Contact us

The Royal London Hospital

Whitechapel Rd,

London

E1 1FR

Switchboard 020 7377 7000

The Royal London Hospital is located in Whitechapel in east London, within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. You can travel to hospital in a number of ways including on foot, by car, by bike or by public transport. Plan your journey using the Transport for London journey planner or through the travel information below.

TfL can offer advice on planning a journey using an accessible route and can provide a mentor to come with you for your first few journeys to help you gain confidence and become an independent traveller, to find out more complete TfL’s form online.

By bus

The following buses stop outside or close to The Royal London Hospital, 25 (24 hour service), 106, 205 and 254 on Whitechapel Road as well as night buses N205 and N253, the D3 on New Road, 15, 115 and 135 as well as night buses N15 and N550 on Commercial Road. Low-floor wheelchair accessible buses run on all routes serving The Royal London Hospital.

By tube

The closest underground station is Whitechapel a 6 minute walk from The Royal London Hospital, which is served by Hammersmith and City line, District line, Elizabeth line, as well as the London Overground.

By train

Liverpool Street is the nearest National Rail station a 29 minute walk away. Alternatively you can take the Hammersmith and City line from Whitechapel to Liverpool Street Station. 

To find out more about the above listed Freedom passes visit the London Councils website.

By car or taxi

There is no public parking at the hospital itself so we encourage patients and visitors not to travel by car wherever this is possible. If you do need to drive there is limited metered/phone parking available on streets around The Royal London Hospital. Meters can be found on Turner Street, Ashfield Street, Varden Street and Cavell Street where you can stay for a maximum of 4 hours at a charge of £3.80 per hour.

If you need to be dropped off or picked up, The Royal London Hospital operates a one-way system along Stepney Way road and allows for drop off and pick up in designated laybys, with a maximum stay of 10-minutes.

Infopoint help-points allow you to make free calls to taxi companies and public transport information lines to arrange your journey home. There are infopoints located at the main entrance of the Royal London Hospital, Stepney Way entrance, Dental Hospital entrance, A&E entrance, Women's and Children's entrance, Children's A&E entrance and Luckes entrance.

Blue badge holders

There are a small number of parking bays for drivers with Blue Badges, these are accessed via Raven Row. Drivers who are registered disabled and have a blue badge can also check where to park at on the Tower Hamlets website.

Congestion charge zone

The Royal London hospital is situated just outside the congestion charging zone. If you need to drive through the zone to get to hospital, you are required to pay the charge, although there are some exemptions and discounts. These include:

• those with disabilities who hold a blue badge

• residents living within the congestion charging zone

• drivers of alternative fuel vehicles

A full list of categories of drivers/vehicles eligible for exemptions and details of how to pay the charge can be found on the Transport for London congestion charging website. To qualify for an exemption or discount you must register with Transport for London.

Refunds of hospital transport costs 

You may be able to claim a refund for the cost of your transport to hospital through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) if you:

• are not eligible for patient transport services (PTS)

• cannot afford the cost of travelling to hospital

• cannot get a friend or relative to take you

Refer to Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) for more information on who is eligible, what the conditions are and how you can access the scheme.

By bike

We encourage visitors, staff and patients living nearby to cycle to the hospital if possible. Cycle parking facilities are available around the hospital.

Santander cycle hire docking stations are available to hire and dock bikes near to the Royal London Hospital at: 

• Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel (on Whitechapel road closest to the main entrance to the hospital) 

• New Road 1, Whitechapel (closest to the Royal London Dental Hospital)

Familiarise yourself with our visitors information

Whipps Cross Hospital is located in Leytonstone in the East End of London, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

You can travel to hospital in a number of ways including on foot, by car, by bike or by public transport. Plan your journey using the Transport for London journey planner or through the travel information below.

TfL can offer advice on planning a journey using an accessible route and can provide a mentor to come with you for your first few journeys to help you gain confidence and become an independent traveller, to find out more complete TfL’s form online.

By bus

Buses W12, W15, W19 and 357 stop within the hospital grounds, you can alight at the main entrance stop. Buses 20, 56, 230 and 257 also all stop near the hospital grounds at the Whipps Cross roundabout. Low-floor wheelchair accessible buses run on all routes serving Whipps Cross University Hospital.

By tube

The closest underground stations are Leytonstone on the central line and Walthamstow Central on the Victoria line. Wood Street and Walthamstow Central are on London Overground line running from Chingford to Liverpool Street or Leyton Midland Road is on the London Overground line running from Barking to Gospel Oak.

