Guildford's multi storeys are £4.30 for three hours and £17.20 all day, and free if you arrive between 5pm and 6pm. Sunday is a charging day, 11am to 5pm.

Parking in Guildford costs more or less depending on one choice: whether you use a surface car park charged by the hour or a multi storey charged in blocks. For a quick half hour the hourly car parks win easily. For anything past three hours the blocks take over. And there is a free window most people never notice, between 5pm and 6pm, when arriving at one of the big multi storeys costs nothing at all. This guide sets out every council car park, the tariffs that took effect on 1 April 2026, the honest position on park and ride, and how blue badges, permits and penalty notices work here.

All the car parks below are run by Guildford Borough Council unless stated. On street parking is a different matter entirely, and is handled by Surrey County Council.

The 2026 tariffs

Charges rose on 1 April 2026 under a formal variation notice signed on 6 March 2026 (car park fees from 1 April 2026). The council splits its car parks into two pricing groups.

Guildford council car park charges from 1 April 2026
StayHourly car parksMulti storeys and larger surface car parks
Up to 3 hours£2.10 per hour or part hour£4.30 flat
3 to 6 hours£2.60 per hour or part hour£8.60 flat
Over 6 hours£2.60 per hour or part hour£17.20 flat
Evening flat rate£2.10£2.10

The hourly group is Bedford Road surface, Bright Hill, Upper High Street, Leapale Road and Mary Road, plus the weekend only car parks at Lawn Road, Millmead House, Portsmouth Road, Robin Hood and St Joseph’s.

The block priced group is Bedford Road multi storey, Castle multi storey, G Live, Millbrook and Tunsgate.

What it means for you: an hour costs £2.10 either way, so for a quick errand it makes no difference. At two hours the hourly car parks are £4.20 against £4.30, still level. Past three hours the maths flips hard: four hours in an hourly car park runs to £8.90 while the multi storey caps at £8.60, and a full working day is £17.20 in a multi storey against considerably more on the meter.

Sundays are not free

This is the single most common misunderstanding about parking in Guildford. Sunday is a charging day, from 11am to 5pm, at the same rates as the rest of the week. The only day the council names as excluded from charging is Boxing Day.

The evening free window

Between 6pm and 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 5pm to 10pm on Sunday, every charging car park drops to a flat £2.10. Better than that, the council’s own notice states that the multi storeys and larger surface car parks are free if you arrive and pay between 5pm and 6pm Monday to Saturday, or between 4pm and 5pm on Sunday. Time your arrival into that hour and an evening out costs nothing to park for.

Outside 10pm to 8am there is no published charge band, and most town centre car parks are open 24 hours.

Do you pay after 6pm on a Sunday?

Yes, in the town centre multi storeys, and this is the detail people get wrong most often. Sunday charging at Bedford Road multi storey, Castle, G Live, Millbrook and Tunsgate runs 11am to 10pm, so 6pm on a Sunday sits inside the charging window. What changes at 5pm is the price, not the requirement: from 5pm to 10pm on a Sunday you pay the flat £2.10 evening rate rather than the block tariff, so an evening arrival is £2.10 whether you stay one hour or four.

The way to pay nothing is to arrive earlier, not later. At those same car parks, arriving and paying between 4pm and 5pm on a Sunday is free, and that ticket covers you into the evening. Miss the window and it is £2.10.

Three exceptions are genuinely free on a Sunday evening:

  • Guildford Park, Guildford Park Road, is free all day Sunday.
  • Walnut Tree Close, Woodbridge Meadows, is free at weekends.
  • Ash Vale Station is free at weekends.

And after 10pm on any night there is no published charge band at all, so a car left in a town centre car park overnight from 10pm is not being charged for those hours.

What it means for you: for a Sunday evening in town, either arrive in the 4pm to 5pm free window, pay the flat £2.10, or walk in from Walnut Tree Close for nothing.

The car parks

Multi storeys and shopper car parks

All open 24 hours, charging 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 10pm Sunday, on the block tariff.

  • Bedford Road multi storey, Bedford Road, GU1 4SJ. Twelve disabled bays on level 3, and the borough’s Shopmobility service is based here.
  • Castle multi storey, Sydenham Road, GU1 3RW. A barrier car park.
  • G Live, Dene Road, GU1 4DD.
  • Millbrook, Millbrook, GU1 3XJ.
  • Tunsgate, Castle Street, GU1 3UW. A barrier car park.

