Travelling to GOSH

Please note that on Thursday 30 November and Friday 1 December, our main entrance on Great Ormond Street will be closed between 8 am and 6 pm. You will be able to access the hospital from entrances on Guilford Street and Guilford Place. Read our temporary closure news update for more information.

You should bear in mind the following information if you are travelling to GOSH by car.

You will need to pay a charge to drive within the central London Congestion Charging zone between 7am and 10pm, seven days a week.

You may need to pay a fee to drive within the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in central London. You can find out more, including whether your vehicle meets ULEZ standards, on the TFL website.

Families who meet the criteria may qualify for reimbursement of travel costs.

There is no official drop-off and pick-up area at the hospital. Great Ormond Street is a Clean Air Zone. This means that drivers should not leave their engines running for longer than one minute while waiting outside the hospital. 

Great Ormond Street Hospital does not have a car park.

We are grateful to the London Borough of Camden for giving us parking permits so that carers bringing children to GOSH can park their car nearby.

• parking permits are available on the day of their use and can be collected from the main reception desk, which is located in the main entrance of GOSH
• parking is very limited so we ask that parking is used to only bring a patient to and from the hospital
• the parking permit allows you to park on Guildford Street​ 
• outside of peak hours (7am-9pm) you can use on-street parking

Walking is the cheapest – and can also be the most pleasant and fun – way to travel in London. To plan your walking route to the hospital from other locations, you can use Google maps or walkit.com, which allows you to search for the least polluted routes.

GOSH is located near to several mainline stations, underground stations, and bus stops. The easiest way to plan your travel in London is to use the Transport for London (TfL) Journey planner. It allows you to plan routes between stations and postcodes. It also allows you to specify preferences for modes of transport (including walking and cycling) and accessibility requirements (such as step-free transport).

The train is usually the fastest way to get into central London. The table below shows the different options for getting to the hospital from different stations.

Several bus routes are a short walk from GOSH, and low-floor, wheelchair accessible buses run on all routes.

Two tube stations are a short walk from the hospital.

• Russell Square is the nearest (seven minutes’ walk) and is on the Piccadilly Line, with connections to Kings Cross Station.
• Holborn (seven minutes’ walk) is on the Piccadilly line and Central line, with connections to Kings Cross and Liverpool Street stations. 

Please check the TFL website before your journey.

There are cycle racks on Queen Square, Great Ormond Street and Guilford Street. When these are in operation, you can hire bikes in London using Santander Cycles and there are docking stations all over central London, and all you need is a bank card to get started.

The nearest docking station to the hospital is on Guilford Street.

If you have issues with mobility and have trouble using public transport, you may be able to get subsidised taxi and minicab travel in London. The two schemes are called Taxicard and Capital Call.

London's traditional taxis (black cabs) can be booked in advance, hailed on the street, or picked up from designated taxi ranks. Black Cabs are also disabled friendly as they have access ramps to wheelchairs and will be willing to help those with disabilities.

The cheapest and easiest way to travel on public transport in London is to use a contactless payment card (issued by many banks) or an Oyster (pre-pay) card. Paying for a paper ticket can be several times more expensive than using these methods

Buses in London are now entirely cash-free, so use of a contactless card, and Oyster card, or a previously purchased paper travelcard is necessary.

Russell Square and Holborn stations are not easy for wheelchair users, as there are steps from the platforms. If you require step-free travel, it is best to use the bus or walk.

Low-floor, wheelchair accessible buses run on all routes.

Assistance at mainline stations is available for disabled passengers travelling on trains. It is best to give at least 24 hours’ notice so that they can make arrangements. 

We provide non-emergency medical transport where any other method of getting to and from GOSH would be damaging to the patient’s health.

Please ask your family doctor (GP) to arrange transport to GOSH if your child requires it to attend an outpatient appointment. If your child is coming for an inpatient stay, our staff will organise this. Unfortunately, we cannot accept bookings from anyone else.

For additional information on non-emergency patient transport services and whether you and your child are eligible, please see the NHS England website.