Man completes six-year challenge to park in every space at his local Sainsbury’s – ‘it was my Magnum Opus!’

A man has gone viral on social media after completing a six-year challenge to park in every car parking space at his local Sainsbury’s.

Gareth Wild 39, from Bromley, south-east London, said he decided to take on the challenge at the Walters Yard location after noticing his preference for certain spots.

What followed was a thorough mapping of the 211 spots available to him – with disability spaces and motorcycle bays excluded – dividing the spaces into categories A-F.

How did he complete the challenge?

Wild completed his challenge on Saturday 24 April by slotting his Skoda Octavia into F20, which he described as “a pig to get in”.

“This week I completed my Magnum Opus!” he tweeted.

“For the last six years I’ve kept a spreadsheet listing every parking spot I’ve used at the local supermarket in a bid to park in them all. It kind of feels like the old Panini sticker albums, but a really boring version of it,” the production director said.

“It’s a collector’s thing I suppose.”

He added: “I don’t want to make out this was too big a deal, but there was a moment of elation.

“It sort of goes from ‘going to do it, going to do it…’ to ‘did it. Oh, I’m disappointed now’. Because the moment is done.”

‘C1 is just gold dust’

His thread detailing the challenge has received tens of thousands of interactions, including hundreds of replies and questions from people wanting to know what the best space in the car park was, among other things.

“It turns out there’s a lot of questions about car parks,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thread on Twitter where it’s been so unanimously positive.

“I don’t expect that from Twitter, because usually it’s a cesspit. So it’s been refreshing, and it’s certainly been a really fun 24 hours.

“The best space is… I mean comfortably you’ve got to be looking at C1. C1 is just gold dust. The moment you come in through the gates it’s the first thing you really sort of see as a space.”

Wild used three motors over the years to complete the car park – a Ford Puma, a Honda Jazz, and the Skoda Octavia.

“While a lot of people would mock the Jazz, it is actually a fantastic car,” he said. “(It is) perfectly designed, and great for parking because it’s a big glass box – you can see everywhere.”

Will he do it again?

The car park completionist also shared the wisdom he has accrued, advising people to allow for good access to their boot when doing a big shop, and to stay away from trolley bays where possible.

Wild said his wife is “always really supportive” while daughter Aubrey, four, regularly joins her dad on parking missions.

“It sort of became a thing that we would do – having her along is a bit like daddy daughter time, you know?”

He also described car parks as “a good snapshot of English life”.

“You get all sorts of people coming in and mingling,” he said. “Some of them park like arseholes, some of them just obey the rules and follow the signs.

“There’s always interesting people around – Bromley has got its fair share of characters. I just like being out and about and seeing those people.”

On Twitter, Wild said that a Lidl close to where he lives has the potential for a repeat attempt.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.