In 1969 a young David Bowie ran a folk club in the back room of the Three Tuns pub on Beckenham High Street, and that August he organised a free festival at the bandstand in Croydon Road Recreation Ground. The bandstand is still there, and so is a lot of the leafy, comfortable town he wrote about. Beckenham is known now for its schools, its sports clubs and its parks. Minibus hire Beckenham customers book is mostly church weddings and family celebrations, school sport and trips, cricket and sports club days, and Gatwick runs.
Beckenham sits in the north-west of Bromley borough, between Penge and Crystal Palace to the west, Shortlands and Bromley to the east, and Eden Park and West Wickham to the south. From our base in SE1, it's about forty to fifty minutes outside the rush hour, via Camberwell and Catford or through Brixton and Norwood.
Minibus hire Beckenham for weddings
St George's, the large Victorian church at the top of the High Street, is one of several churches in Beckenham that host weddings, and couples also marry at the borough's register office in Bromley. Receptions are often at golf clubs, hotels and country venues in Bromley and Kent.
The minibus collects guests from their homes or a hotel, drops at St George's, carries on to the reception and does the late run home. The High Street outside the church is busy and has limited stopping, so we'll agree a drop-off by the church gate and a waiting point nearby. Minibus hire Beckenham couples book often includes an early run for the bridal party and a separate loop for the guests.
Langley Park and school fixtures
Beckenham has several large secondary schools, among them the two Langley Park schools, and a lot of primaries, and school sport is a big part of the week. Teams travel to fixtures across Bromley, Croydon and Kent, and to county and national finals.
Squads, coaches and kit all travel in one vehicle, and the driver waits at the ground. Schools also book us for museum visits, theatre trips, swimming and residential trips. The Horniman Museum in Forest Hill is about fifteen minutes away, and the South Kensington museums about an hour.
Cricket, clubs and the county ground
The County Ground at Beckenham is one of Kent's grounds, and it hosts county cricket, women's internationals and age-group matches. Beckenham also has cricket, rugby, hockey, tennis and football clubs with junior sections, and they book us for away fixtures, tournaments and tours.
For a cricket day, the minibus takes the team, the bags and the coffins of kit to the ground, and comes back at the close of play. Minibus hire Beckenham clubs book for junior tournaments often involves several age groups on the same day, and we can stagger the runs.
Kelsey Park and Beckenham Place Park
Kelsey Park, just off the High Street, has a lake with herons, a play area and woodland walks, and nurseries and primary schools use it for outings. Beckenham Place Park, just over the boundary in Lewisham, is a large park with ancient woodland, a Georgian mansion and a swimming lake that opens in the warmer months.
Croydon Road Recreation Ground, with Bowie's bandstand, hosts summer events. For a school or youth group, we'll drop at the park gates and collect at the time you give us.
The High Street and nights out
Beckenham High Street has a long run of restaurants, bars and cafés, and on Friday and Saturday evenings it's one of the busiest spots in the area for a birthday dinner or a night out. Groups also head to Bromley or into central London.
The driver will collect from homes across Beckenham, Eden Park and Elmers End, drop at the restaurant and come back at the agreed time, with the drop-offs at the end in a sensible order.
Gatwick and the roads
Gatwick is about forty-five minutes to an hour from Beckenham outside the rush hour, via West Wickham and the A232, then the A22 or the M25 and the M23. Heathrow is about an hour and a quarter, Stansted about an hour and a quarter or more, and London City about forty minutes.
Beckenham High Street is narrow in places, with buses, parked cars and pedestrian crossings, and the junctions at Beckenham Junction station and Kent House are busy at peak times. Pickups on the High Street itself are difficult, so we'll agree a point on a side road. Beckenham Junction is also a tram stop, with trams to Croydon and Wimbledon, and its forecourt is a handy meeting point for groups arriving by train. For Gatwick runs, the roads south through West Wickham and Addington are slow at school times, so we'll plan around them.
For minibus hire in Beckenham, call 020 7183 0567.