
