Bloomsbury by Car: Squares, Museums and University Streets

A grid that does not behave like one

On paper Bloomsbury is the most rational street plan in central London: a sequence of squares linked by straight terraces. In practice the squares interrupt movement rather than assist it. Several have one-way circulations, some have closed sides, and the terraces between them are lined with permit bays and pay bays that leave a single running lane. A journey from Russell Square to Bedford Square covers a few hundred metres and can take a surprising number of turns.

The museum and its coach problem

The British Museum sits behind Great Russell Street, a narrow two-way street with very little available kerb. Tour coaches set down and pick up in the area throughout the day, and when several arrive together the street effectively stops. The rear entrance on Montague Place is calmer and gives a much better arrival, particularly in school holidays when the front entrance queue spills onto the pavement.

Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Avenue and Museum Street all sit within a short walk. Of those, Bedford Avenue is usually the most workable for a set-down because it takes less through traffic than the others.

Hospital streets and appointment arrivals

The children's hospital on Great Ormond Street and the specialist hospitals around Queen Square generate a steady flow of appointment traffic. Great Ormond Street itself is narrow and heavily restricted, and Queen Square is a quiet, largely enclosed space with limited access. For a hospital appointment the sensible arrangement is a set-down at the entrance, the car holding at a distance, and a message when you are ready, because appointment times in these buildings are indicative rather than exact.

• Lamb's Conduit Street and Guilford Street for the Great Ormond Street area
• Southampton Row for anything on the eastern side of the district
• Woburn Place for the hotels and the Russell Square frontage

University buildings and term-time rhythm

Malet Street, Gower Street, Torrington Place and Byng Place carry the university estate, and the pattern there follows the academic year rather than the working week. Term-time mornings and late afternoons bring heavy pedestrian movement across the carriageway. The Gower Street and Tottenham Court Road pair has been reworked in recent years, so assumptions about which way each runs and what is permitted along them should be checked rather than remembered.

The Euston Road edge

Euston Road forms the northern boundary and is a red route carrying three mainline stations worth of traffic. Nothing stops on it. Addresses near Euston, St Pancras and King's Cross are reached from the station approaches or from the streets behind, such as Judd Street, Argyle Street and Gordon Street. When the Euston Road corridor is congested, Guilford Street and Theobald's Road running east to west inside Bloomsbury are frequently the faster option.

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