[x-posted to uk.transport.london]

On Nov 2, 6:34*pm, "Jonathan Morton"
wrote:
Can anyone tell me if the car park at Hillingdon is likely to have free
space on a Saturday late morning? I've got to get two of us from
Gloucestershire to Central London for the day, and it seems to me that
A40/M40/Metropolitan Line is the best way to do it.

Hillingdon does get busy, but I'm not too sure about weekends though.

FWIW there was a uk.r thread in a rather similar vein within the not
so distant past (albeit for a weekday journey IIRC) - my recollection
of the best suggestions is:

(1) Head to Beaconsfield, off the M40, but don't park in the station
car park but instead in the rather cheaper multistorey car park
nearby, thence Chiltern Railways into Marylebone (tried, tested &
recommended by our Bruce, if memory serves me right);

(2) Go to Thornhill Park & Ride, on the outskirts of Oxford, and take
the Oxford Tube or Espress coach from there - however whilst parking
is free it's also very popular and so may be full by the time you
pitch up.

I found this useful 'live feed' of Oxford P&R occupancy recently which
some may find useful (FWIW, it shows Thornhill as being full at the
mo):
http://voyager.oxfordshire.gov.uk/Carpark.aspx

The downside of Beaconsfield is that the Travelcard fare is rather
more expensive than from Hillingdon (which is in the zones) - just
looked it up and from Beaconsfield it's £17.20 for an off-peak
Travelcard, whilst from Hillingdon it's £7.50 (i.e. a regular zones
1-6 Travelcard) - for the sake of completeness an Off-Peak Day Return
from Beaconsfield to Marylebone is £12.90, so buying that plus using
Oyster PAYG (particularly if travelling by bus), or walking or cycling
from Marylebone might work out a little cheaper.