The Student Room Group

Finding parking as Kinsgton Uni student

As a driver, when starting my first year at Kingston University, I was keen to know where I was able to park! After a year here I would like to share where I have found is good to park (the majority for free).

I stayed at Seething Wells Halls of Accommodation for my first year. I decided not to bring my car when I moved in as I could see online that Seething did not offer parking. After staying there for a few months, I found a road just a 5-minute walk away from the accommodation that had free and safe parking! The road is ‘Prospect Road’ and can sometimes be difficult to find parking as it can get busy, but I have been able to find a space every time except twice. Not to worry if you can’t find a spot on this road this time, just drive another few metres along Portsmouth Road to ‘Ditton Reach’ where there are more free parking spaces.

If you are planning to stay at Middle Mill, then there is free on-site parking! There are enough spaces so not to worry about getting a space. If you have any friends or family visiting, then they can also use the car park if they get a visitor parking day pass from the reception. This is extremely handy sometimes when I wanted to drive to Uni, I could use my friend’s pass at Middle Mill which is just next to the Kingston School of Arts giving me a perfect and free location to park close to Uni.

All the roads that I have found around both Penrhyn and KSA have been residential permit parking, but free parking on yellow lines on Sunday. If you did want to park to go to the university then I would recommend parking in one of the car parks in Kingston and then walking to the universities. These car parks range in price. My favourite car park is the Rose Theatre car park as it is closest to the universities and still a good location for shopping in town. However, I rarely drove to university as the free Uni bus system worked perfectly fine for me. I could get the bus at any time, 5 times an hour, from Seething Wells to either Penrhyn, town, Kingston Hill or Roehampton Vale. If I wanted to study in the library at Penrhyn, which is open 24/7 on weekdays, I would get the bus and then leave the library at 11 pm to make the last bus back to Seething. If I didn’t want to walk and wanted to stay later then I could have the option to drive but the bus was always fine for me.

Clayhill Halls of Accommodation has parking on site which is handy. The KU2 bus goes to Clayhill, Surbiton station and Penrhyn. From Penrhyn, it is an easy walk into Kingston, so you can survive without a car if you don’t want to bring yours!

Chancellors Halls and Walkden Halls Accommodation are right on the doorstep of Kingston Hill campus. Both accommodations have parking on site! Kingston Hill is also a stop on the KU free bus.

Pros and Cons of bringing your car to Kingston University:
Pros- freedom to drive wherever whenever, saving money on Uber’s to places, visiting other areas of London faster without getting public transport, easy to visit family or friends in other areas in the UK without having to get numerous trains that tend to be more expensive.

Cons- can be challenging to find parking depending on where, might be made the taxi driver of your group of friends, might be easier to use public transport for some things.

Overall, from my own experience, I have enjoyed bringing my car to Uni and have found it easy to stick to free parking, so I am saving some money. I love having the freedom to go anywhere e.g., taking my friends and I to the garden centre, out to restaurants, big shopping trips from the big Aldi or big Tesco!!! I would recommend bringing your car to Uni, but you can also do what I did and see how it goes without a car up until Christmas and then you can bring your car for the rest of your time at Uni if you find that you want it!

Let me know if you have any questions!
Yasmin (BA design marketing)
Parking at Kingston University can be challenging for students.
Reply 2
I go to the campus on Penrhyn Road and I’m thinking of driving there instead of transport where would I be able to park?
Reply 3
Original post by Kingston Reps
As a driver, when starting my first year at Kingston University, I was keen to know where I was able to park! After a year here I would like to share where I have found is good to park (the majority for free).

I stayed at Seething Wells Halls of Accommodation for my first year. I decided not to bring my car when I moved in as I could see online that Seething did not offer parking. After staying there for a few months, I found a road just a 5-minute walk away from the accommodation that had free and safe parking! The road is ‘Prospect Road’ and can sometimes be difficult to find parking as it can get busy, but I have been able to find a space every time except twice. Not to worry if you can’t find a spot on this road this time, just drive another few metres along Portsmouth Road to ‘Ditton Reach’ where there are more free parking spaces.

If you are planning to stay at Middle Mill, then there is free on-site parking! There are enough spaces so not to worry about getting a space. If you have any friends or family visiting, then they can also use the car park if they get a visitor parking day pass from the reception. This is extremely handy sometimes when I wanted to drive to Uni, I could use my friend’s pass at Middle Mill which is just next to the Kingston School of Arts giving me a perfect and free location to park close to Uni.

All the roads that I have found around both Penrhyn and KSA have been residential permit parking, but free parking on yellow lines on Sunday. If you did want to park to go to the university then I would recommend parking in one of the car parks in Kingston and then walking to the universities. These car parks range in price. My favourite car park is the Rose Theatre car park as it is closest to the universities and still a good location for shopping in town. However, I rarely drove to university as the free Uni bus system worked perfectly fine for me. I could get the bus at any time, 5 times an hour, from Seething Wells to either Penrhyn, town, Kingston Hill or Roehampton Vale. If I wanted to study in the library at Penrhyn, which is open 24/7 on weekdays, I would get the bus and then leave the library at 11 pm to make the last bus back to Seething. If I didn’t want to walk and wanted to stay later then I could have the option to drive but the bus was always fine for me.

