Hampton Court Flower Show - some advice

That time of year is upon us once more, and I am sure that some of our members and readers will be visiting Hampton Court Flower Show next week.

As most of you know, I am responsible for bus services, some of which go near to or directly past Hampton Court; over the past few years, we have discovered that one of the most effective ways to keep things moving around this area is to do two things:

- Guide those who are wanting to go to Hampton Court what the best ways are to get there, and be able to explain the travel options

- Guide those who actually don't want to go to Hampton Court the best way to get around or get out of the traffic that they are stuck in.

The latter, believe it or not, is actually the more important of the two; you would be amazed at how many people are stuck in massive traffic jams who actually know nothing about, nor want anything to do with the flower show.

I have started this thread to hopefully help those of you who are heading to the flower show (but I am equally happy to guide you round it if that is what you need)

Please do not head out to the flower show as if it were any other trip, particularly if you are travelling some distance to get here; the last 10 miles of your journey could very well take you more than two hours - and no, I am not kidding. The day you choose to go also has a massive bearing on things, mostly due to other events etc in the locality; Thursday, for example, coincides with Kempton Market, and the resulting traffic is so bad you really would suffer less if you had a frontal lobotomy (and the old joke holds true, I would much rather have a bottle in front o' me than a frontal lobotomy )

So, if you are coming this way, and need travel advice, directions, parking advice, then please fire away with the questions and I will do all I can to help. I am also not opposed to a PM if you would rather not disclose travel plans on open forum.

 

Thanks FC a good idea for a thread, I'm sure a few of us will be attending.

I'm going on the Friday, we use the Stud Gate Car Park (you have to book in advance) it's only £11 and right on the doorstep, ideal if you intend to buy some plants there.

In years past we've used the Park & Ride which takes longer or Train to Hampton Court Station, combined with a river trip to the Thames Gate - you can also get boats further down at Richmond and Kingston.

 

Are you coming in from the M3 end? If so, I would avoid coming off at Sunbury Cross, and go around to come back to Hampton Court Road - - I am happy to give you specific routing if it helps

 

Thanks FC, I come straight up the A3 then Esher, it's very straight-forward - just the last mile or so will be slow going over Hampton Bridge. We leave early so miss the worse of the traffic, I know it does get clogged up.

 

Hi @bonbonholly

I assume that you will be coming down the A12 then coming round the M25 clockwise?

Do you have a visitor Oyster card, or a credit/debit card that has the contactless payment feature?

 

OK, I would suggest coming off the M25 at junction 9, then follow the signs for Chessington World Of Adventures (A243); when you reach Chessington, continue to drive past it and you will come to a roundabout - take the second exit off that roundabout and get your son to drop you off at any of the bus stops that are after the roundabout. You want a route 71 bus to Kingston, Cromwell Road Bus Station (last stop); at the bus station, get either a route 216 or a route 111, then keep an eye on the iBus next stop signs/announcements to guide you where to get off for the flower show.

After dropping you off at one of the bus stops, your son can then continue down Hook Road, and at the next roundabout (known as the Ace of Spades or Hook Junction), he can take the first exit off that roundabout onto the Kingston bypass, then almost immediately bear left onto the A3 slip road, following the normal directions to Brooklands from there.

Hope this makes sense? Feel free to ask away if you need more details

 

You are more than welcome

 

Here's a useful animation of how to get there, it is at least a couple of years old so you'll need to double check bus numbers etc just in case:

http://www.quickmap.com/rhs/rhs2.htm

 

Not too bad @JWK - the main bus one I can see wrong is the 267; it no longer goes to Hampton Court (even when it did, it only did so on Summer Sundays).

For anyone travelling by underground, you can either get the District Line to Richmond and then:

65 or 371 to Kingston, followed by a 111 (toward Heathrow), 216 (toward Staines) or 411 (toward Molesey) to Hampton Court OR
R68 to Hampton Court

If you are coming in the Piccadilly Line, get off at Hounslow East and then take a 111 toward Kingston

If you are coming by car, I STRONGLY advise that you avoid Sunbury Cross and Staines Road East, and consider alternative routings. I cannot over emphasise the delays that people travelling to the flower show today have had to endure (I have had reports of over two hours and more to cover five miles)

There are only three days left - so, if you are coming and do not want to get stuck in the traffic, please get in touch

 

Not sure if its free or not @HarryS - one thing is for sure, you would have gotten there quicker by boat today, even if that boat was coming from Portsmouth

 

Hampton Court Palace/Gardens are no longer free Harry, although Bushey Park is! I always thought we had to pay to get in, maybe it was just for the maze in hindsight, something like 1/6 to get lost for half an hour!