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'''London''' is the capital of [[England]] and the [[United Kingdom]].

It's worth knowing that London is HUGE (third biggest city in Europe).

== Greater London ==

'''Hertfordshire:''' [[Stevanage]], [[Bishop's Stortford]] / [[London Stansted]] (Airport)

== Hitchhiking in ==

London has a motorway ring-road, the [[M25 (GB)|M25]].

'''Get dropped off on or near the M25 and use the public transport to get wherever you need.''' If you are coming from the west and your driver is heading south on the M25, ask to be dropped off at the first junction on the M25: Heathrow Terminal 5. Get off at the roundabout at the end of the motorway spur and walk to the terminal building. The Piccadilly Line Underground starts here. If they are heading north, see the description for getting to Uxbridge Underground station below.<br/ >

If you are coming from the southeast on the M20, ask to be dropped off at the A20/M20/M25 roundabout. From here you can take the B2173 road 2km to Swanley train station. Alternatively, if they are heading further north, get dropped off at the M25/A12 junction and walk ≈3km west to Harold Wood station.<br/ >

If you're coming from the north and your driver is heading towards the M4/M3 direction, try to persuade them to do a slight detour off the M25 to junction 1 of the M40 (roundabout with A40). From there, it's a ≈2km walk to Uxbridge Underground station. Otherwise, get off at the last services (Toddington) before the M25 and look for a lift going inside the ring road.<br/ >

'''Hitch into London from the last services on your motorway before the M25 (the driver will usually know which one this is).''' Then try to find a ride that bring you close enough to your destination. Check "public transport" for navigating the system efficiently and cheaply.

== Hitchhiking out ==

Hitchhiking out of London is pretty tricky, but not impossible - the big problem is getting onto a motorway is a bit of a challenge, once you're on the motorway, stick to the petrol stations, hitching entrance ramp to entrance ramp is quite difficult, especially in the big cities.

=== West towards [[Reading]], [[Swindon]], ([[South West England|The South-West]]), [[Bristol]], [[South West England|Devon]], [[South West England|Cornwall]] [[South Wales]] {{Mgb|4}} ===

When hitching West out of London and onto the M4, to try to avoid accepting a ride to anywhere before Reading Central. A few of the earlier junctions are hitchhiking nightmare spots - junction 8,9 for Maidenhead and 10 for Reading East are two of the worst junctions for hitchhiking in this area of the country because of the M4 then turning into another motorway for a few miles, thus taking you well off your route. Reading Services is great though, and well worth encouraging your driver to take you the extra few miles to.

'''Option 1''': M4 Motorway Junction 1 (Chiswick Roundabout)

Cost of public transport: £2.80 (off peak) from Zone 1. (Bus fare £1.50)

'''Option 2''': A4 leading to M4 (or M3)

Cost of public transport: £2.40 (off peak) from Zone 1.

'''Option 3''': Motorway service station Heston

Cost of public transport: £3.10 (off peak) from Zone 1

=== Southeast towards [[South East England|The South East]], [[Maidstone]], [[Folkestone]] ([[Channel Tunnel]]), [[Dover]] (Ferries to Europe) {{Mgb|20}} ===

'''Option 1''': Mottingham

NOTE: The most classic method departing London in the direction of continental Europe begins in Mottingham. Most traffic is local, thus it is best to ask people whether they are going onto the M25 ring road. If yes, they will passby the BP @ Swanley as described in option 2. The next major service station after Swanley is after the M25 called Maidstone Services on the M20 Junction 8; be sure to find a ride that exits at junction 8 as the main exit for the town of Maidstone is junction 7. This is the last major service station located before Dover and it is recommended to find a ride directly onto the train or ferry from here. "I have hitched across the channel many times from Maidstone, with waits ranging from 30 seconds to as long as 6 hours."

'''Option 2''': BP petrol station on Swanley Bypass (A20)

Cost of public transport: One train ticket ''from zone 1'' (approximately £3.50 off-peak) or take the train from Elephant & Castle in central south-east (no barriers) towards Seven Oaks for a free ride.

'''Option 3''': Texaco petrol station, Swanley

Cost of Public Transport: xxx

'''Option 4''': Motorway service station Clackett Lane (M25)

Cost of Public Transport: You can reach London Bridge by overground from a station without barriers and skip the fare.

=== Southeast towards [[South East England|The South East]], [[Hastings]], [[Royal Tunbridge Wells]] A21 ===

Add info pls

=== Northwest towards [[Oxford]], [[High Wycombe]], [[Warwick]], [[Birmingham]], [[North Wales]] {{Mgb|40}} ===

[[M40 (GB)|M40]] is different from other motorways originating from London, as it starts quite close to M25 as a continuation of the dual-carriageway A40.

'''Option 1''': M40 Junction 1

Confirm with the driver that he is going straight onto the M40, and does not turn onto M25 (London Orbital). Also beware that Junction 2 is not very easy to hitch-hike on (see M40 article).

'''Option 2''': A40 Junction (Hangar Lane)

2. The other place is half a mile further on, a little lay-by with no restrictions. Its good spot and has an advantage of being open to the entire A40 (the Lynwood Rd bus stop has a separation between the incoming slip road and the main carriageway, so you can only be picked up by traffic emerging from North Circular Road, or Lynwood Road).

