Norbury sits on the old Roman road south, the London Road, where Croydon meets Lambeth and the suburbs of Streatham and Thornton Heath run into each other. It grew fast after the railway and the trams arrived, and its streets of Edwardian and inter-war houses are home to families from Tamil, Pakistani, Indian, Caribbean, Polish and many other backgrounds. Minibus hire Norbury customers book is mostly school trips and fixtures, family celebrations and runs to Gatwick, all of them planned around the busy A23.
Norbury sits in the north-west of Croydon borough, between Streatham, Thornton Heath, Pollards Hill and Upper Norwood, with the A23 London Road running through its centre. From our base in SE1, it's about thirty-five to forty-five minutes outside the rush hour, down the A23 through Brixton and Streatham.
Minibus hire Norbury for school trips
Norbury's primary schools, Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College and the secondary schools of Streatham and Thornton Heath book us for museum visits, theatre trips, swimming galas, sports fixtures and residential trips. The South Kensington museums are about forty-five minutes away outside the rush hour, the Horniman about twenty and the Science Museum about forty-five.
School groups send us the numbers and the destination, and the details come back in writing. For trips into central London, leaving after half past nine avoids the worst of the A23 through Streatham and Brixton, and the return is timed for before the evening rush.
For weekly swimming lessons or regular sports fixtures, a fixed slot through the term keeps things simple. Norbury's primaries often combine a museum visit with lunch in a park, and the driver can drop at both.
Norbury Park and the green spaces
Norbury Park, along the Norbury Brook, has open grassland, sports pitches and a playground, and Norbury Hall's grounds, Pollards Hill and the nearby Streatham Common and Norwood Grove have more space for an outing. Norwood Grove, with its white Georgian house and views over south London, suits a nature walk or a family picnic.
Nurseries, primary schools and youth groups book us for park outings. The vehicle stops at the park entrance and returns at the time you set. Streatham Common's Rookery, a formal garden with a café, is a lovely spot for a summer picnic.
Temple weddings and family occasions
Norbury's families celebrate weddings, engagements, christenings and big birthdays at temples, churches, mosques and halls across Croydon, Streatham and Mitcham. Tamil weddings often begin early in the morning at the temple, and Pakistani and Indian weddings can run over several days, so timings need careful planning. Mehndi and walima events on separate days can each be booked on their own.
Guests are collected from family homes, taken to the ceremony, on to the reception and back again at the end. For the biggest events, a second vehicle can be added. Churches, mosques and community associations book us for conventions, festival visits and day trips to the coast.
South Indian and Sri Lankan restaurants
The London Road through Norbury has South Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Caribbean restaurants and sweet centres, and families come from across south London for a celebration meal. Before Diwali and Eid, the sweet centres draw visitors from Croydon, Mitcham and Streatham. Streatham's restaurants and the Streatham Hill Theatre, which is being restored, are a few minutes north.
For a family dinner, the driver collects guests from homes across Norbury, drops at the restaurant and brings everyone back.
Gatwick down the London Road
Gatwick is about thirty-five to forty-five minutes from Norbury outside the rush hour, down the A23 and the M23. Heathrow is about fifty minutes to an hour, London City about fifty minutes and Stansted about an hour and a quarter. Families flying to Chennai, Colombo, Lahore or Kingston, often with heavy luggage and gifts, book us for the run, and relatives arriving for a family occasion are collected together. Long-haul flights often land early in the morning, and the driver can be at arrivals as they come through.
Minibus hire Norbury families book for a long-haul trip often includes the return leg, booked at the same time.
The London Road and the A23
The London Road is part of the A23, one of the main routes from central London to Croydon, Gatwick and Brighton, and through Norbury it's busy with buses, bus lanes and traffic at almost all hours. The junction by Norbury station and the Hermitage Bridge over the Norbury Brook slow at peak times. Stopping on the London Road is limited, so pickups happen on side streets. Norbury station's forecourt is small and busy, so the driver will use a nearby road. Many residential roads have traffic calming and parked cars on both sides. For early flights, the A23 is clear before six.
For minibus hire in Norbury, call 020 7183 0567.