Parking Near Me: Find Car Parks & Park and Ride
Search parking anywhere in the UK. Enter a postcode, town or address to see nearby car parks, multi-storeys and park and ride sites with ratings and directions.
Search parking anywhere in the UK. Enter a postcode, town or address to see nearby car parks, multi-storeys and park and ride sites with ratings and directions.
About the UK parking finder
A parking finder written for British drivers: car parks rather than parking lots, pay and display and pay by phone rather than meters, and park and ride on the edge of town rather than downtown garages. Search any UK postcode, town or address and see what is nearby before you set off.
Find parking near you
Whether you want a cheap all-day car park, a multi-storey in the centre, or long stay at the airport, the search works the same way.
Car parks and multi-storeys
Council and private car parks with ratings and price level, so you can weigh a cheaper surface car park ten minutes out against a multi-storey by the shops.
On-street parking
Pay and display bays and pay by phone zones, worth it for short stops where a car park's minimum charge would cost more than an hour on the street.
Park and ride
Edge-of-town sites with a bus or tram into the centre. Usually a few pounds for the day including travel, and much cheaper than city-centre parking in Oxford, York, Bath or Cambridge.
Station and airport parking
Station car parks for commuting and long stay at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and the rest, where booking ahead is normally far cheaper than turning up.
Results come from live Google Places data, so opening hours, ratings and locations reflect what is there now rather than a static list.
Types of parking in the UK
Charges and rules vary sharply between these, and picking the wrong one is how a £3 stop turns into a £100 parking charge notice.
Multi-storey car park
Covered, central and usually the priciest option, but the most likely to have space on a Saturday and the best bet in bad weather. Often run by NCP or the council.
Best for: town centres, shopping, wet weather
Surface car park
Open-air, often council-run with pay and display, and typically a few minutes' walk further out than the multi-storey for noticeably less money.
Best for: all-day stays, cheaper town-centre parking
On-street pay and display
Marked bays with a machine or a pay by phone code. Nearly always capped at two or three hours in central areas to keep spaces turning over.
Best for: short errands, quick appointments
Park and ride
Large site on the ring road with a frequent bus or tram in. The parking is cheap or free and you pay for the ride, which usually beats central parking outright.
Best for: historic cities, day trips, avoiding congestion zones
Station and airport car parks
Long stay sites priced by the day, where booking online in advance is routinely half the drive-up rate. Airport short stay is deliberately expensive to discourage long stops.
Best for: commuting, holidays, long trips away
What UK parking typically costs
Rough guide only, and central London is in a category of its own. Always check the signage or the app before you walk away from the car.
On-street, central
Pay and display or pay by phone in a town or city centre, usually with a maximum stay of two to four hours.
£1.50-£4.00 per hour
Town-centre car park
Council or private car park, cheaper per hour the longer you stay, with an all-day rate that is far better value than hourly.
£6-£20 per day
Park and ride or airport long stay
Park and ride is a few pounds including the bus. Airport long stay depends heavily on how far ahead you book.
£3-£5 park and ride, £8-£20 per day at airports
Ways to pay less for parking
Use park and ride for historic city centres. In Oxford, York, Cambridge and Bath it is cheaper than central parking and you skip the one-way system entirely.
Book airport parking online. Turning up at the barrier at Heathrow or Gatwick can cost double the advance rate for exactly the same space.
Check the all-day rate before paying hourly. Many car parks charge little more for the whole day than for four hours.
Walk five minutes. The car park one street back from the high street is often half the price of the one everyone queues for.
Look for free after 6pm or on Sundays. Plenty of council car parks stop charging in the evening, and the sign will say so.
Use the pay by phone app rather than the machine. RingGo and PayByPhone let you extend remotely instead of guessing and overpaying, or worse, running out.
UK parking rules worth knowing
Most parking fines in Britain come from a handful of avoidable mistakes.
Yellow lines
Double yellow means no waiting at any time. Single yellow means restrictions apply during the hours on the nearby sign, so you must find that sign before you assume it is fine.
Residents' parking zones
Controlled parking zones reserve bays for permit holders during set hours. The bay marking and the sign at the zone entrance both matter, and enforcement is active.
PCNs from councils
A council penalty charge notice is typically £70 outside London and up to £130 inside it, usually halved if you pay within 14 days. You have a statutory right to appeal.
Private car park charges
Private operators use ANPR cameras and issue parking charge notices of around £100. These are invoices rather than fines, there is a 10-minute grace period, and you can appeal through POPLA or the IAS.
UK parking questions
Enter a postcode, town or address and you will see nearby car parks, multi-storeys and park and ride sites with ratings, opening hours and directions. Everything comes from live Google Places data, so it reflects what is actually there.
Broadly £1.50-£4 an hour on-street in a centre, £6-£20 for a day in a town car park, and £3-£5 for park and ride including the bus. Central London is much higher, and airport long stay depends on how early you book.
A large car park on the edge of town with a frequent bus or tram into the centre. For historic cities with tight streets and expensive central parking, it is almost always cheaper and quicker than driving in — and it keeps you clear of any clean air zone.
It depends who issued it. A council PCN is a statutory fine, usually £70 (£130 in London), typically reduced by half if paid within 14 days. A private operator's parking charge notice of around £100 is a civil claim, not a fine, and both can be appealed.
Sometimes, but only outside the hours shown on the sign for that stretch of road, and there is not always a sign in view. Double yellow lines mean no waiting at any time. If you cannot find the sign, assume you cannot park.
Often but not reliably. Many council car parks and on-street bays are free on Sundays and after 6pm, but plenty of city centres now charge seven days a week. The sign at the bay is the only thing that counts.
Yes, if you are driving into central London. Those charges apply to entering the zone regardless of where you park, at £15 a day for the Congestion Charge and £12.50 for ULEZ if your vehicle is not compliant. Parking outside the zone and taking the Tube in is often cheaper overall.
For airports and many station car parks, yes, and it is usually much cheaper than the drive-up price. Town-centre car parks are generally pay on arrival, though some multi-storeys let you pre-book at busy times.
Driving an electric car?
Many UK car parks now have chargers. Search rapid and destination charging near where you are heading.
UK charging mapParking in Europe instead?
For trips on the Continent use the international parking finder, which covers European car parks and city parking rules.
International parking finderCosting the drive as well?
Work out fuel and tolls for the journey before you set off, in miles, mpg and pence per litre.
UK journey cost calculator