Destinations & ItinerariesBy Clever Tourists · Published · Last updated
The Lord's Ashes Test runs from Wednesday 30 June to Sunday 4 July 2027, according to the ECB, and the best base is Marylebone: a 10 to 18 minute walk to the ground with a choice of stations that avoids the queues at St John's Wood. St John's Wood itself is closest but has few hotels; Paddington has the best airport link. Book early, because Wimbledon overlaps all five days and pulls on the same London hotel rooms. We were in London from 14 to 21 November 2023 and again from 2 to 3 December 2023, outside the cricket season, so the ground details below come from Lord's and the ECB.
This is the Rothesay Men's Ashes, 2nd Test, England v Australia, at Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood. The ECB's published schedule gives Wednesday 30 June to Sunday 4 July 2027, with an 11:00 start. The Oval hosts the final Test of the series on 29 July to 2 August; see our Oval Ashes guide.
If you have not been to a Test: it is one match played over up to five days, and tickets are normally sold by the day. Play is split into three sessions with breaks for lunch and tea, and usually finishes in the early evening. Rain stops play, so a day can be cut short. A Test can also finish early if one side wins, which means Day 4 or Day 5 may be short or may not happen. Check the refund terms on your ticket, and book a cancellable room if you only hold a Day 4 or Day 5 ticket.
The first two or three days are usually the safest bet for a full day's cricket. The last days can be the most dramatic, and also the least certain.
Lord's ran its public ballot from 2 September to 26 October 2026, so ballot entry is closed. First-round winners are told by email in early November and can buy from Tuesday 17 November 2026. Tickets they do not claim go to a second round of ballot entrants. General sale is Thursday 10 December 2026, for whatever is left. The limit for this Test is 2 tickets across the match, per Lord's. If you are reading this after 10 December 2026, go to the Lord's ticket page to see what remains.
The ECB's 2027 ticket page was still showing the ballot as open when we checked, which looks out of date against the Lord's page. Follow the Lord's dates.
Prices: Lord's does not list prices on its ballot page. ianVisits reported 2027 adult prices of £25 to £195 (≈ $33–261) for this Test, and press reports gave top London prices of £190 (≈ $254) and £185 (≈ $248) without saying which ground each referred to. Treat £25 to £195 (≈ $33–261) as a secondary-source guide to 2027 and confirm it on the Lord's ticket page.
Resale is far above that. TickPick listed Day 2 at about US$1,038 when we checked in October 2026. Lord's did not set that figure; it is a resale asking price.
Lord's gives these walking times, and they are worth planning around because the nearest station is the worst one after play.
Lord's advises against coming by car unless you need to for access reasons. Bus routes 13 and 113 run along Wellington Road on the east side of the ground, and 139 and 189 along Grove End Road on the west side. For step-free access, Lord's points to Marylebone rail station, linked to the ground by bus 113.
Pick your station by stand. Lord's suggests Warwick Avenue or Edgware Road for the Warner, Pavilion, Tavern and Allen stands; Baker Street for the Mound and Edrich; and St John's Wood for the Grand and Compton. Your ticket shows your stand.
From Heathrow: take the Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express to Paddington, then the Bakerloo line to Marylebone or walk about 20 minutes. Our Heathrow to the city guide compares the options. From Gatwick: take a train to London Bridge, then the Jubilee line direct to St John's Wood.
| Station | Lines | Walk | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Wood | Jubilee | 10 min | Often heavily congested, with a queuing system after play at major matches |
| Marylebone | Bakerloo, Chiltern Railways | About 10 to 12 min | Rail station is step-free |
| Warwick Avenue | Bakerloo | 17 min | Measured to the Tavern and Allen stands |
| Baker Street | Bakerloo, Circle, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City | 18 min | Signed walking route |
| Edgware Road | Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City | 20 min | |
| Paddington | Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, plus rail | 20 min |
This ranking is our judgement, based on time to the ground, then on what the area gives you after stumps. Walks from Marylebone and Paddington are Lord's figures. Anything marked roughly is our own estimate, so check it in the TfL Journey Planner against your actual hotel.
1. St John's Wood. Roughly 5 to 15 minutes on foot. You walk home and never see the tube queue. The catch: a wealthy residential area with few hotels, so these rooms go first.
2. Marylebone and Baker Street. 10 to 18 minutes on foot. Our pick for most visitors: good restaurants, and several stations that keep you away from St John's Wood. The catch: one of the areas most exposed to the Wimbledon overlap, because it is a popular central base anyway.
3. Paddington and Little Venice. About 20 minutes on foot. The best airport link in this list, and a wider choice of rooms. The catch: the streets right around the station are busy and ordinary. Little Venice, along the canal, is the nicer side.
4. Bayswater and Edgware Road. About 20 minutes on foot, or a short bus ride. Usually one of the lower-priced parts of this quarter, by our general impression; we have no rate data. The catch: older hotels here vary a lot, so read recent reviews.
5. South Bank and Southwark. Roughly 12 to 15 minutes on the Jubilee line to St John's Wood. The best sights and the most rooms of the five. The catch: you depend on the most crowded station after stumps, and its queue adds to the trip home.
If London is the main trip and the cricket is one or two days of it, base yourself by what else you want to do. Our where to stay in London guide compares the areas for a normal visit.
Wimbledon runs from 28 June to 11 July 2027 according to tennis calendars. We could not confirm this on the All England Club's own site, so check there. On those dates, all five days of the Lord's Test fall in the tournament's first week.
The two events do not share transport: Wimbledon is in south-west London, and Lord's is in the north-west. They do share hotel beds. Overseas visitors for both events look for central rooms in the same week, on top of normal summer tourism. We have no figures for how much that adds, so we will not guess at one, but it is a good reason to book as soon as your ticket is confirmed and not leave it for the spring.
The tennis overlap also makes a combined trip possible. If you hold tickets for both, the Paddington and Edgware Road end of this list is the natural base, because both have the District line, whose Wimbledon branch you can check in the journey planner. Our where to stay for Wimbledon guide covers the tennis side.
We have no sourced hotel rates for this Test, so this is about timing. Ballot winners learn their result in early November and general sale is on 10 December 2026, so that is when ticket holders start booking. A free-cancellation room in an area you like, booked before then, costs you nothing if your ticket does not come through.
Book the nights you hold tickets for, plus the night before. If you are flying home after a Day 5 ticket, leave the Monday free: stumps on Sunday 4 July could be in the evening, and an airport run after that is a risk not worth taking. If you are not from the UK, check the entry rules early; our UK ETA guide covers US citizens.
London's summer weather is changeable. Bring a layer and something for rain, even in July.
Wednesday 30 June to Sunday 4 July 2027, with an 11:00 start, according to the ECB. It is the second Test of the series.
Marylebone and Baker Street for most visitors: a 10 to 18 minute walk and several stations that avoid St John's Wood. St John's Wood is closest but has few hotels.
St John's Wood is about 10 minutes away but very congested, with a queuing system after play at major matches. Marylebone, Warwick Avenue, Baker Street, Edgware Road and Paddington are all within 20 minutes on foot.
The public ballot closed on 26 October 2026. General sale is Thursday 10 December 2026, per Lord's, with a limit of 2 tickets across the Test.
Tennis calendars give Wimbledon as 28 June to 11 July 2027, which overlaps all five days. The events do not share transport, but they do compete for central London hotel rooms, so book early.
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