Leytonstone can be reached within a 29 minute walk from the main entrance of Whipps Cross Hospital, the main entrance is the furthest away it will take less time to reach other departments as the hospital is spread across a large area and the main entrance is the furthest away from the direction of Leytonstone.

Alternatively it is possible to cycle to these stations or use one of the bus services operating within the vicinity of the site.

Walthamstow Central can be reached within a 33 minute walk and Wood Street can be reached in an 11 minute walk from the main entrance of Whipps Cross Hospital. Alternatively it is possible to cycle to these stations or use one of the bus services operating within the vicinity of the site.

A number of these bus services provide connections to local underground and overground railway stations, the W15 and W19 stop at Leytonstone tube station (Central line), the 230 goes to Wood Street (Overground) and the 20, 230, 257, 357, W12, W15 and W19 all stop at Walthamstow Central (Victoria and Overground).

Freedom passes

Older persons Freedom Pass- The Freedom Pass for older people allows free travel across London and free local bus journeys nationally.

Disabled persons Freedom Pass- The travel pass for disabled people allows free travel across London and free bus journeys nationally. You can use your pass on most journeys across London but there are a few exceptions to when and where you can use your card.

A 60+ London Oyster photocard- allows you to travel free on public transport in London from the age of 60 until you qualify for a Freedom Pass. To be eligible for a 60+ London Oyster photocard, you must: Live in a London borough and be aged 60 or over.

To find out more about the above listed Freedom passes visit the London Councils website.

By car or taxi

Parking on the hospital site is limited; we encourage patients and visitors not to travel by car wherever this is possible. The main entrance to the hospital is on Whipps Cross Road (the A114) between the Whipps Cross roundabout and the Green Man roundabout. There are approximately 400 parking spaces for patients and visitors on the site - located in four visitor car parks. Car parks one and two are located just off Hospital Road. The best route to these car parks is via the main entrance on Whipps Cross Road.

• Car park one should be used for the main entrance, chest clinic and MRI.
• Car park two should be used for main entrance, eye treatment centre and plane tree centre.
• Car park three is located just off Hospital Road, but is located behind the maternity unit. The best route to this car park is via the James Lane entrance. This car park should be used for maternity, antenatal, and outpatients.
• Car park four located near the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. This car park is in high demand, and space availability is limited. 

Pay and display machines are available in all car park areas. Please ensure your ticket is clearly displayed in the windscreen:

• Up to two hours: £2.50
• Up to four hours: £4.00
• Up to six hours: £6.00
• Up to eight hours: £8.00
• Up to 24 hours: £15.00

There are also a number of places which may be used for dropping off or picking up patients. They can be found in the following locations:

• Opposite the maternity main entrance - three drop-off bays for women in labour or partners collecting mothers and babies. These are clearly marked.
• Emergency and urgent care centre drop off - there are four bays located opposite the entrance. These have a time limit of 10 minutes maximum to drop off patients. Drivers must then return to their vehicles and park in a visitors car park (the nearest is car park one).

Infopoint help-points allow you to make free calls to taxi companies and public transport information lines to arrange your journey home. There are infopoints located at the Main entrance, Antenatal, Eye Clinic, Urgent Care Centre and Outpatients at Whipps Cross Hospital.

Blue badge holders

We provide 69 designated parking spaces for patients and visitors with blue badges, conveniently located across all parking areas and clearly indicated. Our car parking team routinely monitors these areas to ensure proper usage — blue badges should be clearly displayed where possible. It's important to note that blue badge holders are exempt from parking fees in these designated spaces.

Refunds of hospital transport costs 

You may be able to claim a refund for the cost of your transport to hospital through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) if you:

• are not eligible for patient transport services (PTS)
• cannot afford the cost of travelling to hospital
• cannot get a friend or relative to take you

Refer to Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) for more information on who is eligible, what the conditions are and how you can access the scheme.

By bike

We encourage visitors, staff and patients living nearby to cycle to the hospital if possible. Cycle parking facilities are available around the hospital.

The hospital appears on TfL’s Local Cycling Guide 4. You can order this guide for free by calling 0343 222 1234.

OFO dockless bike sharing operates in the London borough of Waltham Forest, you can find our OFO bike location at the main entrance of the hospital. For access to these bikes download the OFO app.

Finding your way around Whipps Cross Hospital

Download a map of the hospital [pdf] 2MB