Frederick Horniman, a tea trader, filled his house in Forest Hill with objects collected from all over the world and opened it to the public in the 1890s. The museum he left to London now has a natural history gallery with its famous overstuffed walrus, one of the world's great collections of musical instruments, an aquarium, a butterfly house and sixteen acres of gardens with views over the city. Schools come from across the south of England. Minibus hire Forest Hill customers book is mostly about the Horniman, with school trips and family days out, along with woodland walks, swimming and airport runs.
Forest Hill sits in the west of Lewisham, between Sydenham, Honor Oak, Catford and Dulwich, with the South Circular running along its northern edge. From our base in SE1, it's about thirty to forty minutes outside the rush hour, through Peckham and East Dulwich.
Minibus hire Forest Hill for Horniman school trips
The Horniman runs sessions for schools in science, music, anthropology and art, and the museum's handling collections let children touch objects they'd normally see behind glass. Entry to the main museum and the gardens is free, with charges for the aquarium, the butterfly house and some exhibitions. Those have timed tickets, so book them first and tell us the times.
The museum sits on the London Road, part of the South Circular, and stopping right outside is limited. We'll agree a drop-off point with you, near the main entrance or a side gate, and send it to the teacher in advance. The driver will be back for the end of the session. Minibus hire Forest Hill schools book from further away usually means leaving before nine to beat the traffic on the South Circular.
Family days out at the Horniman
Families, nurseries, childminders, home-education groups and holiday clubs book us for whole days at the Horniman, especially in the school holidays. The animal walk has goats, sheep and rabbits, the gardens have a bandstand, a sound garden with giant instruments and a nature trail, and the café has views across London. The café terrace and the bandstand lawn are popular for children's birthday picnics on summer weekends.
The gardens host summer events, open-air concerts in summer and a Saturday farmers' market. For a family party or a birthday outing, the minibus collects guests from homes across south London, drops at the museum and brings everyone back.
Woodland walks and swimming
Sydenham Hill Wood and Dulwich Wood, a short drive west, are the largest remaining tracts of the old Great North Wood, and the London Wildlife Trust runs walks and sessions there. The paths are steep and mostly unsurfaced, so groups with older members often start at the top, on Crescent Wood Road. One Tree Hill, in Honor Oak, has a view across London, an old beacon on its summit and a church at its foot.
Forest Hill Pools, rebuilt around its Victorian frontage, runs swimming lessons for local schools, and we can set up a regular weekly slot through a term. Walking groups book us to drop at one end of a route and collect at the other, often finishing with lunch at a pub in Dulwich or Honor Oak.
Weddings on the Dartmouth Road side
Forest Hill has churches and halls for weddings and parties, and couples hold receptions in restaurants and pubs on the Dartmouth Road and in venues across south-east London. Guests are picked up, taken to the ceremony and the reception, and dropped home late in the evening. The Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill's main shopping street, has restaurants and bars that suit a small reception or a rehearsal dinner.
Flights from Gatwick and City
Gatwick is about forty-five minutes to an hour from Forest Hill outside the rush hour, via Croydon and the M23. London City is about thirty to forty minutes, Heathrow about an hour and a quarter, and Stansted about an hour or more. For an early Gatwick flight, the run south through Croydon is clear before six.
For families flying out, a minibus from the door saves the Overground to Canada Water or London Bridge and a change. Share the flight number for arrivals and the driver will be waiting when the group comes through.
The South Circular and the hills
The South Circular, the A205, runs along the London Road past the Horniman and is one of the slowest roads in south London at peak times. Forest Hill is built on hills, and some of the residential roads are steep, narrow and lined with parked cars. Dartmouth Road and the streets around the station are busy with buses. For pickups, we'll agree a point on a side road, and for home pickups we'll check the approach in advance.
For minibus hire in Forest Hill, call 020 7183 0567.