Cheap parking near Waterloo station, London

The message from "Scooby Doo" contains these words:

Suburbs and catch the tube.

from M1 junction 4, £2.50, never full before 9.00 am

Jubilee line direct to Waterloo £7.00 return 39 minutes each way

No hassle

Tony

I'm sorry to veer off topic, but does anyone know why there is no junction 3 on the M1?

Wasn't that the one that was supposed to link M1, starting from the two bridges that give access to Scratchwood Services, with A1 some way north of Fiveways Corner, etc (almost at the very edge of the built-up area)?

Don't know why it wasn't built - it would be good relief for Apex Corner, etc.

Thanks

Junction 3 on the M1 was originally intended as a turn-off for Scratchwood, but is now only used for the Scratchwood service station.

Marcus

As would everyone. However, the reason for the congestion charge is not to make money, but to discourage people from driving into the area. Although as you've discovered, the parking charges do this already.

Unless carrying goods - in which case pass the charges on - park outside the area and use the tube or train. Neither will cost anything like 18 quid.

Coming from the west, I usually park near Gunnersbury. District Line takes you to Westminster or Embankment, which are one stop (or a short walk over the bridge) from Waterloo. There's usually plenty of free on-street parking.

Christian.

I think that the services formerly known as Scratchwood Services (now London Gateway) were originally going to be on the same site as junction 3, but it never got built. If you're genuinely interested in roads and their history (and what's in the pipeline) pop along to SABRE (where there are lots of other strange people (!) with the same interest) at groups.msn.com/TheSABRERoadsWebsite.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

Good old NCP is probably your best bet. There's one right next door to the National Theatre. And its £15.00 for the hours you needed.

You'll be hard pushed to get any better than that IMHO.

You could mess around with parking on the outskirts. But depending on where you park you'll still pay nearly a tenner plus the fiver for the travel card. But it'll take additional time and effort. You never said which direction you were coming from. In my case, driving in and out from the West before 7am and after 11pm is a breeze. And it's just a nightmare on the tube.

A.

Precisely. All very well parking on the outskirts in the rush hour (and £2.50 for the whole day at Stanmore does sound very good value), but given the hours driving all the way is going to be by far the easiest option.

A while back when I played in various Youth Orchestras, I had a concert (Lollipop Prom) on the South Bank (we were providing the backing for a children's performance), and I missed the coach that had been organised, and decided to drive in. Went up the M3/A316/A4, and in a flash of inspiration decided it would be quicker to get to the Albert Hall going via Chiswick High Road/Hammersmith etc., but made it there in not too bad time. Then realised that the gig was at the South Bank, so made it over there - arrived there not having a clue where I was going to park, and basically managed to park in the artists' car park for nothing, which was nice.

So if you're involved in that capacity, try blagging it and see if they'll let you in to the artists' car park.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

I'm interested, but not *that* interested. :-)

Alas, £18 is quite reasonable for this area. On the Southside of Westminster Bridge by the old "Island Block" there is a small parking yard which is cheaper than all the rest but he might not be open as early as 7. I think they charge a tenner for the day but they are not