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My daughter's Saturday music centre band has got through to play at the Schools Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. We've organised a coach but I now find myself on a course in Birmingham that week so will have to travel by train or car from there. If it's the car can anybody suggest where I could park from, say, late afternoon to about 23.00. There is parking at the RAH but I think you have to book it with the tickets which we've already got. Thanks
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Train
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The problem may be getting back to Brum for the next morning start, and given our wonderful rail companies habit of cancelling trains for whatever reason they like to think of, I'm reluctant to risk missing the concert.
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Option two would be to park up somewhere on the outskirts and tube it in and back
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Agree with PU; driving to that part of London is a complete 'mare
Except for Saturday night/Sunday engineering works trains between Euston and west Midlands are generally both plentiful and reliable. The 23:00 finish may however be a problem as, IIRC the last train to Brum is at 23:40.
However if you park up at Watford Junction, 10 minutes from M1/J5, there are Silverlink services until after midnight.
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I have parked near the RAH on a Saturday evening sometimes, arriving well in time to hunt a space down and walk the 500yds or so. Not sure what time you intend to get there, but if afternoon, forget it. However, there is an NCP at Palace Avenue which is two minutes walk or so, but rates probably verge on extortionate.
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How 'late afternoon' do you anticipate arriving?
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To help you here are a few links:
The charges for meters in the area (if you can find a free one) but you should only need to pay for an hour or so:
tinyurl.com/2ospxz
Residents parking areas and how long the restrictions are in place. In most areas they are lifted by 1.30 pm with some at 5.30 or 6.30 on Saturday - meaning if you arrive after those times you can park in residents bays. Signs will tell you.
tinyurl.com/2krksw
There are several NCP car parks - one under the Kensington Gardens Hotel for instance which charge about £3 an hour and is about 10 min walk.
I have not found it a problem coming into this area from the M4 even on a Friday evening, but it did help knowing the way - my 'late' in-laws lived in this area and we didn't find parking a great problem at weekends/evenings then - although it is harder to find a space now.
Warning for some - Kensington does not appear to acknowledge Blue Badges and has its own scheme of Purple Badges for residents only.
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Is the course Monday-Friday.... event is at the RAH on Saturday. Could you not go home after the course and travel on the coach - and catch up on sleep.
Or a variant to the above... train back home and then on the coach.
Or if you're in Brum until Saturday morning to me the easiest might be:
- Train to Brum
- Train from Brum to London and onto RAH (luggage put on coach if possible)
- Travel with everyone else home on the coach
i.e. do not take the car at all so no need to travel back to Brum late at night to collect the car.
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Okay I missed this reply of yours: "The problem may be getting back to Brum for the next morning start"
I had assumed the course was Mon-Fri and you're talking of being back for a Sunday morning start. What sort of course is over the weekend as well?
Edited by rtj70 on 07/10/2007 at 23:42
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Sorry, should have made clear it's a Tuesday and the course is residential at Birmingham Mon-Fr. The idea of outer London and tube/silverlink sounds good, I'll look into that.
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I'd read Saturday and assumed - never assume.
It will be tricky to get back to Birmingham that late because of the time needed to get from near the RAH to Euston on the tube. Looking like you'll have to drive to outer London and tube it in after all.
The Transport for London journey planner website is good at planning journeys. Pick a point on the outskirts and plan your trip.
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If a Tuesday, then train, train, train.
If the worst comes to the worst, you can catch an early morning train the following morning, but Brum to London isn't that far.
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But the connection time if it finishes at 11pm back to Euston does not leave much time. Unless he leaves a little earlier.
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If it's a Tuesday you will have to find a paid parking place to last you until 6.30, after which parking should be free in most paid slots (but I haven't checked round there just lately). Most ordinary meters or pay and display slots won't be for less than two hours, so if you're arriving at 4.30ish you should be all right. Take plenty of change though!
Personally I prefer driving to public transport, but weekday afternoons in Kensington aren't always that easy. Nevertheless I don't think you need to be over-alarmed about any aspect of this except finding your way to the place, which isn't difficult.
One place where there are quite a lot of parkers available I seem to remember is in the park near the Serpentine, hardly 5 minutes' walk from the Albert Hall. I can't remember offhand what time the park closes these days.
Make sure you arrive in good time so you can cruise the neighbourhood looking for an empty one.
Edited by Lud on 08/10/2007 at 16:59
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Or find someone to take your place on the course and get booked on the next one. Then travel form home on the coach.
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last time at RAH we parked in one of the Imperial College sites, just SW of RAH
can't remember the cost but it wasn't much for the evening and there were security guards on the gate
if only I could remember the street...
drive in is OK from the M4, but you might have fun round the M25
Dan
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last time at RAH we parked in one of the Imperial College sites just SW of RAH
Yes, I've found that the RAH advertises this for £7.50 from 6.00pm so I might see if I could get a space there. Can't get out of the course as it's training as part of a new job.
Otherwise I think it'll be the tube/train from outer London. I don't mind driving back to Brum late at night.
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last time at RAH we parked in one of the Imperial College sites just SW of RAH if only I could remember the street...
The entrance to the Imperial College car park is on Exhibition Road.
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