'''Option 3''': A40 Junction (Hillingdon)

If your driver is going to Oxford or somewhere nearby then request to be dropped off at the 'Welcome Break' services just before Wheatley, junction 8A (just a km after junction 8). This is a busy services and easy to find lifts all over the country.

=== North towards [[Luton]], [[Milton Keynes]], ('''''[[East Midlands|The East Midlands]]'''''), [[Northampton]], [[Leicester]], [[Derby]], [[Nottingham]], [[Sheffield]], [[Leeds]] {{Mgb|1}} ===

'''Option 1''': Motorway service station London Gateway

Cost of public transport: £3.10 (off peak) from zone 1.

'''Option 2''': [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=51.572780,+-0.230950&ie=UTF8&z=12&iwloc=addr&om=1 Staples Corner]

- In case you are going to Edinburgh: once you are at any of the service stations on the motorway, you will find a lot of people going in that direction, i.e. going to Leeds and further. Somewhere north of Leeds, the M1 becomes the A1(M) highway; however, ensure that once you are on this highway going in the direction of Newcastle, and then Edinburgh, you do not get out at the last petrol station before Newcastle. Get out at the 2nd, 3rd or 4th last petrol station before Newcastle, but not the last one. The second last one has a huge McD and more long-distance traffic than the last one, which has a Burger King and Costa and is just a small petrol station with mostly local traffic from Newcastle coming for petrol. Ensure whoever is taking you drops you off only at a petrol station and not on a country road. After Newcastle, there is only one major/decent petrol station in a town called Alnwick (pronounced 'Annick'). Try finding someone who is going to Edinburgh directly from one of the earlier good McD stations. A better alternative route to Edinburgh is to take the M1, M6, A74(M), and A707; this way, you won't have to bother about McD and Newcastle.

=== North towards, [[Stevanage]], [[Peterborough]], [[East Midlands]], [[East of England|The East]], [[Newcastle]], [[North East England|The North East]] {{agb|1}} ===

Moat Mount Park bus stop on A1. Buses 292, 384, 606 tops there. After 5 km there is a Mimms Service petrol station / rest stop

Cost of public transport: xxx

=== Northwest towards [[Cambridge]], [[London Stansted]], [[Norwich]], [[East of England|The East]], East Coast {{Mgb|11}} ===

Take the Central Line tube to ''Redbridge'' (zone 4). Once at the station, turn right and use the subways to cross under the A406. Once on the slip road for the A406 (extending Eastern Avenue), there is a great place for vehicles to pull over. The spot is located just next to the bridge over a canal or river. The traffic will not be coming from A406, but it really is a good place to hitch a ride. It is strongly recommended that you bring a M11 sign with you.

Cost of public transport: £2.80 (off-peak) from zone 1. Tip: To get to the same part of london, you can also take the Central line to Roding Valley. Here there are no barriers as you exit so if you managed to get into the underground system for free, you can get out for free. It's about a half an hour walk to the start of the M11. For getting into the underground system, you can for example get in at Finsbury Park where there are no barriers either. There are also other stations.

=== Southwest towards [[South West England|The South West]], [[Basingstoke]], [[Salisbury]], [[Southampton]], [[Porstmouth]], [[South West England|Dorset]], [[Poole|Bournemouth]] {{Mgb|3}} ===

'''Option 1''': Lay-by on A316 near Kempton Park

Cost of public transport: One ticket/travelcard to zone 6 + one ticket from ''Hampton'' to ''Kempton Park'' railway station. '''Kempton Park''' station is just outside London Transport Zones (''Hampton'', the previous station on the Waterloo-Shepperton line, is in zone 6), but it has no ticket barriers and the chances of meeting a ticket inspector between ''Hampton'' and ''Kempton Park'' should be quite remote.

'''Option 2''': A316 Junction with A312

Cost of public transport: xxx

=== Southwest towards [[Porstmouth]], [[Worthing]] A3/{{agb|3}}, & A24 ===

Cost of public transport: xxx

=== South towards [[Brighton]] {{Mgb|23}} ===

Cost of public transport: £3.80 (off-peak) (£2.70 off-peak from Clapham Junction)

=== East towards [[East of England|The East]], [[East of England|Essex]], [[Chelmsford]], [[Colchester]], [[Ipswich]], [[Southend-on-Sea]] A/12 ===

Cost of public transport: £2.40 (off-peak from Zone 1)

== Airports ==

Paid transport to and from airports can be expensive. Hitching can be a good alternative. The exits to the airports can also be good places to get lifts to other places. For example, if you get stuck on the western part of the M25, try to get to Heathrow, from there people are going all over the country. If you are coming from Brighton, and trying to get around London, you may get a ride quicker to where you want to go if you get dropped at Gatwick Airport than at Pease Pottage services.

== Transiting Greater London ==

Clacket Lane is an excellent place to hitch to Brighton (Westbound) or Dover (Eastbound) and also fairly good for most other directions as it's a busy station. Best thing is to stand outside the main doors into the station and ask everyone that comes out if they are going your way ("excuse me, are you by any chance going to Brighton?")

== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==