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The amount I had to pay for parking when I went to see Peter Kay Live at the O2 in London earlier this month was no laughing matter.
The car park charged me £40, which is more than the £35 for a basic ticket.
Such sky-high fees are becoming increasingly common, with venues seemingly cynically profiting from a captive audience who often haven’t planned ahead and therefore have nowhere else to go. We uncover some of the major offenders and reveal FIVE great ways to avoid their fees.
Toby Walne had to pay £40, more than the £35 for a basic ticket, to park when he saw Peter Kay at the O2
The worst offenders
Silverstone in Northamptonshire has one of the most expensive parking spaces, at £60 for its official parking space 1 for the Formula 1 Grand Prix on 7 July. Another is the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, which has made a “pledge to reduce carbon emissions” by charging £55 for a car pass between 26 and 30 June. The Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London between 1 and 14 July are charging £40 for a day space – as is the O2 – while the Co-op Live venue in Manchester, which opened in May, is charging £25. Research by holiday accommodation provider Last Minute Cottages has found that theme parks are also increasingly keen to capitalise on customers who feel they have no choice but to pay, even though prices are lower. Alton Towers in Staffordshire charges £20 for pre-booked “express parking” at the entrance, while Thorpe Park in Surrey and Legoland in Berkshire both charge £10. Parking at Legoland was free until 14 years ago.
Silverstone has one of the most expensive car parks, at £60 for the official car park 1 for the Formula 1 Grand Prix on July 7.
Book in advance
Book a day in advance at the O2 for a £10 discount and pay £30. Discounts are not available on the day to prevent people from trying to save money by booking online on their way to the venue. Legoland offers a £2 discount by charging £8 if you book in advance. Venues such as Wimbledon are only available if you book in advance – so you would have to book in advance just to get a spot without the discount.
Walking from another parking lot
Leave home half an hour earlier. This will not only prevent delays, such as traffic jams, but also create the opportunity to park further away for less.
The Silverstone School Car Park donates proceeds to the local Silverstone Primary School and local village charities. You pay £27 to park in a village grass car park (plus a £2.70 booking fee). It is then a 25 minute walk to the Formula 1 Grand Prix paddock.
For Glastonbury the main option is to park on site, but just a 15 minute walk away is Ashcombe Park, which charges £50. The main appeal is that it allows for a quick getaway.
The O2 wants people to use its official Car Park 1 for events, but other nearby official spots, Car Parks 2, 3 and 4, offer pay-and-display for up to four hours at a cost of £11 and are just a ten-minute walk from the arena. Alton Towers offers cheaper off-site parking for £10 – but you should allow for a 25-minute walk to the venue.
parking and driving
Silverstone offers a free shuttle service from Car Park 2 which costs £40. Alternatively, you can pay £16 for a return park and ride shuttle service from Milton Keynes, Northampton or Banbury train stations, which takes 25 minutes. Parking at Milton Keynes station costs £5.70 for the day.
Visitors to the O2 can park at the Stratford Multi-Storey car park. They pay £10.20 for four hours and then take a 15-minute tube journey to North Greenwich, five minutes from the venue. The journey costs £1.80 each way outside peak hours. The recently opened Co-op Live venue in Manchester has a ten-minute tram service from the city centre to the venue that runs every six minutes and costs £3.80 each way. You can park at the Manchester city centre Q-Park Deansgate North for a four-hour stay. This costs £9.
There is also a park and ride service to Legoland from the Legoland Windsor resort and Windsor town. The journey costs £2 each way and takes 15 minutes.
Book a private room
By entering a postcode, apps like JustPark will show parking locations on a map
Smartphone apps like JustPark and YourParkingSpace allow you to find homes near a location that rent out parking spaces.
By typing in a postcode, parking locations are displayed on a map, along with the prices they charge. You pay online in advance through the app and never have to see the landlord. The apps work best in locations with lots of houses nearby. You can park a 20-minute walk from the O2 on Tunnel Avenue for £6 with JustPark. A 20-minute walk from Co-op Live on Dysart Street costs £11 with the same app. You can park on a ramp on Queens Road for £10.88 and walk 20 minutes to the tennis courts at Wimbledon by booking through YourParkingSpace. For £5, you can pay for a space at Corderoy Place, which is a 15-minute walk from Thorpe Park. That £5 also pays for a space at Perrycroft, a ten-minute walk from Legoland. Both options were found on YourParkingSpace.
