Bonfire Night falls on a Thursday this year, 5 November, so London is saving its biggest displays for the weekend after. Alexandra Palace and Battersea Park, the two big ticketed shows most of my clients ask about, both run on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. Tickets are already on sale for both, and both venues make the same point: leave the car at home. There is no public parking at either, and the roads around them close or clog. That is why it pays to plan the car now rather than the week before.
Two shows, two different nights
At Alexandra Palace the event is now a Fireworks and Drone Festival, spread across the park and the palace, and this is the first year it runs on a Saturday and Sunday rather than a Friday and Saturday. Saturday is billed as the party night, with the display at 8pm, a German Bier Festival in the Great Hall and a DJ headline set. Sunday is the family fun day, with the display at 6pm. Both days have funfair rides, ice skating and street food, and the gates open at 4pm.
At Battersea Park the display is designed by Titanium Fireworks, the team behind the Mayor of London's last three New Year's Eve shows, and the two nights are completely different shows. On Saturday the gates open at 6pm and the fireworks are expected to start at 8.30pm, with Rudimental DJing beforehand and the event running to 11pm. Sunday is earlier: gates at 4.30pm, fireworks from about 7pm, and everything finished by 9.30pm.
If you have young children, the Sunday at either venue is the kinder choice, with everyone home at a sensible hour before school.
The gate times are the ones that matter
The display time is what everyone remembers. The last entry time is the one that decides your evening.
Battersea is strict about it. There is no entry after 8pm on Saturday or after 6.30pm on Sunday, there is no re-admission once you leave, and tickets cannot be bought at the gate. They are also non-transferable and non-refundable.
Alexandra Palace has its last entry at 8.05pm on Saturday and 6.05pm on Sunday. Its own advice is to arrive before the peak, which it puts at 7.15pm to 7.45pm on Saturday and 5.15pm to 5.45pm on Sunday, when the queue at Gate 2 is at its worst. If your group is arriving at different times, the ticket transfer deadline is 2pm on the day of the event, so sort that out in the morning, not in the queue.
So when I plan the pickup, I work back from the entry time, not the display time. For a Saturday at Battersea I want you through the gate well before 8pm, which on a November evening means leaving central London with a comfortable margin.
Alexandra Palace: getting there without a car park
Alexandra Palace sits on a hill in 196 acres of parkland. On the festival weekend there is no public parking at the palace or in the surrounding streets, Alexandra Palace Way is closed, and the organisers say plainly that roads around the park will be busier than normal. The nearest public car park is at Wood Green Mall, about a 20-minute walk away, with a limited number of spaces. The W3 bus is on diversion and will not stop at the palace.
By Tube, Wood Green on the Piccadilly line is the nearest station, and it is a 20-minute walk from there. Alexandra Palace station, at the Wood Green entrance to the park, has trains from Moorgate and King's Cross. The nearest step-free station is Finsbury Park, and from there it is a bus or a taxi.
That last point is where a car earns its keep. If you have a grandparent with a stick, a pushchair, or children who will be asleep on their feet by 7pm, a car that brings you as close as the closures allow and is waiting when you come out is the difference between a good night and a long one. Blue Badge parking exists but is strictly limited and has to be booked with the venue in advance, so if that applies to you, contact them early.
Battersea Park: the car parks close in the afternoon
Battersea is closer to the centre, but the park changes shape for the event. On Saturday the park car parks close to the public at 3pm and the park itself closes at 4pm for the set-up. On Sunday the car parks close at 2pm and the park at 3pm. There is no parking in the park on either night, apart from some very limited disabled parking.
The nearest stations are Battersea Park, Queenstown Road and Battersea Power Station on the Northern line, with Victoria and Clapham Junction a little further out. The organisers expect Albert Gate to be much quieter than Sun Gate on both evenings, and Albert Gate is also where the bike park is.
For Battersea I set you down outside the park on the side nearest the gate you are using, and we agree a pickup spot for afterwards before you walk in. I send it as a pin on your phone, because in the dark after a show every road looks the same.
Why the ride home is the real reason to book
Getting to a fireworks show is the easy half. Everyone arrives over a couple of hours, and everyone leaves in the same few minutes. The organisers at Alexandra Palace warn that the exits and local transport are very busy after the display, and suggest staying on afterwards to let the crowd thin.
That is good advice, and it works much better when your car is not going anywhere. If you book me by the hour, I stay nearby for the whole evening. You can leave the moment the last rocket goes up, or stay for the rides while the station queue clears. My hourly hire has a five-hour minimum in London, which covers the drive out, the show and the drive home for most families.
November evenings are cold and often wet, and Alexandra Palace warns that the grass can be muddy and slippery underfoot. Muddy boots and tired children are better in the back of a warm car than on a crowded train. For a big family, or two families going together, the V-Class seats up to six with room for coats and a folded pushchair. You can see the cars I drive before you choose.
A few things to leave at home
Both venues search bags on the way in, and neither allows sparklers, glass or your own alcohol. Alexandra Palace also turns away chairs and camping equipment, and Battersea turns away animals other than registered assistance dogs, full face masks and bulky costumes. Anything that cannot go in can stay in the car with me.
How to book your fireworks night
Buy your tickets first. Alexandra Palace describes its festival as extremely popular, and Battersea sells no tickets at the gate and keeps no waiting list for sold-out nights. Then send me the venue, the date, how many of you are going, the ages of any children, and where you would like to be collected from. I will come back with a fixed price for the whole evening, agreed up front, and the car will have child seats fitted if you need them.
If you are looking for more autumn evenings out, I have written about the BFI London Film Festival and about nights out in London by chauffeur more generally, and there is a calendar of the season on klasschauffeur.events. When you have your tickets, send me the details and I will plan the night around the gate times.
