The UK has never been so popular for tourists, as the big cities of London and Manchester have never been so bustling. When exploring these cities it’s important to plan your travel and parking properly to avoid overcrowding mishaps. The train is a viable option to get around the country, but that involves a lot more walking than needed. That’s why using your car will be the best choice.
Travelling in your car is the easy part, as the hard part comes with choosing the right parking location. Whether that be car parks, parking zones or disabled parking bays, there are a variety of different options for motorists that are trying to optimise their experience.
This guide will explore UK city travel and how you avoid a parking disaster. We will give you tips on places to park throughout the UK to keep you covered.
Car Parks
There are around 20,000 car parks in the UK, making it one of the best ways of parking while you’re travelling through the country. The main purpose of a car park is to keep your vehicle safe and secure. All car parks will be equipped with CCTV and ticketing systems to prevent criminals from stealing vehicles.
There have been good advancements in car parks in recent years, with more innovative designs and features than ever before. For example, Victoria Car Park in Leeds has been one of the more recent car parks to have an overhaul. They have more parking spaces, including spaces for disabled individuals, electric vehicles and family spaces. They have also incorporated car wash facilities and mobile pay.
Parking Zones
It’s very important that you follow the parking zone regulations while travelling to UK cities. Each city will have slightly different parking rules, but there are general rules that have to be followed, such as:
Restriction Lines
There are yellow and red lines on many UK roads that restrict drivers from parking there. It’s essential to understand what these mean if you are travelling to the UK for the first time.
A single yellow line means that parking is restricted during certain hours of the day. There will usually be signage nearby to notify drivers of what times they can’t park. Double yellow lines mean that no parking is permitted there at any time.
In some cases, red lines will be used on roads instead of yellow lines. Single and double red lines mean that parking is not prohibited unless the vehicle is a licensed taxi or the owner of the vehicle displays a disabled blue badge.
Permit Holder Areas
Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) and Permit Parking Areas (PPA) are the two main permit holder parking areas found in the UK. These areas have signs at the entrance of the zone to notify drivers that they are in a permit holder only parking zone.
CPZ are separated into ten different lettered bays, and drivers need to apply for specific CPZ permits to park in the bays. If you are travelling to the UK and you don’t hold a valid CPZ permit, you need to ensure that you park outside of these areas. PPA don’t have marked bays to park in as parking anywhere in the area will require a permit.
Pay and Display
Pay and display bays are located all over the UK. This parking option is ideal if you are staying in an area for a couple of hours. You can get a ticket, park up for how long you want, and then insert the ticket into the machine when you’re ready to leave to receive the price of your stay. If you aren’t sure how long you want to be parked for, you don’t have to decide your duration in advance.
Pay and display machines usually allow for both card and cash payment, which is perfect for travellers who are visiting the UK.
PayByPhone
Many car parks all across the UK now use PayByPhone, so make sure you have the app downloaded and your card details added to it in advance. Whether you’re going to the Baltic Market in Liverpool or you’re going for a remote walk up Mam Tor, you’ll likely need PayByPhone at some point. If you are somewhere remote without signal, it can make downloading the app and paying near impossible, which is why you need to download and add card details in advance.
When you get to the car park, it will have a sign saying it’s a PayByPhone car park, then you simply add the unique number that is assigned to the car park which you’ll find on the sign, then simply pay. Sometimes pay and display can get a bit confusing in the UK, yet this is quite straightforward to help you avoid the risk of incurring any fines.
Disabled Parking
Holding a disabled blue badge allows drivers to park in a variety of spaces that wouldn’t be possible without it. The badge is intended for on-street parking and there are usually specific rules if it’s going to be used in private car parks. If you have the badge correctly displayed in your vehicle, you can park in the following places:
- Single and double yellow lines for up to three hours. You must have the disabled blue badge clock displayed too with your time of arrival correctly displayed.
- On-street disabled parking bays. These will usually be marked with a blue wheelchair symbol and you can park there for however long you want, unless signage states otherwise.
- Pay and display areas. The disabled blue badge clock needs to be displayed correctly with the time of arrival.
Disabled blue badge holders need to keep an eye on the expiration date of their badge, as once it is over the end date you will not be able to use it.
Final Thoughts
Driving and parking in the UK is quite easy to get used to, as long as you make yourself aware of a few rules to help prevent getting any avoidable fines, whether you’re travelling to London for the first time, or more remotely. Find affordable car parks, get to know the different types of parking zones and be aware of not parking in disabled areas. There are other great methods of public transport in the UK that compliment parking really well, so you could keep your car in a safe car park and then use other transport to explore small areas, before getting back in your car and moving onto the next! It’s quite nice having the comfort of a car to go back to, but when it comes to things like exploring London, combining your car with other transport methods will help make your life as easy as possible.
