So just for interest, who delivers into central London in an artic? How far into the heart of central London do you go and what is the delivery to? Forgetting tail lift drops to stores, I’m interested more in general haulage type work because obviously retail/supermarkets etc I know about all that.
Just inside inner ring road delivering booze to ethnic majority cash and carrys. What a ■■■■■■ ball ache
Use to go into bang in the centre London quite regularly delivering gear on flat beds arctics.
Was mostly stuff for construction sites that got crane lifted straight of the flat bed onto the roofs of buildings.
You just need take your time look at your route on sat nav and map and go for it.
Also need to bully car drivers a bit and not give a ■■■■ about people peeping horns at you.
I’m always in around Wembley Enfield Hammersmith and places all the time.
Those places are just same as any other town.
We deliver & collect the scaffold for the winter wonderland in Hyde Park, not a bad Gig really, straight down the Edgeware Road, turn right at the end/Marble Arch on to Bayswater Rd (don’t know why they don’t enter the park off Marble Arch [emoji57]) bit of a Flip Flop round a one way system & into the park, then you can spend as long as you like loading & having breaks, come out at Hyde Park Corner & straight up to the M1, jobs a good un !
Still hate London though [emoji22]
Used to deliver door sets,so anywhere there was a construction site really.
Lots of hospitals,hotels and schools etc.
Big sites where ok,because they’d have marshalls,unloading areas and forklifts…the “2 blokes refurbing a shop” jobs were ■■■■ and involved either handball or moffet,and nowhere to park.
Done it years ago when you had to go through London to reach anywhere, pre M25 days, knew my way through most routes like back of my hand …and wait for it, shock horror (to some of you)…No sat navs 
A lot of good overnight parks there then too, had some brilliant nights out…■■■■ all nowadays afaik.
More recently about 7 yrs ago used to go into the Horseguards Barracks in Hyde Park, never gave a thought to all the restriction zone ■■■■■■■■…on foreign plates, so never heard a thing.
I avoid London like herpes now, we aint welcome and I don’t want to go there end of.
robroy:
Done it years ago when you had to go through London to reach anywhere, pre M25 days, knew my way through most routes like back of my hand …and wait for it, shock horror (to some of you)…No sat navs
A lot of good overnight parks there then too, had some brilliant nights out…[zb] all nowadays afaik.More recently about 7 yrs ago used to go into the Horseguards Barracks in Hyde Park, never gave a thought to all the restriction zone ■■■■■■■■…on foreign plates, so never heard a thing.
I avoid London like herpes now, we aint welcome and I don’t want to go there end of.
For me everything for the North started off at the Blackwall tunnel or Tower Bridge if you were too high; you were allowed across it then. From Hackney Wick it was a dogleg round into Wick rd - which must have been a nightmare for residents in Brookfield rd trying to sleep with all the lorries changing down for the corner and then braking for the lights. Morning Lane, Mare st, Graham rd, Balls Pond rd,Highbury corner, Holloway rd, Archway and Falloden rd.
The West was New Cross, Peckham, Camberwell, the Oval, Vauxhall and then either Vauxhall or Chelsea bridge onto the Chelsea Embankment and up past Earl’s Court onto Talgarth rd and the A4.
I went to Holloway woman’s prison a couple of times in my yoof, (log book days) once I asked if I could take my daily rest there and leave in the morn but was told ‘no chance !’ could never understand why not 
Smithfield Market regularly on my last job… saw it as a challenge trying to avoid drunk clubbers ,taxi’s abandoned everywhere and the sucicidal cyclists riding around with no lights at 1am…
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So apart from the obvious like food etc, is it mainly construction sites where you’d deliver to in zone 1? There’s not some odd tucked away industrial unit behind Big Ben or anything like that? (And before anyone says anything, that is a joke)
By the way I’m not fussed about driving in London, it’s not something that I dread or anything like that, in fact I’m quite up for a new challenge! I’m just asking out of interest to see what drops people do in there.
