Driving in most cities is notoriously difficult; volume of traffic, volume of people, one way systems etc. all add up to make driving in large urbanised cities an unenviable task. Then there is driving in London. A city of over 8 million people, with 2.6 million privately owned cars, over 23,000 licensed taxis, a huge bus network and a congestion charge to top it all off. The London road network is understandably under tremendous strain but sometimes driving is simply a necessity and good planning is one way to remove some stress from your journey. This article aims on helping you get to the Saudi embassy London by car whilst keeping your sanity intact.
The Saudi Arabia Embassy is located at 30 Charles Street, London W1J 5DZ in the affluent area of Mayfair in the City of Westminster. Unfortunately for those wanting to access the embassy by car this places it firmly inside London’s Congestion Charge Zone. This means drivers have to pay an £11.50 daily charge if you drive between 07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday in the Congestion Charge zone. There is no charge on weekends, public holidays between Christmas day and New Year’s Day or between 18.00 and 07.00 on weekdays. Rather annoyingly however this is also exactly in line with the days and times the embassy is closed. For more information on the congestion charge and how to pay click here.
Before we delve in to the best routes to get to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in London let’s firstly address where to park once you have arrived at the destination. This should make it easier when programming any satellite navigation systems. Listed below are advisable car parks to use when visiting the Embassy.
- Chesterfield House NCP, Chesterfield gardens, London, M1J 2 minute walk from the Saudi Arabia Embassy
- Carrington House NCP, Carrington Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 2 minute walk from the Saudi Arabia Embassy
- Hilton Hotel NCP, 22 Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1K 3 minute walk from the Saudi Arabia Embassy
Getting to the Saudi Embassy by car differs in difficulty depending on the route you take. From Heathrow airport and destinations West of the embassy the route is fairly straight forward. From the airport itself drivers are advised to take the M4 and continue towards London, this route will lead drivers on to the A4 and eventually to the Embassy itself. Without traffic this route should take 33 minutes but as already discussed, this is London so allow up to an hour for the drive. The route from London’s 2nd largest airport Gatwick is a little more complicated and requires drivers to head north on the M23, eventually picking up the A243 and then the A3 in order to get to the embassy.
As with most car travel these days, using as satellite navigation system is strongly recommended, not only for the best and quickest route but also because they regularly update with congestion and road work issues, changing the route if necessary. Both these factors can change on a daily if not hourly basis but with good prior planning getting to the Saudi Arabia Embassy by car is not as difficult as it may first appear.
