Erith Pier, stretching out into the Thames from the town centre, is the longest pier in London, and from its end you can watch ships heading upriver to the docks and downriver to the sea. Erith was a busy river port and industrial town, and it still feels like the edge of London, with the Dartford Crossing a few minutes east and Kent beyond. Minibus hire Erith customers book is mostly about getting out of London, with day trips into Kent and over the crossing, along with riverside events, theatre nights, school trips and family celebrations.
Erith sits in the north-east of Bexley, on the Thames, between Belvedere, Slade Green, Northumberland Heath and the river. From our base in SE1, it's about forty-five minutes to an hour outside the rush hour, along the A2 or the A206.
Minibus hire Erith for Kent days out
From Erith, the M25 and the A2 open up all of Kent. Bluewater is about fifteen minutes away, Chatham Historic Dockyard about forty, Rochester and its castle and cathedral about forty, Leeds Castle about forty-five, and the coast at Whitstable, Margate and Broadstairs about an hour and a quarter. Canterbury is about an hour. For a family birthday, Diggerland in Strood, Howletts wildlife park near Canterbury and the beaches at Herne Bay make a good day out, and senior groups often prefer a garden visit, such as Sissinghurst or Great Comp, with lunch and an early return.
Families, community groups, senior clubs, scout troops and youth groups book us for days like these, with the driver dropping at the venue, waiting or going off, and returning at the agreed time. Minibus hire Erith groups book for a seaside day usually leaves by nine to beat the traffic on the M2.
Over the Dartford Crossing
The Dartford Crossing, about ten minutes from Erith, takes the M25 under and over the Thames into Essex. Lakeside is about fifteen minutes beyond it, Southend about forty-five minutes, Colchester about an hour and Stansted about fifty minutes. Groups book us for shopping days at Lakeside, days out at Southend and runs to Stansted.
The crossing charge is paid online or by account, not at a booth, and if your trip crosses at Dartford, the charge goes on the quote. The crossing backs up quickly at peak times and after an incident, especially northbound in the evening, so for timed events or flights we'll allow a margin. Southbound traffic uses the bridge and northbound the tunnels, and high winds can close the bridge, which pushes everything into the tunnels.
The riverside and the Playhouse
Erith's Riverside Gardens and the pier make a pleasant walk, and the Thames Path runs west towards Crossness and Thamesmead and east towards Crayford Ness. Crossness Pumping Station, the ornate Victorian sewage works a short drive west, opens on steam days, and Lesnes Abbey Woods, with its ruins and fossil bed, is close by. Erith Playhouse, a community theatre, stages plays, musicals and a pantomime. The pier, reached from the riverside gardens, is a good spot for watching the shipping.
Schools, history groups, Brownies and theatre parties book us for all of them, and the pantomime is a favourite December outing for local primaries.
Churches, conventions and family events
Erith, Belvedere, Northumberland Heath and Slade Green have families from many backgrounds, including large Nigerian and Ghanaian communities and long-standing Kent and south London families, and churches, community groups and families book us for weddings, christenings, conventions and outings. Guests are picked up from homes across the area and taken to venues in Bexley and Kent. Pentecostal and African churches in Erith and Belvedere hold conventions and thanksgiving services, and congregations book us for trips to sister churches across the country.
Gatwick and the other airports
Gatwick is about forty-five minutes to an hour from Erith outside the rush hour, round the M25. London City is about thirty to forty minutes, through the Blackwall Tunnel or over the river at Woolwich. Stansted is about fifty minutes over the Dartford Crossing, and Heathrow about an hour and a quarter or more. Any tunnel or crossing charge goes on the quote. For early flights, the Bronze Age Way is clear before six, and the run to the M25 is quick.
Bronze Age Way and the town centre
The A206, Bronze Age Way, runs along the riverside past the town, and it's the main route to the Dartford Crossing and to Thamesmead. Erith's town centre has a one-way system around the shopping centre, and the roads up the hill to Northumberland Heath are narrow and lined with parked cars. Pickups happen on side roads or at an agreed point near the station, and for early starts we'll check the crossing before setting off.
For minibus hire in Erith, call 020 7183 0567.