SoloBay
David Vaughan on SoloBay
I ride a Royal Enfield out of St Albans, visiting independent coffee shops across Hertfordshire, London and beyond. I photograph every stop myself and sit down with the owners to learn what makes their shop unique, then write it up alongside notes on where to park a motorcycle.
motorcyclegrounds.com and @motorcyclegrounds
Why his picks are on the map
A scraped directory tells you a cafe exists. Somebody who has ridden there tells you whether you can leave a bike outside it without worrying. Those are different things, and the second one is worth putting a name to.
Motorcycle Grounds is where these come from. SoloBay carries 30 of David's cafes, each one on the map with the parking note he wrote and a link straight back to his own write-up. Open any of them in the app and the card says who found it.
The cafes
30 in SoloBay today, and he adds more every month. Cafe names link to his write-ups.
Hertfordshire
| Cafe | District | Parking |
|---|---|---|
| Bean & Gone Coffee | East Hertfordshire | Free just outside |
| Brad & Dills | St Albans | Free in the London Road car park opposite |
| Brew Garden | East Hertfordshire | Free at Gascoyne Way Car Park |
| Café Roma | St Albans | Free bays on Civic Close (about four bikes) |
| Charlie's | St Albans | Free for 30 minutes outside (PayByPhone) |
| Coffee Lab | East Hertfordshire | Free at Gascoyne Way Car Park |
| Coffee Lab (Hitchin) | North Hertfordshire | On the street just across the road |
| Courtroom Café | St Albans | Dedicated bays on Russell Avenue (about ten bikes) |
| Cult Club Coffee | East Hertfordshire | 30 minutes free on Fore Street |
| Level Ground | North Hertfordshire | Beside the outdoor seating; Euro Car Park a short walk away |
| Mudlarks Garden Cafe | East Hertfordshire | Free at Gascoyne Way Car Park |
| Ocean Bells Coffee | Watford | Free at King Street near the McDonald's |
| Proto Artisan Bakery | East Hertfordshire | Free at Gascoyne Way Car Park |
| Simba Bru Coffee | Watford | Sutton Road Car Park (free for motorcycles) |
| Sustain Coffee Co | Welwyn Hatfield | Bays in Salisbury Square outside, two hours free |
| The LP Café | Watford | Free just outside |
| The Reading Rooms | St Albans | Dedicated bays on Russell Avenue (about ten bikes) |
| Unit Vii | Three Rivers | Free just outside |
| Viento Coffee Company | Watford | Free for two hours on Leavesden Road |
London
| Cafe | District | Parking |
|---|---|---|
| Gramos | Camden | Motorcycle bay on nearby Chalton Street |
| Holy Grain & Brew | Haringey | Free on Ashley Road in any residential, shared-use or Pay-by-Phone bay |
| Kayan Specialty Coffee | Brent | Free bay on Winchester Avenue |
| Old Spike | Southwark | Free on the Great Suffolk Street motorcycle bay |
| Saint Nine | Southwark | Free on Lavington Street |
| Velasquez and Van Wezel | Haringey | Free parking on Elder Avenue |
Further afield
| Cafe | District | Parking |
|---|---|---|
| Asylum Coffee | Swindon | Free just outside |
| The Mixing Shed Café | Uttlesford | Free just outside |
| Wooden Hill Coffee Haynes | Bedford | Free just outside |
| Wooden Hill Coffee Maulden | Central Bedfordshire | Free just outside |
| Yellow Bourbon Coffee Roasters | West Northamptonshire | Free just outside |
Find them in the app
Open the web app, tap Cafes, then Curator picks to see only these. Every card carries the parking note and a link to the write-up.
Open the free web appMore: our partners and content credits, motorcycle parking in London.
Cafe details are Motorcycle Grounds's own, carried with permission and credited on every card. Positions are placed from the postcode, so a pin can sit a building or two from the door. Read the originals at motorcyclegrounds.com.