Short stay, hourly

  • Bedford Road surface, Bedford Road, GU1 4SJ.
  • Leapale Road multi storey, Leapale Road, GU1 4JX. Six electric vehicle chargers on level 1, the most of any council car park.
  • Upper High Street, Eastgate Gardens, GU1 4AZ.
  • Mary Road, Mary Road, GU1 4QU.
  • Bright Hill, Bright Hill, GU1 3RU. Permit holders only Monday to Friday; open to everyone at weekends.
  • North Street, North Street, GU1 4AF. Watch this one. It is open 24 hours on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, until 10pm on Thursday, and closed on Friday and Saturday for the market.

Long stay

  • Guildford Park, Guildford Park Road, GU2 7NF. £5 per visit 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, free after 6pm and free all day Sunday. The council has flagged a proposed development here from June 2026, so check before relying on it.
  • Walnut Tree Close, Woodbridge Meadows, GU1 4UX. £3.20 per visit 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, free after 6pm and at weekends.
  • Shalford Park, Shalford Road, GU4 8AA. £3.20 per visit, open Monday to Friday 8am to 10pm, closed at weekends.
  • Farnham Road multi storey, Guildford Park Road, GU2 7NP. A barrier car park with an early bird discount if you are parked before 7am Monday to Saturday. The council does not publish the early bird price, so ask at the machine.
  • York Road multi storey, Denmark Road, GU1 4DS. A barrier car park.

Out of town

  • Ash Vale Station, Station Approach, GU12 5LP. £1 per visit 7am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, free after 4pm and at weekends.
  • Station Parade, East Horsley, Ockham Road South, KT24 6QN. Free, three hours maximum, no return the same day.

What it means for you: at £3.20 a day, Walnut Tree Close is the cheapest all day parking in Guildford by a wide margin, and free after 6pm and all weekend. The trade off is the walk in from Woodbridge Meadows. Guildford Park at £5 is the next step up and closer to the station.

Park and ride: two sites, not four

Guildford’s park and ride is now presented as a Surrey County Council service, and only two of the four sites are running. Parking at the site is free; you pay for the bus (Guildford park and ride).

  • Artington, Old Portsmouth Road, GU3 1LP. Services 70, 71 and 72, seven days a week, roughly every 20 minutes, eight minutes into town.
  • Merrow, Epsom Road, GU4 7AA. Service 300, Monday to Saturday, 7.30am to 7.45pm, roughly every 30 minutes, twelve minutes into town. The waiting room and toilets at Merrow are currently out of use.

Spectrum and Onslow are both suspended. Surrey County Council states this plainly on its own page and gives no reopening date, so do not plan around either.

Fares, as last updated by the county council in July 2025 and operated by Stagecoach: a park and ride DayRider is £4 from the driver, an adult single is £2.20 from Artington or £2.60 from Merrow, and up to two children under 16 travel free with each adult. There is a 7 day MegaRider at £16, a 28 day at £56, and a group DayRider for up to four people at £8. Prices change, so check with Stagecoach before you travel.

Blue badge parking

The rule in Guildford has an exception that catches people out. Blue badge holders can park free and without a time limit in the council’s pay and display car parks, but normal charges apply in the barrier, pay on foot car parks (blue badge parking). The barrier car parks are Castle, Farnham Road, Tunsgate and York Road.

Marked disabled bays are spread across the estate: 12 at Bedford Road multi storey, 10 each at Castle and York Road, 8 at G Live, 7 at Leapale Road, 4 at Farnham Road, and 3 each at Bright Hill, Millbrook and Millmead House.

On street blue badge parking is managed by Surrey County Council, not the borough.

Permits, season tickets and Auto-Pay

  • Season tickets are sold for three multi storeys and issued digitally against your registration. Farnham Road and York Road are £2,226.40 a year for five days a week or £2,670.80 for six. Bedford Road is £2,504.70 for five days (pre-pay parking).
  • Contract parking at ten sites was priced from 1 April 2025 at £2,864.40 for Monday to Friday, £3,437.50 for Monday to Saturday and £573.10 for Saturdays only, running on an April to March year with one month’s notice to cancel (contract parking).
  • Auto-Pay replaced the old pre-payment card. It works at the four barrier car parks, charges you automatically after each visit and gives a 10% discount on the standard tariff (Auto-Pay digital permits).