Last job a regular starting on a Sunday at Smithfield then on the Monday anything up to 10 drops in Bermondsey, Hackney Highbury, Tottenham, Camden, Greenwich, Wood Green and Battersea as well as places further out but all inside the M25. Once you had done it a couple of times wasn’t to bad just take your time, you can’t rush around there so don’t try and you won’t get stressed. Some of the places you do wonder why they haven’t relocated, Leathams just off the A2 and Harvey Brockles the cheese people are two that spring to mind
Rowley010:
So apart from the obvious like food etc, is it mainly construction sites where you’d deliver to in zone 1? There’s not some odd tucked away industrial unit behind Big Ben or anything like that? (And before anyone says anything, that is a joke)By the way I’m not fussed about driving in London, it’s not something that I dread or anything like that, in fact I’m quite up for a new challenge! I’m just asking out of interest to see what drops people do in there.
I did timber to hardware shops,but that was in a rigid.
I do sliding roof trailer delivery , pull the roof back then the crane will lift my pallets up to a building that is 20 floors high or more.
The construction firm will cone off an unloading bay to prevent parking fines .
On average there for five hours or more.
If too windy the crane will shut down.
I give the foreman my mobile and wonder off on foot checking out the top posh hot totty in the coffee shop .
Used to collect 1000 boxes of kid’s clothing from this textiles place in Tabernacle Street, EC2A postcode, and take to Sainsbury’s DC Bedford. Was ALWAYS on a Friday as well lol
No loading bay; used to open the back 2 metres of curtain, they laid a plank down from an access hatch in the side of the building and pallet trucked the boxes in, where they were then removed and stacked from the headboard a la container style. Used to take ~ 3-4 hours for them to destuff it in Bedford. Taking into account the trip down from Wellingborough, in to London, loading, up to Bedford, unloading, and run back to W’boro, was always a good 14 hour shift, sometimes getting too close for comfort 
robroy:
Done it years ago when you had to go through London to reach anywhere, pre M25 days, knew my way through most routes like back of my hand …and wait for it, shock horror (to some of you)…No sat navs
A lot of good overnight parks there then too, had some brilliant nights out…[zb] all nowadays afaik.More recently about 7 yrs ago used to go into the Horseguards Barracks in Hyde Park, never gave a thought to all the restriction zone ■■■■■■■■…on foreign plates, so never heard a thing.
I avoid London like herpes now, we aint welcome and I don’t want to go there end of.
Parking: Tooley Street? Aldgate? First out, was last in, reversing in off the roundabout. Saw my first strippers at the Red Lion Aldgate. Had some cracking good nights out there.
London has never bothered me. I was in Russell square Friday morning and must have been to every main hotel and conference venue in the west end and city. Most of the time in a a Lhd artic. As long as you take your time and keep your eyes open it’s not different than any other city. Indeed, Manchester Arena at chucking out time is far more challenging as is Athens - at any time!
Franglais:
Parking: Tooley Street? Aldgate? First out, was last in, reversing in off the roundabout. Saw my first strippers at the Red Lion Aldgate. Had some cracking good nights out there.
+1 !!! - and don’t forget the plastic beer glasses, too!
Steve
Ste46:
Franglais:
Parking: Tooley Street? Aldgate? First out, was last in, reversing in off the roundabout. Saw my first strippers at the Red Lion Aldgate. Had some cracking good nights out there.+1 !!! - and don’t forget the plastic beer glasses, too!
Steve
Got memories of coupla good restaurants there too. A Greek one? In a basement?? Must be all tower office blocks with no parking for a hundred miles now.
ive delivered all over in london with curtians but mainly flats with steel for new buildings even 65 ft long beams to i go in early if possible but sometimes it afternoon or evening slots but it never bothers me at all just take ur time and what room u need.
Very rarely drive in central London these days but it would not bother me in the slightest. After living there and driving around it for 12 years it is not a problem. I often wonder how I found my way about as I did not know any parts of London when I started but with a map it was impossible to get lost. I found my way in and out when I was on distance work out of Bermondsey then when I started on the tankers I was all over London, Surrey, Kent, Essex etc. I loved it and never ever fell out with a cyclist. Despised black cab drivers though. 