Clayhill Halls of Accommodation has parking on site which is handy. The KU2 bus goes to Clayhill, Surbiton station and Penrhyn. From Penrhyn, it is an easy walk into Kingston, so you can survive without a car if you don’t want to bring yours!

Chancellors Halls and Walkden Halls Accommodation are right on the doorstep of Kingston Hill campus. Both accommodations have parking on site! Kingston Hill is also a stop on the KU free bus.

Pros and Cons of bringing your car to Kingston University:
Pros- freedom to drive wherever whenever, saving money on Uber’s to places, visiting other areas of London faster without getting public transport, easy to visit family or friends in other areas in the UK without having to get numerous trains that tend to be more expensive.

Cons- can be challenging to find parking depending on where, might be made the taxi driver of your group of friends, might be easier to use public transport for some things.

Overall, from my own experience, I have enjoyed bringing my car to Uni and have found it easy to stick to free parking, so I am saving some money. I love having the freedom to go anywhere e.g., taking my friends and I to the garden centre, out to restaurants, big shopping trips from the big Aldi or big Tesco!!! I would recommend bringing your car to Uni, but you can also do what I did and see how it goes without a car up until Christmas and then you can bring your car for the rest of your time at Uni if you find that you want it!

Let me know if you have any questions!
Yasmin (BA design marketing)

You can also pre-book parking at the Asda using the Evology Parking app
I go to the campus on Penrhyn Road and I’m thinking of driving there instead of transport where would I be able to park?

You can pre-book parking at the Asda on the Evology Parking app :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by Anonymous
You can pre-book parking at the Asda on the Evology Parking app :smile:

Thank you is the limit still 3 hours or around that? Or can I buy more hours ?
Thank you is the limit still 3 hours or around that? Or can I buy more hours ?

I used it to book a full day
Reply 7
Original post by Anonymous
I used it to book a full day

Thank you. I saw it’s a 22 min walk from Penrhyn road campus does that sound right to you? I also saw The Bittoms car park have you heard of that? If you have do you know if I can park there too?
(edited 1 year ago)
Thank you. I saw it’s a 22 min walk from Penrhyn road campus does that sound right to you? I also saw The Bittoms car park have you heard of that? If you have do you know if I can park there too?

Hi!
Yes the Bittoms car park is open, however it can get quite expensive if you stay for a while. I would recommend the John Lewis car park that I have found is slightly cheaper and not too far to walk to as is in Kingston centre. I live just buy the Bittoms car park and have found that it is the most ideal in that area of Kingston. Every other road around the university is all permit parking which can be very annoying! If you are studying at the university library on a Sunday then all the parking permit zones are free. Another option is to park along 'Prospect Road' in Surbiton or the other roads off of the main road as most are free. When you park on these roads, they are around a 5 min walk from the Kingston student accommodation 'Seething Well's' where you can grab the free KU bus into Penrhyn in 5 mins!!! The buses can be tracked on the Kingston app and are very often (around 5 an hour). If you have any more questions then please let me know!

-Yasmin (KU rep)
(edited 1 year ago)
Thank you. I saw it’s a 22 min walk from Penrhyn road campus does that sound right to you? I also saw The Bittoms car park have you heard of that? If you have do you know if I can park there too?

Hi there
Just wondering were you able to get funding after you dropped out of your course in year 1 and started pharm with foundation at Kingston?

Thanks
Reply 10
Original post by Tashsinclair7
Hi there
Just wondering were you able to get funding after you dropped out of your course in year 1 and started pharm with foundation at Kingston?

Thanks

Yes I was. You’re given only one extra year of funding from SFE :smile:
Yes I was. You’re given only one extra year of funding from SFE :smile:

So you usedup the gift year right? So if you need to resit a year then u get no funding?
Reply 12
Original post by Tashsinclair7
So you usedup the gift year right? So if you need to resit a year then u get no funding?