What it means for you: a five day season ticket at Farnham Road works out around £8.60 a working day, which is only worth it if you would otherwise pay the £17.20 all day rate five times a week. If you park two or three days a week, Auto-Pay’s 10% is the better deal.

How to pay, and what happens if you get a ticket

Every council car park takes coins, cards and contactless. Most also take pay by phone through RingGo or NPP, which lets you extend a session from your phone, and RingGo adds a small fee on top of the parking charge (phone and pay parking). The four barrier car parks are the exception: they use automatic number plate recognition and do not offer pay by phone, though they do take coins, cards, day passes and Auto-Pay.

If you do get a penalty charge notice, the first thing to check is the reference number. One starting GU came from Guildford Borough Council and relates to a car park. One starting RR came from Surrey County Council and relates to on street parking, which is a different authority and a different appeal route (challenge a parking fine).

Borough penalties are £50 for a lower level contravention and £70 for a higher one, halved if you pay within 14 days, or 21 days for a postal notice. There is a 10 minute grace period for overstaying. If an informal challenge is rejected you can make formal representations, and beyond that the case goes to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Station parking and electric vehicles

Guildford railway station car parks are run by APCOA, not the council. South Western Railway publishes the rates for the two station car parks: the 250 space Premium at £15.50 peak, £10.50 on Saturday and £4 on Sunday and bank holidays, and the 77 space Standard at £11.00 peak, £6.00 on Saturday and £2.00 on Sunday and bank holidays. Do not confuse the station’s Farnham Road long stay with the council’s own Farnham Road multi storey; they are separate car parks with separate operators. If you are parking to catch a train, times, routes and season ticket costs are in our Guildford to London trains guide; if you are driving in while the A3 closures are on, check Guildford roadworks and travel first.

Electric vehicle chargers are installed at nine council sites, including both running park and ride sites. Electricity is charged at £0.25 per kWh for Mobility Energy Retail members and £0.30 pay as you go. Note the catch the council spells out: you still have to buy a parking ticket while your vehicle charges (information for EV drivers).

If you are visiting for a longer stay, our guides to Guildford bin collections and council tax bands cover the two things new residents ask about most.

Frequently asked questions

Is parking free in Guildford on Sundays?

No. Sunday is a charging day from 11am to 5pm at the same rates as the rest of the week. Boxing Day is the only day the council names as excluded from charging.

Do you have to pay in a Guildford multi storey after 6pm on a Sunday?

Yes. Sunday charging at Bedford Road multi storey, Castle, G Live, Millbrook and Tunsgate runs 11am to 10pm, so 6pm is still a charging hour. From 5pm the price drops to a flat £2.10 for the evening. Arriving and paying between 4pm and 5pm on a Sunday is free at those car parks, and there is no published charge band after 10pm. Guildford Park and Walnut Tree Close are free all day Sunday.

When is parking free in Guildford?

Arrive and pay between 5pm and 6pm Monday to Saturday, or between 4pm and 5pm on Sunday, and parking at Bedford Road multi storey, Castle, G Live, Millbrook and Tunsgate is free. Outside those windows the evening rate is a flat £2.10 until 10pm, and there is no charge band published between 10pm and 8am.

Where is the cheapest all day parking in Guildford?

Walnut Tree Close at £3.20 per visit, 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and free after 6pm and at weekends. Guildford Park is £5 per visit and free all day Sunday. In the town centre itself, a multi storey caps at £17.20 for over six hours.

Is Guildford park and ride still running?

Partly. Artington runs seven days a week and Merrow runs Monday to Saturday. The Spectrum and Onslow sites are both suspended, with no reopening date published by Surrey County Council.

Do blue badge holders pay for parking in Guildford?

Not in the council’s pay and display car parks, where badge holders park free with no time limit. Normal charges do apply in the pay on foot barrier car parks: Castle, Farnham Road, Tunsgate and York Road.

Who do I appeal a Guildford parking ticket to?

Check the reference. A number starting GU is a borough car park penalty and goes to Guildford Borough Council. A number starting RR is an on street penalty and goes to Surrey County Council. Both allow an informal challenge, then formal representations, then the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Sources

Tariffs are those published by Guildford Borough Council as effective from 1 April 2026, checked on 4 August 2026. Charges are normally reviewed each April, and the council’s own notice says unlisted charges remain unchanged until further notice, so read the sign before you pay.