Last checked November 2026.
London is big, busy and expensive to drive in. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) covers every London borough, the Congestion Charge covers the centre, and the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels are now tolled. The old overnight stop by Tower Bridge has gone, and the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Crystal Palace site closed at the end of 2024. The simplest way to see London with a van is to stay on a campsite on the edge, leave the van on its pitch and take the train in. Abbey Wood in south-east London and the Lee Valley sites in the north-east are the closest.
Where you can and can’t stay overnight
There’s no general law in England against sleeping in a legally parked van on a public road, but local rules are common and you have to read the signs. Council car-park orders, traffic orders and public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) all restrict it, and a council can direct people living in a vehicle on a roadside or other land to leave; ignoring the direction, or coming back within three months, can mean a fine of up to £1,000. There’s no right to wild camp in a vehicle anywhere in England: you need the landowner’s permission. Breaking a PSPO is a criminal offence, and since 26 October 2026 councils can set the fixed penalty at up to £500. More in wild camping and free camping.
In London, the rules that catch visitors out are:
- Controlled parking zones (CPZs). In a CPZ, on-street parking is restricted at the times shown on the signs: the kerb is marked either as parking bays or yellow lines, residents’ bays need a permit, and paid bays have a maximum stay. Read every sign.
- Pavement parking. Parking with even one wheel on the pavement or a verge is an offence everywhere in Greater London, unless signs say it’s allowed.
- Red routes. TfL’s red routes are the main roads. You can’t stop at any time on double red lines or on a red route clearway, except in marked bays; on single red lines, the sign tells you when you can stop. The penalty is £160, or £80 if you pay within 14 days.
- Council parking fines and towing. Since April 2025 a council parking ticket in London is up to £160, halved if you pay within 14 days. If the van is towed away, getting it back from the pound costs £280 plus £55 for each day it’s stored.
- Richmond upon Thames: the council’s PSPO bans camping or sleeping overnight, with or without a tent, or using a vehicle or caravan for that, on all open public land the council owns, adopts or manages, roads included, without its consent. It has been in force since 2017 and was extended in September 2026 for another three years. The fixed penalty is £100.
- Hillingdon (Heathrow, Uxbridge and Ruislip): the council’s PSPO, in force from 1 May 2025 for three years, makes it an offence to “encamp (with or without a vehicle)” in public places anywhere in the borough without the council’s consent.
- The Royal Parks (Richmond, Bushy, Greenwich, Hyde and Regent’s Parks among them): the regulations ban camping, and leaving a vehicle anywhere except an official parking place, without written permission. Richmond Park’s vehicle gates close at dusk.
Vans used to stay overnight in the coach and lorry park by Tower Bridge, which has since been built on, and Lincoln’s Inn Fields only ever had short-stay parking (see below).
Campsites
Abbey Wood and the Lee Valley site at Edmonton are inside the ULEZ and LEZ. If your van doesn’t meet the standards, you pay for each day you drive it in the zone, but not for days when it stays parked on the pitch. The other sites below are outside the zones, though Sewardstone is right on the edge, so check your route. Book ahead: the Lee Valley sites don’t take bookings on the day, and they only let in commercial vehicles up to 2 m high, 5.5 m long and with a payload of up to 1,100 kg, so if your camper is still registered as a van, check with them first.