Yes I don’t think I will get funding if I have to resit
Original post by Kingston Reps
As a driver, when starting my first year at Kingston University, I was keen to know where I was able to park! After a year here I would like to share where I have found is good to park (the majority for free).
I stayed at Seething Wells Halls of Accommodation for my first year. I decided not to bring my car when I moved in as I could see online that Seething did not offer parking. After staying there for a few months, I found a road just a 5-minute walk away from the accommodation that had free and safe parking! The road is ‘Prospect Road’ and can sometimes be difficult to find parking as it can get busy, but I have been able to find a space every time except twice. Not to worry if you can’t find a spot on this road this time, just drive another few metres along Portsmouth Road to ‘Ditton Reach’ where there are more free parking spaces.
If you are planning to stay at Middle Mill, then there is free on-site parking! There are enough spaces so not to worry about getting a space. If you have any friends or family visiting, then they can also use the car park if they get a visitor parking day pass from the reception. This is extremely handy sometimes when I wanted to drive to Uni, I could use my friend’s pass at Middle Mill which is just next to the Kingston School of Arts giving me a perfect and free location to park close to Uni.
All the roads that I have found around both Penrhyn and KSA have been residential permit parking, but free parking on yellow lines on Sunday. If you did want to park to go to the university then I would recommend parking in one of the car parks in Kingston and then walking to the universities. These car parks range in price. My favourite car park is the Rose Theatre car park as it is closest to the universities and still a good location for shopping in town. However, I rarely drove to university as the free Uni bus system worked perfectly fine for me. I could get the bus at any time, 5 times an hour, from Seething Wells to either Penrhyn, town, Kingston Hill or Roehampton Vale. If I wanted to study in the library at Penrhyn, which is open 24/7 on weekdays, I would get the bus and then leave the library at 11 pm to make the last bus back to Seething. If I didn’t want to walk and wanted to stay later then I could have the option to drive but the bus was always fine for me.
Clayhill Halls of Accommodation has parking on site which is handy. The KU2 bus goes to Clayhill, Surbiton station and Penrhyn. From Penrhyn, it is an easy walk into Kingston, so you can survive without a car if you don’t want to bring yours!
Chancellors Halls and Walkden Halls Accommodation are right on the doorstep of Kingston Hill campus. Both accommodations have parking on site! Kingston Hill is also a stop on the KU free bus.
Pros and Cons of bringing your car to Kingston University:
Pros- freedom to drive wherever whenever, saving money on Uber’s to places, visiting other areas of London faster without getting public transport, easy to visit family or friends in other areas in the UK without having to get numerous trains that tend to be more expensive.
Cons- can be challenging to find parking depending on where, might be made the taxi driver of your group of friends, might be easier to use public transport for some things.
Overall, from my own experience, I have enjoyed bringing my car to Uni and have found it easy to stick to free parking, so I am saving some money. I love having the freedom to go anywhere e.g., taking my friends and I to the garden centre, out to restaurants, big shopping trips from the big Aldi or big Tesco!!! I would recommend bringing your car to Uni, but you can also do what I did and see how it goes without a car up until Christmas and then you can bring your car for the rest of your time at Uni if you find that you want it!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Yasmin (BA design marketing)

from September I want to drive to university I don't want to pay as that will be to expensive as I will be going to university 3/4 times a week. is there parking available with the walk being 10-15 minutes from Kingston Penrhyn campus
Original post by Anonymous
from September I want to drive to university I don't want to pay as that will be to expensive as I will be going to university 3/4 times a week. is there parking available with the walk being 10-15 minutes from Kingston Penrhyn campus

Hi there,

It can be difficult to get parking in Kingston centre without paying.

I have my car at university and haven't found anywhere where I can park for free except for residential roads near Seething Wells in Surbiton. This is more of a 25 min walk to Penrhyn however you could take the 5 min walk to Seething Wells, use the free uni bus that comes 5 times an hour and takes around 5 mins to drop you right outside Penrhyn. Doing this means that your travel to uni will be quick and free!

I hope this helped.

Yasmin- Kingston Rep
Hi!
I know this is a 3+ month post, but I was just wondering, if I booked parking in the Evology app, could I park there for the entire day, so for 9 hours because I checked and it said it was for customers only?
Original post by Anonymous
Hi!
I know this is a 3+ month post, but I was just wondering, if I booked parking in the Evology app, could I park there for the entire day, so for 9 hours because I checked and it said it was for customers only?

Hi,

Is it Penrhyn you are looking to park at? If so I think the best method to use is the physical pay-to-park facilities are installed at Penrhyn Road together with a pay-by-phone system known as 'Parkonomy'. Alternative parking in Kingston Town Centre can also be found on the Parkopedia website.

I am not familiar with the Evology app, however you always contact [email protected]. and see if they know whether the app works for Kingston parking.

I hope this helps :smile:
-Grace (Kingston Rep)
Original post by Kingston Reps
Hi,
Is it Penrhyn you are looking to park at? If so I think the best method to use is the physical pay-to-park facilities are installed at Penrhyn Road together with a pay-by-phone system known as 'Parkonomy'. Alternative parking in Kingston Town Centre can also be found on the Parkopedia website.
I am not familiar with the Evology app, however you always contact [email protected]. and see if they know whether the app works for Kingston parking.
I hope this helps :smile:
-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Is there a max amount of stay when I use the pay-to-park facilities nearby Penrhyn Road?
Original post by Anonymous
Is there a max amount of stay when I use the pay-to-park facilities nearby Penrhyn Road?

Hi,

I am looking at the information I have and I don't know if students can park at Penrhyn between 7:30am and 4:30pm I think it is just for staff, so you would need to find parking in the town centre or surrounding areas.

Some apps that I use for parking in cities and towns is JustPark, YourParkingSpace and Parkopedia as people sometimes rent out driveways that can be convenient to use.

I am sorry I have no clearer answers, the best thing to do is contact [email protected] for more clear answers.

-Grace (Kingston Rep)

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