A west London local with a wing-by-wing visits puzzle
HMP Wormwood Scrubs, PO Box 757, Du Cane Road, London W12 0AE. GOV.UK (updated 6 July 2026) lists Governor Amy Frost, telephone 020 8588 3200, and about 1,200 men in mixed single and shared cells on wings A to E plus smaller units. It is a Category B local for adult men — court traffic, newly sentenced, the usual churn of a city jail.
Education listed on the official page includes English, maths, ICT, ESOL, catering, customer service, barbering and rail-track laying. That is the prison’s public pitch. Your problem as a visitor is more often the timetable.
You need the wing, not just the prison
Book online or on 0300 060 6511, Monday to Friday 09:00–15:00 (GOV.UK, 6 July 2026). Book at least two days ahead. Visitors more than half an hour late are not admitted — official wording, not ours.
Weekdays are wing-specific: Monday A, Tuesday B, Wednesday C, Thursday rotating B/D, Friday E. Saturdays rotate A+B versus D+E. Sundays are either C wing or a family development session. Ask the prisoner which wing he is on before you spend a booking. Email Visitbooking.wormwoodscrubs@justice.gov.uk for problems; they say three working days to reply.
PACT’s centre: 020 8735 0595, wormwoodscrubs@prisonadvice.org.uk. Open Monday–Thursday 08:00–17:00, Friday 08:00–13:00, Saturday 08:00–17:00, Sunday 13:00–17:00. Tuck shop is contactless only. The dress-code list on GOV.UK is long (no football shirts, no Hoodrich, no cargo trousers, no smart watches). Read it.
East Acton, then a ten-minute walk
GOV.UK: ten minutes from East Acton Underground, Paddington the nearest mainline, buses along the road. You can pay-and-display on the street at certain times; there is no visitor parking inside the prison. Hammersmith & Fulham’s parking pages are the source for hours and prices.
Visiting times (from the official page)
Copied from the official HMP Wormwood Scrubs guidance. Re-check that page before you travel — slots move.
| When | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | A wing 09:00–11:00 and 14:00–16:00 |
| Tuesday | B wing 09:00–11:00 |
| Wednesday | C wing 09:00–11:00 and 14:00–16:00 |
| Thursday | Alternates by week between B and D wings (see GOV.UK) |
| Friday | E wing 09:00–11:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00–11:00 and 14:00–16:00 (week 1: A+B; week 2: D+E) |
| Sunday | 14:00–16:00 (week 1: C wing; week 2: family development session) |
Questions about HMP Wormwood Scrubs
- Why was my Saturday visit the wrong wing?
- Wormwood Scrubs splits weekend slots by wing and by week. Confirm the wing with the prisoner and read the current GOV.UK grid before you book.
- Do parcels need a sticker?
- GOV.UK says book parcels need a prison sticker (except books-only). Stickers come from the prisoner. Wrong or missing stickers are returned. Prefer Parcelforce as the prison requests.