On Penge High Street stand the Watermen's Almshouses, a row of Tudor-style cottages built in the 1840s for retired Thames watermen and their widows, and a little further along, the King William IV Naval Asylum, built for the widows of naval officers. They're a reminder that Penge was a quiet village before the Crystal Palace arrived on the hill above and the railway brought the suburbs. The almshouses are private homes, but their buildings and gardens are a fine sight from the High Street. Today, Penge is a busy, friendly neighbourhood of families, schools and parks. Minibus hire Penge customers book is mostly school trips and park days, nursery outings, family celebrations and runs to Gatwick.
Penge sits in the north-west of Bromley borough, between Crystal Palace, Anerley, Beckenham and Sydenham, with the High Street running down from the park. From our base in SE1, it's about forty to fifty minutes outside the rush hour, through Peckham and Sydenham.
Minibus hire Penge for school trips
Penge's primary schools and the secondary schools in Anerley, Beckenham and Sydenham book us for museum visits, theatre trips, swimming lessons, sports fixtures and residential trips. The Horniman Museum is about fifteen minutes away, the Greenwich museums about thirty and the South Kensington museums about an hour.
Teachers send the class sizes, the staff numbers and the times, and the confirmation comes back in writing. On the morning, the driver pulls up at the school gate at the agreed time. For central London trips, a departure after half past nine avoids the worst of the traffic through Brixton and Camberwell, and the return can be timed for before the end of the school day.
Weekly swimming lessons and regular sports fixtures can be set up as a fixed slot through the term.
Crystal Palace Park days
Crystal Palace Park's southern half is a few minutes' walk from Penge High Street, through the Penge Gate, and it's the favourite outing for every nursery and primary school in the area. The Victorian dinosaurs on their islands, the maze, the farm, the boating lake and the playgrounds fill a whole day, and the National Sports Centre hosts swimming galas and school sports days.
For a park day, the driver drops at the gate you choose and returns when the group is ready. On big event days at the park, such as summer concerts at the Bowl, the roads around the gates are busy, so we'll check the date. Our Crystal Palace page covers the park and the sports centre in more detail.
Nursery outings and family celebrations
Penge Recreation Ground and Alexandra Recreation Ground have playgrounds and open space, and the High Street's cafés and soft play centres suit a nursery or childminder group. Families book us for birthday outings, christenings and anniversary meals, with guests collected from homes across Penge, Anerley and Beckenham.
Penge's churches, including St John's on the High Street and many independent congregations, host weddings and christenings, and receptions take place at halls and restaurants across Bromley and south London. Guests travel from homes to the church, on to the reception and back, with a later run for anyone staying on.
The High Street and evenings out
Penge High Street has a growing number of cafés, bars and restaurants, along with old pubs, and it's a popular spot for a birthday dinner or a relaxed night out. Beckenham's restaurants and Crystal Palace's Triangle are both a few minutes away.
For a group dinner, the driver collects from homes, drops at the restaurant and comes back at the agreed time, and at the end of the night we'll route the drop-offs around Penge, Anerley and Sydenham.
Holiday flights from Penge
Gatwick is about forty-five minutes from Penge outside the rush hour, via Croydon and the M23. Heathrow is about an hour and a quarter, London City about forty minutes and Stansted about an hour and a quarter or more. For a family holiday, a minibus from the door with room for the cases is easier than the train to East Croydon and a change.
Minibus hire Penge families book for a summer holiday often includes the return leg, booked at the same time so the trip home is sorted before they leave.
The High Street and Anerley Hill
Penge High Street is busy with buses and shoppers and has limited stopping, and the junction with Croydon Road and the roads around Kent House station slow at peak times. Anerley Hill, climbing to Crystal Palace, is steep, with a tight roundabout at the top. Many residential streets are narrow and lined with parked cars on both sides. Pickups happen at the school, the park gate or a side street, and for home pickups we'll check the approach in advance.
For minibus hire in Penge, call 020 7183 0567.