Ilford Life in the UK Test Centre

Car 

It is easy to get to Ilford, which is in the northeast of London, by car or public transit. Those who are going by car should know that the borough is easy to get to from the M11 and M25, and there are many parking lots nearby. We’ve listed a few possible choices below. Please visit the following Parkopedia page if you want to look at other places to park. This lists all of the parking lots that are close to the test centre.

Clements Road Car Park

Parking spots are always likely to be available at this big, multi-story building. The site is only seven minute’s drive from where the tests are held. Additionally, the parking lot is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Here are the parking fees (where “hours” refers to the amount of time spent parking)

• £1.20 for an hour,
• £2.00 for two hours
• £2.50 for 3 hours
• 4 hours: £3.00
• £4 for 6 hours

While this parking lot is close to the test place, it’s likely that you won’t need more than two hours of parking. People who want to stay in Ilford longer than their testing time or even overnight should know that they can buy tickets for 12 hours (£6.50) or 24 hours (£8.00).

You can pay for parking with a credit card or cash, but this site does not support mobile payments. There are places for disabled people. Please be aware that this parking lot has space for charging electric vehicles.

For further journey to the test site, please follow these steps:

To get to Clements Lane, go north on Clements Road and turn left at the first intersection. After going all the way to the end of the road, turn right onto Winston Way. Right away, take a left onto Chapel Road and go 50 metres before taking another left onto Roden Street. As you go along Roden Street, turn right onto Caxton Place at the bend in the road. As you go north on Caxton Place, the building will be on your left about 50 metres up.

Mildmay Road Car Park

Many people visit the spot every day, but only during certain times of the day do they charge. Any day of the week, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., you will be charged the following fees (the “hours” refer to the amount of time you park):

• £1.85 for an hour
• £3.10 for two hours, 
• £4.50 for three hours
• £7 for 4 hours

Since parking fees are limited to £7.00, you won’t have to pay extra for any time you stay longer than four hours.

Note that you can only pay for things on this site by calling the “Ring Go” service line at 020-3046-0010 or sending an SMS to 81025. Please give Location ID, 7112 when you use this payment service.

This building has parking spots for people with disabilities.

Go south on Midmay Road and turn right at the end of the road to get to the building. This will connect you to Alfred Road. To get to Ilford Lane, turn right after going westward for about 400 metres. After going 100 metres, take the next left onto Britannia Road and then a right onto Riverdene Road. After going straight for 150 metres, turn left onto Roden Street. After another 50 metres, turn right onto Caxton Place. Once more, the test spot will be about 50 metres above you on the left. The walk from the parking lot to the venue is about 1 km, and it will take you eleven minutes to get there. I’m afraid there aren’t any good public transport options that would shorten trips or make them shorter.

Bus

Many bus lines go close to where the test is being given. We chose four of the most important ones that we think will be useful for your journey.

179: 

From Chingford Railway Station, the number 179 bus goes south to Ilford. If you want to use this service, please get off at the High Road bus stop. This spot is about 100 metres north of the Clements Road Car Park. This route meets up with the way to the test centre from the Clements Road Car Park after going south for 20 metres and then turning right onto Clements Lane. So, please go back and read the steps that were given earlier and do what they say.

25:

From Holburn in Central London, this path goes east and ends in Ilford. Please get off the bus at the “P” stop on Chapel Road. There are two bus stops on Chapel Road, but this service will only let you get off at the “P” stop. Please look at the notes again in the Clements Road Car Park part for information on how to get to the test centre. After taking a left on Winston Way, this route meets up with the one from the parking lot. So, please follow the instructions from this point on.

425:

From Clapham, this service goes east to Ilford. Again, please get off at the Chapel Road “P” stop and follow the directions above and the section on the Clements Road Car Park to get to the test spot.

86:

Through Stratford and Romford, the number 86 runs in an east-west direction. Please get off the bus at Ilford Hill if you want to use this service. To get to the test centre on foot, take Ilford Hill west and then turn left onto Chapel Road. After going straight for 50m, turn right onto Roden Street. Move forward for about 200 metres, and then turn right onto Caxton Place. You’ll see the building on your left, about 50 mg away. The bus stop to the event site is about a five-minute walk.

The test centre can be reached by bus using a variety of services available on London’s bus network, as previously noted. For those of you who need to get to one of these stops, please go to either of the ones listed above, or better yet, the Roden Street stop, the Chap Road “P” stop (which is closer to the venue than Chapel Road “Y”), or the Ilford Sainsbury’s “B” stop. These places are all less than five minutes’ walk from the spot.

Please go to Caxton Place’s “Moovit” dashboard page to find more related bus routes. To get to this site, please click the link.

Train in London Overground

Two main “underground” transport lines go through or near Ilford. This is the TfL Rail line to Ilford station and the CTC service to Barking. We recommend taking the TFL Rail service instead if at all possible, since it goes straight into Ilford and is therefore much closer to the test centre. If this isn’t possible, though, please see below for how to get to the testing site from Barking station:

CTC:

Taking public transport will take about fifteen minutes to get here. Please be aware that the test spot is about 2.6 km away from Barking station, and it would take you more than 30 minutes to walk that distance. If this makes you feel bad, you might want to think about other ways to get where you’re going. Follow Station Parade northeast until it meets Longbridge Road. Continue for about 150 metres. 

On your left, you’ll see the Barking Station bus stop. Take the 169 Clayhall service and get off at the Ilford Sainsbury’s “B” stop. Take Winston’s Way to the left and meet with Chapel Road. Again, this trip goes in the same direction as the one from the Clement Road Car Park. You’ll be about 50 m from Roden Street after running Winston’s Way. As a result, please go back to the earlier steps and pick up the travel directions from this point on.

Barking station address:

Station Parade,

Longbridge Road,

Barking,

IG11 8TU

TFL Rail:

Additionally, this is the recommended path to follow. The trains start in the middle of London, but please keep in mind that this service is connected to both east and west transportation lines. Please check ahead of time to make sure you’re taking an eastbound route out of London. You can do this by going to this link to the TFL Rail website.

When you get off the train at Ilford Station, please leave the building and turn right onto Cranbrook Road (A123). This road will join with Chapel Road as you go south. As you get closer to Winston Way, this road will meet up with the route from Clement Street Car Park again. Therefore, please read the directions again from the parking lot notes. The trip will take about six minutes and cover 650 metres.

Ilford station address:

Ilford Hill,

Ilford,

IG1 2DG

London Unserground (Tube)

A number of tube stations are close to the test spot. Even though Redbridge, Newbury Park, and Stratford are all close to the event, Gant’s Hill is where you should go. This is because this underground stop has very good connections to other transportation. As a point of reference, Gants Hill is about 2.7 km away from the test centre.

From here, go west on Eastern Avenue and then turn left onto Cranbrook Road right away to get to the test site. Move forward about 100 metres, and the bus stop will be on your left, right next to the Famz Peri Peri sub shop. Next, please get off at the Roden Street “C” bus stop and catch the 396 Ilford Service. When you leave this stop, turn right and keep going around the corner until you reach the Chapel Road intersection. After going straight ahead for about 20 metres, take a right turn onto Roden Road. After going for a little more than 200 metres, turn right onto Caxton Place. There is a test place about 50 metres away, on the left.

Please keep in mind that Gant’s Hill is on the Central Line of the London Underground.

Gant’s Hill station address:

Cranbrook Road,

Gants Hill,

Ilford,

IG2 6UD