Parking in English cities

Parking lots aren't hard to find with the advice of your guidebook plus local signage. You can also find them with Google Map searches such as "parking near York, United Kingdom." But even small hotels and B&Bs often have a few parking spots, so always ask when booking.

geovagriffith, £2 per hour in the centre of a city is cheap! Many city centre (or town centre) car parks are designed for short term visitors, shoppers etc. A typical rate would be £1 for the first hour, another £1 for the second hour, £2 for the third hour and £4 per hour after that. They do not want people occupying the same parking spot all day.
The normal method of paying is "pay-and-display". You buy a ticket from a machine and place it inside the car. When you buy the ticket you have to guess how long you will be staying.

I would definitely ask each hotel you plan to stay in about parking. A city centre or town centre hotel may not have parking, and even if they do they probably charge extra for it. But, they should be able to advice you what parking is available at what cost.

York has a good park-and-ride scheme. It is designed for day visitors. Details here: http://www.itravelyork.info/park-and-ride

Make sure you know the laws about on-street parking. If there are yellow lines long the side of a road, it means there are parking restrictions. The few places there are no yellow lines usually have parking meters, or are residents only.

I know that Winchester has a pretty good Park & Ride system. Google for details and cost. You may find that parking will be a really expensive drain on your budget for your holiday.

We really didn't have troubles parking our car. When making our accommodation reservations, I would research parking options. RS guidebook usually includes parking options which were generally accurate and helpful. We also used Park and Ride, which seemed to be slightly different in each town. You can look them up on the internet before you arrive in town.

Can't speak for all of those places, but I do know Durham has a big multi-storey car park near the Gala Theatre (think the street is Freeman's Place), which is only a short walk from the centre of Durham.

Parking costs can add up, but the large car parks rarely get full unless you are travelling on a Saturday. Check parkopedia.co.uk for options and prices in the towns you are visiting.

Most places don't have park and ride, but where these exist, use them. I used the Cardiff park and ride last week and it only cost £5 per vehicle including the bus down to the bay. York and Stratford are the 2 places on your list where parking will be most difficult.

Some car parks you pay on exit, whereas others, you need to guess how long you will be and buy a ticket on arrival. Accommodation with parking would solve the dilemma, but the best accommodation may be further out of town.

Particularly be careful in street parking in Stratford upon Avon, if by some miracle you find a space. Somewhat notoriously in Stratford there are often different rules on opposite sides of the same street, and particularly on Sheep Street in different adjacent areas on the same side.

Be careful.

Read the signs. Check for one, two or no yellow lines (may be very thin). Then check again. Be prepared to sell a small child to get the cash for the pay and display machine. Make sure your wheels are no more than 30 cm from the kerb and that the entire car including the bumpers is completely within the markings. And that the pay and display ticket is the right way up and clearly visible to the pouncing parking officials. And that you don't overstay.

Stratford has a well deserved rep. Park in the multi-storey by the bridge.

For Warwick, here's a link to their town council carparks: http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20547/warwick_car_parks
Be sure to print out the map. It's a little confusing, because the map shows numbers for the lots, but the online list is not numbered. Double-check by using the location link from the list. There are also carparks just for Warwick Castle, listed on their website (under "Plan a Visit").

For Stratford upon Avon, check Rick's guidebook for the Bridgeway Multi Storey Carpark.

ps At least in Warwick, the city centre hotels don't have guaranteed parking, and the Holiday Inn charges for parking. I think you're pretty much stuck paying for parking in Warwick...even for on-street parking in the city.

A natural place to park in Warwick is on Market Place. Be careful there, because there are frequent markets there and if your car is there before one it will be towed away.

Street parking in Warwick can be tough. If you are going to the castle they have nice parking (not free) in the trees.

York has a decent park and ride, however, it can be a false economy. They charge for each person getting on the bus rather than the car itself. I haven't been on it for a while but think it is in the region of £2.50 return. So, £10 if there are four of you. About the same price as a day in the car park!

If you were parking in York then the NCP Shambles is pretty handy with lots of spaces and, importantly, the ability to pay by card when you leave, rather than having to fumble around for lots of change as soon as you arrive.

I don't have information on all the places you mentioned, but do have info for a couple of them......

• York - try to find a hotel that offers parking. I stayed at a Hostel on my last visit there, and they did provide parking.
• Winchester - have a look at the Chesil Street Car Park. I parked there for several days and don't remember it being too expensive.