My wife is running in the London Marathon this year and it’s going to be hairy getting out to the start line in the morning. As a gift I wanted to book a ride for her from our hotel to the start area. I was looking at companies online/trip advisor, but the better rated ones either only do airport to hotel rides/vice versa, or are already booked for that day in April.
Has anyone used a private driver in London that they can recommend? Thank you for any/all advice!
Public transport should be used if staying in central London
Blue Start
The easiest way to get to the blue start is to walk from Blackheath station. Trains to Blackheath leave from London Victoria, Charing Cross, London Bridge and Waterloo East. Allow 15-20 minutes to walk from the station to the assembly area and aim to get to the assembly area at least an hour before.
Red Start
The easiest way to get to the red start is to use Greenwich or Maze Hill stations. You can get a train to Maze Hill and Greenwich from London Bridge or Cannon Street. There are no services to these locations from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or Victoria. You will be able to access Greenwich station via the DLR, or via the Cutty Sark tube station.
Green Start
The easiest way to get to the green start is to use Maze Hill station. Maze Hill can be accessed via trains from London Bridge or Cannon Street.
Travel on Southeastern is free for competitors. You must present your running number to a member of staff at the station. Travel for spectators is not free.
We used Express Airport Transfer on multiple occasions and never had a problem...
https://www.expressairporttransport.co.uk/
Good luck to your wife! A half marathon is my limit!
Thank you both for the replies. The issues with mass transit is that you either chose a longer ride to the start or a longer ride away from the finish for most of the places we’re interested in. The place where we’re staying it’s a 15 min tube ride from the finish line, and a 1 hr 9min tube ride there, with a potential 20 mins of walking. That’s a lot before she runs 26.2.
I’ll try this company. Hoping it goes well. Thanks!
Can a cab even get anywhere near the start area?
Usually it’s in a park, like this one is in Greenwich Park. The streets typically close later, closer to the start, and stay closed for around 8 hours after the start.
These are taxi operators on the TfL website https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/taxis-and-minicabs/book-a-taxi?intcmp=4226
Whereabouts in London are you staying?
That’s really helpful to have. At least as a backup, if nothing else. We’re in South Kensington.