| Area | Campsite | Details |
|---|---|---|
| South-east London | Abbey Wood Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Federation Road, Abbey Wood, SE2 0LS | Tel: 020 8311 7708. Open all year, non-members welcome. Vans up to 9 m. Motorhome service point. The internal gates are locked from 10pm to 8am, with a late arrivals area outside. Abbey Wood station, on the Elizabeth line, is a short walk |
| North London | Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park, Lee Valley Leisure Complex, Meridian Way, Edmonton, N9 0AR | Tel: 03000 030 625. Open all year. All the pitches in the touring field have hook-up. Trains from Edmonton Green to Liverpool Street, about 50 minutes to central London |
| Chingford, by Epping Forest | Lee Valley Campsite, Sewardstone Road, Chingford, E4 7RA | Tel: 03000 030 623. March to January (closed in February). The 215 bus stops outside, every 20 minutes (30 on Sundays), for Chingford station and Walthamstow Central |
| Hertfordshire | Lee Valley Caravan Park, Dobbs Weir, Charlton Meadows, Essex Road, Hoddesdon, EN11 0AS | Tel: 03000 030 619. March to January (closed in February). Trains from Broxbourne, a 10-minute drive away. About 50 minutes to central London |
| Epping Forest | Debden House, Debden Green, Loughton, IG10 2NZ | Tel: 020 8508 3008. Motorhome pitches with hook-up. In 2026 it only opened at weekends from 10 July to 13 September, so ring for 2027. Central line stations at Debden, Loughton and Theydon Bois are a walk or short taxi ride away |
| Surrey, south of London | Alderstead Heath Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Dean Lane, Merstham, Redhill, RH1 3AH | Tel: 01737 644629. Non-members welcome. Open through the winter of 2026/27, until 1 November 2027. Vans up to 10.4 m. Motorhome service point. Trains from Coulsdon South to Victoria |
| Surrey, by the Thames | Chertsey Camping and Caravanning Club Site, Bridge Road, Chertsey, KT16 8JX | Tel: 01932 562405. Open all year. Motorhome service point. Bus stop 100 yards from the gate; Chertsey station is 1.5 miles away, and central London is about 50 minutes by train |
| Buckinghamshire, west of London | Wyatts Covert Club Campsite (Caravan and Motorhome Club), Tilehouse Lane, Denham, UB9 5DH | Tel: 01895 832729. Open all year, non-members welcome. Vans up to 8.5 m. Motorhome service point. Trains from Denham to Marylebone |
From Abbey Wood, Elizabeth line trains run every five minutes from 6.30am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday, through Canary Wharf, Liverpool Street and Tottenham Court Road to Paddington. The club says central London is about 20 minutes away, and Paddington is 29. Buses from near the site go to Greenwich and Bexleyheath.
Driving in London
ULEZ and LEZ. The ULEZ covers all the London boroughs, 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day, but not the M25. Petrol vans and cars need to meet Euro 4, and diesels Euro 6. TfL’s rough guide is that new diesel vans from September 2016 and new petrol vans from January 2006 meet the standard. If yours doesn’t, you pay £12.50 for each day (midnight to midnight) you drive in the zone, and the penalty for not paying is £180 (£90 if you pay within 14 days). Motor caravans over 3.5 tonnes don’t pay the ULEZ. Instead they come under the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which covers the same area: they need to meet Euro VI or pay £100 a day, or £300 if they don’t meet Euro IV. An old diesel van over 1.205 tonnes unladen that doesn’t meet Euro 3 pays the £100 LEZ charge as well as the ULEZ. Vans registered outside the UK must be registered with TfL, even if they meet the standards. Check yours on TfL’s vehicle checker.
Congestion Charge. Driving in the central zone costs £18 a day, or £21 if you pay in the three days after. It applies from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and from noon to 6pm at weekends and on bank holidays, with no charge from Christmas Day to the New Year’s Day bank holiday. There’s no discount for motorhomes or campervans, and you pay it on top of any ULEZ charge. The old 100% discount for electric vehicles has ended; they now get a smaller discount, and only on Auto Pay. The penalty is £180, or £90 if you pay within 14 days.
Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels. The Silvertown Tunnel opened in April 2025, next to the Blackwall Tunnel between the Greenwich Peninsula and the north bank. Both are charged every time you go through, in either direction, from 6am to 10pm every day except Christmas Day; overnight they’re free. There are no booths: you pay online, in TfL’s app or by phone (0343 222 2222) by midnight on the third day after. With Auto Pay you get a lower off-peak rate; without it, you pay the peak rate at all times. The peak periods are 6am to 10am northbound and 4pm to 7pm southbound on weekdays.
| Vehicle (from 21 September 2026) | Auto Pay, off-peak | Auto Pay peak, or paying online or by phone |
|---|---|---|
| Cars and small vans | £1.55 | £4.20 |
| Large vans | £2.60 | £6.80 |
| Heavy goods vehicles | £5.25 | £10.50 |
TfL goes by the vehicle’s type approval: a campervan approved as a car (M1) pays the car rate, a motor caravan of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes pays the small or large van rate (depending on its weight), and a motor caravan over 3.5 tonnes pays the HGV rate.
