Inspired by the many threads from visitors to London over Christmas, I thought this year we would drive into town in the morning (with family who are coming up from Devon) to experience the lack of people and atmosphere. Lunch will be late when we get home. My question is: does anyone know if normal parking restrictions apply? Is there anyone working to enforce them?
Posted Nov 7, 2017, 9:24 AM UTC
Depends on the area / Council. If you're going to park in Westminster you'll be fine: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/bank-holiday-parking-controls
Thanks for this. It will be quite nostalgic. Though I use my car every day for work (I commute out), I haven't driven into town for years! Old enough to remember going clubbing mid-week and parking on Leicester Square!!
Bloody hell, was it a box and four!? I will wave when I take my mum out for post-lunch constitutional.
What's a "box and four"? Google no help!
A carriage with four horses :) Implying it was a very long time ago etc.
Never done it, but guessing its like Sunday / Bank Hol parking restrictions. But fewer traffic wardens. Sure you'll be fine!
If you're somewhat fit/healthy I would highly recommend getting boris bikes and experiencing the zombie apocalypse-like empty streets. Most fun I've had in a while when we did this a few year back!
It's usually the same rules as Sunday/bank holidays. Anything normally checked by people will be free for the day as they won't be working but anything monitored by camera is a risk. In practice that means don't just park up in a loading bay on a main road as they may well still have their usual time limits but you'll be fine in normal bits of parking.
Just make sure you read the signs and if you're not sure, go somewhere else.
I have parked on Oxford Street outside the Pret on the corner of Rathbone Place. I popped in to eat my breakfast for half an hour and was fine. Zero traffic wardens about on Christmas day.
Pret was open Christmas Day? :O
Yeah, there's quite a few tourists around there on Christmas day by the time I've gotten there, 10am-ish. Don't get me wrong it's still surreal but if you want to experience the zombie apocalypse you'll need to be up for your Christmas drive earlier than I am.
Oh, that's interesting. I was thinking of late morning/lunch time. I think I'll check out open pubs and we'll have a quick swallow before returning.
Quiet London streets on Christmas day used to be a thing once upon a time. Now it's full of instagram twats running amok.