How to get to Notting Hill Carnival 2025: transport guide for legendary London event

The August bank holiday weekend is upon us, and that means one thing – London’s mightiest, most colourful street party is back. Notting Hill Carnival 2025 will see million (yes, millions) of partiers flocking to west London donning feathers, big bold sequins and tributes to their cultures, ready to dance the day away.

Public transport will inevitably be packed on Sunday and Monday as people make their way to the event. Plus, tubes and buses in the area will be running slightly differently to normal. There’ll be road closures and certain Underground stations running on an exit-only basis.

To make sure you get to and from Notting Hill without a hitch this weekend, here’s everything you need to know about travelling to Carnival 2025 by tube, train, bus or bike hire.

RECOMMENDED:
🎶 Time Out’s ultimate guide to 2025 Notting Hill Carnival.
🔎 The history of Notting Hill Carnival.
📍 Full Carnival parade route and map.
⏱️ Carnival schedule and timings.
⛔️ Notting Hill Carnival 2025 road closures.

Tube 

The Central line towards Notting Hill will get very, very busy as thousands head to the carnival. To avoid that, TfL says that the best option is to get the tube or Elizabeth line to Paddington then walk around 20 minutes to Notting Hill from there.

If you’re coming from east London, you can head to Liverpool Street, then take the Lizzie line to Paddington. From west London, you can take the Central line and get off at Shepherd’s Bush station, which is a 20-minute walk away.

The following stations around Notting Hill will be closed or partly closed on Sunday and Monday:

• Ladbroke Grove: Closed all day
• Latimer Road: Could temporarily close for short periods and will fully shut at 11.30pm
• Notting Hill Gate: Exit only from 11am to 6pm and District and Circle line trains won’t stop
• Westbourne Park: Exit only from 11am
• Holland Park: Exit only from 11am to 3pm and closes at 3pm
• Royal Oak: Exit only from 11am to 6pm and closes at 6pm 
• Kensal Green: Long queues expected outside the station in the afternoon and evening
• Kensal Rise: Chamberlayne Road entrance closes at 6pm, after which there’ll be a queuing system outside the Station Terrace entrance

Here’s a handy map from TfL of the closed stations and the walking route from Paddington. 

National Rail 

The best stations for National Rail users to travel to will be either Paddington or Liverpool Street. From Paddington you can walk to the carnival and from Liverpool Street you can get either the Elizabeth line, Central line, Hammersmith and City or Circle line. 

Bus 

Buses won’t be running through the carnival area. Those to the north of the carnival will start from the Prince of Wales pub on Harrow Road and those to the south will start at Notting Hill Gate. 

There will be a few special bus services in operation to help get people to and from the carnival. The 148X will call at Shepherd's Bush, Notting Hill Gate, Marble Arch and Victoria from 10am to 5.30pm; the 7X to Paddington will call at all stops between East Acton and Wood Lane, then Shepherd's Bush, Notting Hill Gate, Lancaster Gate and Paddington between 12pm and 9.30pm; and the 6X will call at all stops between Peckham and Vauxhall, then run non-stop to Harrow Road.

E-bikes/scooters

TfL advices against getting to carnival by e-bike or scooter. The Santander Cycles (aka Boris bikes) docking stations around the carnival area will be suspended from 8am on Saturday until Tuesday and there will be temporary access and parking restrictions on dockless e-bike and e-scooter schemes in the area. 

Car 

TfL’s advise is not to bother trying to get to the festival by car or taxi. All of Notting Hill’s Roads will be closed throughout the bank holiday weekend, so you’ll still have to walk a fair way to get to the heart of the action. 

See all of London’s tube and train closures for the August bank holiday weekend. 

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