Other river crossings. The Rotherhithe Tunnel is closed to anything over 2 m high, 2 m wide or 2 tonnes, so it’s out for a high-top or a motorhome. The Blackwall Tunnel has a 4 m height limit northbound and 4.72 m southbound; the Silvertown Tunnel takes up to 5.03 m. Tower Bridge has an 18-tonne weight limit, and London Bridge is closed to general traffic from 7am to 7pm on weekdays.
Dartford Crossing. East of London, the M25 crosses the Thames at Dartford. You pay the Dart Charge between 6am and 10pm. Motorhomes pay the car rate, £3.50 for a one-off crossing, and you must pay by midnight the day after you cross; otherwise there’s a £70 penalty.
Getting round London. The M25 isn’t in the ULEZ, so come round on the M25 and in on the road nearest your campsite rather than across the middle. Since March 2020 every TfL road inside the Congestion Charge zone has had a 20 mph limit.
Paying. TfL’s Auto Pay bills you monthly for the Congestion Charge and the tunnels, and for ULEZ and LEZ charges if your van doesn’t meet the standards. It’s free to register. TfL warns about unofficial websites selling the Congestion Charge.
Speed limits. A motorhome or campervan up to 3.05 tonnes unladen can do the same as a car. Over 3.05 tonnes, it’s 50 mph on single carriageways and 60 mph on dual carriageways, with 70 mph still the limit on motorways.
The M25 south and the road to Dover
Darren’s old stopover on the way to Dover was a lay-by on the A25 between Limpsfield and Westerham, just before the Grasshopper Inn at Moorhouse, a few minutes east of junction 6 of the M25. The Grasshopper closed in 2019, and for the night before a crossing a campsite is the safer bet.
To carry on to Dover, the quickest way is back to junction 6 and east along the M25 to junction 5, where the M26 branches off for the M20. Or follow the A25 east through Sevenoaks to Wrotham and join the M20 there. For the night before a crossing, see Kent.
Tower Bridge and the river
There used to be a coach and lorry park close to central London, just by Tower Bridge, where motorhomes were allowed to stay overnight. Coming south over the bridge, it was first right and right again, on the riverside at Potters Fields, almost under the south-west corner of the bridge. It closed years ago, and the site has been built on: the One Tower Bridge flats and the Bridge Theatre stand there now, next to Potters Fields Park. River boats run from Greenwich up the Thames to Tower Bridge and Westminster.
Holborn and Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Lincoln’s Inn Fields is a big square just off Kingsway, a short walk from Holborn Tube station, with Covent Garden and the river close by. It was never really a free camping spot: the metered bays between the offices round the square had a two-hour limit by day. There are still pay-by-phone bays round the square, but it’s in the middle of the Congestion Charge zone, so driving there in charging hours costs £18 on top of the parking, plus the ULEZ if your van doesn’t meet the standard. Check the sign for the maximum stay and the charge. From Debden House, the Central line runs straight to Holborn.
Greenwich
Greenwich is the easy day out from Abbey Wood, with the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, the Cutty Sark and Greenwich Park, one of the Royal Parks.
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in south-west London, is a Royal Park with free-roaming deer. Its seven car parks are free. The vehicle gates open at 7.30am (7am in summer time) and close at dusk, and most of the park roads only lead to the car parks. Keep at least 50 metres from the deer.
The Lee Valley and Epping Forest
The Lee Valley Regional Park runs up the River Lea from east London into Hertfordshire and Essex, taking in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford and the 1,000-acre River Lee Country Park, with the park’s three campsites along the way. Sewardstone and Debden House are on the edge of Epping Forest.
More on England
- England by campervan
- Britain by campervan
- Kent, for the Dartford Crossing and the Channel ports
- Essex
- Surrey
- Buckinghamshire
- Campsites
- Wild camping and free camping
- UK campervan hire
- Ferries and Eurotunnel
Sources: Transport for London (ULEZ, LEZ, Congestion Charge, Auto Pay, tunnels charge, red routes, river crossings and 20 mph limits); gov.uk on the Dartford Crossing charge, the Highway Code and speed limits; the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974; the London-wide penalty charge levels of April 2025; Richmond upon Thames and Hillingdon councils’ public spaces protection orders (2026 and 2025); the Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997 and the Royal Parks; Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014; Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; Lee Valley Regional Park Authority; the Caravan and Motorhome Club; the Camping and Caravanning Club; Debden House; Southeastern; Camden Film Office; checked November 2026. Know of a change? Tell us in the comments below.