Finchley is really three places, each with its own high street and its own station. East Finchley has the Phoenix, one of the oldest working cinemas in the country. Finchley Central, or Church End, has the old Avenue House estate and the shops along Regents Park Road. North Finchley has the artsdepot at Tally Ho Corner. What ties them together is schools, lots of them, and families. Minibus hire Finchley customers book is mostly school trips and sports fixtures, weddings and family celebrations, and runs to Luton and Heathrow.
The North Circular cuts across the south of Finchley, and the A1 and the Great North Way run up its western side. From our base in SE1, it's about forty-five minutes to an hour outside the rush hour, through Camden and up the Finchley Road or the Archway Road.
Minibus hire Finchley for school trips
Finchley has a large number of primary schools and several big secondary schools and sixth-form colleges, both state and independent, and several sixth-form colleges draw students from across north London. They book us for museum visits in central London, swimming galas, sports fixtures, music festivals and residential trips. The South Kensington museums are about forty-five minutes away outside the rush hour, and the British Museum about thirty-five.
For a school booking, send us the numbers of pupils and staff, the destination and the times, and we'll confirm the details in writing. The driver will be at the gate at the agreed time, and for trips into central London, we'll suggest a departure that beats the worst of the traffic on the Finchley Road.
Sports teams travel to fixtures across Barnet, Enfield and Hertfordshire. A squad with its kit fits in one vehicle, and the driver waits for the match to finish.
Weddings at Stephens House and the local churches
Stephens House and Gardens, the old Avenue House estate in Finchley Central, has Victorian rooms and formal grounds used for weddings, parties and events. The estate was left to the people of Finchley by Henry Charles Stephens, whose family made the famous Stephens Ink. Couples also marry at churches and synagogues across Finchley, with receptions at hotels, golf clubs and halls in north London and Hertfordshire.
For weddings, we'll run a loop between the ceremony, the reception and the guests' homes or hotels. The driveway at Stephens House is narrow, so we'll confirm with the venue where the vehicle can stop and wait. Minibus hire Finchley couples book for the evening often includes a late run home, so nobody needs to drive.
The Phoenix, the artsdepot and evenings out
The Phoenix Cinema on the High Road in East Finchley opened in 1912 and still shows films in its original auditorium. The artsdepot, at Tally Ho Corner in North Finchley, hosts theatre, comedy, dance and children's shows. Both draw school groups and birthday parties.
The high streets in East Finchley, Church End and North Finchley have restaurants and pubs for family dinners and nights out. We'll collect from homes across Finchley, Whetstone and Friern Barnet, drop at the restaurant and come back at an agreed time.
Parks and green walks
Victoria Park, in Finchley Central, hosts a summer fair and is a good spot for a school picnic. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk follows the Dollis Brook through Finchley on its way from Mill Hill to Hampstead Heath, and Coldfall Wood, on the edge of East Finchley, is an ancient woodland used for school nature trips. Walking groups and youth clubs book us to drop at one end of a walk and collect at the other.
Luton, Heathrow and the A1
Luton is about forty to fifty minutes from Finchley outside the rush hour, via the A1 and the M1 or up the M1 from Staples Corner. Heathrow is about forty-five minutes to an hour, via the North Circular and the M4 or round the M25. Stansted is about an hour, via the North Circular and the M11.
For a family holiday, a minibus from the door saves the Northern line and a change of train with all the cases. When relatives fly in, we'll watch the landing time and the driver will be waiting in arrivals.
Henlys Corner and the North Circular
The North Circular through Finchley is one of the busiest stretches of road in London. Henlys Corner, where it crosses the A598 and the Finchley Road, was rebuilt to ease the queues, but it still backs up at peak times. Tally Ho Corner in North Finchley is a tight one-way system, and the High Road there is busy with buses. For pickups in the town centres, we'll agree a point on a side road, and for trips across the North Circular, we'll time the departure to avoid the worst of it.
For minibus hire in Finchley, call 020 7183 0567.