Wimbledon Transportation

If you MUST drive to the Championships, or it is an awkward journey, or you have other reasons for driving (like us !), be prepared for heavy traffic and difficulty parking. Allow plenty of time to get there, and know where you are going to park in advance. There is organised car-parking close by, but it is limited and expensive (20 pounds in 2006), but it is possible to reserve a space in advance (see the website for details). During the second week of Wimbledon, there is plenty of space in the car-parks - we had no trouble at all getting into Public Car Park no 10 at almost 12:00 noon - and although there was a steady stream of cars coming in, it didn't appear to have been completely full by the end of the day. I wouldn't like to gamble on it during the first week though !

The main advantage in driving there in our case, is that you don't have to travel back across London after a long day out, it is actually quicker for us to drive provided we avoid the rush hour on the M25, and we can take a picnic to have before we go in. Remember, you cannot take cool-boxes or large bags with you into the Championships.

If you are travelling to Wimbledon for the tennis from central London there are a number of options to consider. The quickest way to get here is probably by overground train from Waterloo to Wimbledon station. Alternatively, take the District Line to Southfields, Wimbledon Park or Wimbledon station. There are buses from both Southfields and Wimbledon station to Church Road for the duration of the championships, though it's not too far to walk (about 20 mins).

Trains for Wimbledon are run by South West Trains on the line between London Waterloo and a variety of stations to the south west of London, some fast and others stopping at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction and Earlsfield. Trains leave Waterloo very frequently during the day. The journey takes between fifteen and twenty minutes depending on how many stops are made. To return to Waterloo, again there are trains very frequently during the day. Costs start at £2.70 for an off peak standard single. (First class is not available on most services.) London Transport travelcards and season tickets for zone 3 are valid for travel to this station.

The station also has connections with the district line of the London underground serving stations to Upminster or Edgeware Road and the Tramlink service to Croydon within the same building.

The ticket office is open throughout the day until ten at night and there are reasonably good eating/toilet facilities available within the station, which is listed by South West trains as a fully wheelchair accessible station with staff help available for passengers with additional needs. Limited parking is available but it is quite expensive on weekdays. Cycle storage is also available.

Wimbledon has good bus services running to many of the surrounding areas but it can be difficult, without a map, to work out where they each stop, as there is no single point where all the buses stop and the one way system means that the stop for a return journey isn’t always simply the other side of the road from where you got off the bus. Here are the main stops:

Opposite the main railway station exit for services to: Kingston, Putney, Clapham Junction and Vauxhall;
Outside the main entrance to Centre Court Shopping Centre for services to: Tooting, Streatham, Morden, Wandsworth and Cheam;
Bus turning circle in Cyril Black Way for services to: Sutton, Kingston and Merton.

Single journey tickets are available on board the buses, costing £1.50. A single journey using an oystercard costs £1 at peak times or 80p off peak and bus passes or travelcards can be bought at any newsagent displaying the Transport for London symbol.

All spectators are strongly advised to use public transport services wherever possible. Buses are run on a shuttle basis every ten minutes from Wimbledon and Southfields Train Stations.

I caught a shuttle bus from Wimbledon Station, it cost me £2.50 for a return ticket (£1.70 for a single). It was a comfy ride, and let us out at the gate's entrance. The shuttles are marked as SPECIAL SERVICE FOR WIMBLEDON TENNIS or TO & FROM WIMBLEDON TENNIS. The queue for the shuttles will start in the area to the right of the taxi in the photo.

A bus service also runs directly from Marble Arch and Victoria to the Championships every 30 minutes.

You will be picked up where you were left, so best not to forget what gate that was at! lol There are over 20 gates... :)

This is a lovely area to ride a bike, the roads are wider in the middle of town where there is alot of traffic, which helps!

Cycling to Wimbledon Common or one of the many other little parks dotted here and there is very pleasant... far better than the bus! lol

You can get a taxi straight to the gates at Wimbledon, however, they will cost you an arm and a leg (about £8 if the traffic is good...)... good to use though if you are running late / want to arrive in style / can share a lift and the cost!