During the First World War, a surgeon called Harold Gillies set up a hospital at Frognal, on the edge of Sidcup, to rebuild the faces of soldiers wounded in the trenches. The work he and his team did there laid the foundations of modern plastic surgery. Queen Mary's Hospital stands on the same site today. Sidcup itself is a quiet, green suburb on the borders of Bexley and Bromley, with good schools, a drama college and easy access to Kent. Minibus hire Sidcup customers book is mostly school trips and fixtures, weddings and family celebrations, and runs to Gatwick and the Kent coast.
Sidcup sits in the south of Bexley borough, with Chislehurst to the west, Bexley Village to the east and the A20 along its southern edge. From our base in SE1, it's about forty-five minutes to an hour outside the rush hour, out along the A20.
Minibus hire Sidcup for school trips
Sidcup and the streets around it have a lot of schools, including grammar schools that draw pupils from across south-east London and Kent. They book us for museum visits in central London, theatre trips, swimming galas and residential trips. The Greenwich museums and the old tea clipper Cutty Sark are about twenty-five minutes away outside the rush hour, and the South Kensington museums about an hour and a quarter.
Chislehurst Caves, a few minutes west, are a favourite for history trips, with lamp-lit tours through the chalk tunnels used as an air-raid shelter in the Second World War. Footscray Meadows, on the River Cray, suits a science trip or a river study. For any school booking, send us the pupil and staff numbers and the times, and we'll confirm everything in writing.
Fixtures and school sport
School sport in Sidcup is busy, with rugby, football, hockey, netball and cricket fixtures against schools across Bexley, Bromley and Kent. Teams book us for away matches, county finals and tournaments.
The whole team, coaches and kit bags travel together, and the driver stays at the ground until the game ends. For a term of regular fixtures, we can follow a set pattern, with the dates sent through in advance. Minibus hire Sidcup schools book for Saturday morning sport usually means an early pickup at the school gate.
Weddings and family celebrations in Sidcup
Couples marry at churches across Sidcup and Foots Cray, and at venues in Bexley and Kent. Receptions are often at golf clubs, hotels and country houses down the A20 towards Swanley and Sevenoaks, where public transport is thin.
A minibus picks up guests from their homes or hotels, runs them to the ceremony, takes them on to the reception and brings them home late in the evening. For venues down narrow Kent lanes, we'll check the access and the turning space with the venue first. Big birthdays, christenings and anniversaries work the same way.
Rose Bruford and Lamorbey Park
Rose Bruford College, one of the country's leading drama schools, is based in Lamorbey Park, in an old house with a lake and parkland. Students and staff book us for trips to theatres in the West End, to festivals and to other colleges, and for moving set pieces and costumes to performances off site.
The Lamorbey Park grounds and the lake make a pleasant spot for a walk, and the college's own theatre puts on shows open to the public. For college bookings, we'll agree the pickup point inside the grounds with the college office.
Queen Mary's Hospital and the High Street
Queen Mary's Hospital, on Frognal Avenue, now runs outpatient, diagnostic and day services. Staff teams book us for nights out and leaving dos, and families book us for appointments that need a group to travel together.
Sidcup High Street and the Station Road area have restaurants and pubs for a birthday dinner, and the Sidcup Storyteller statue stands near the station, a popular meeting point. For a night out, the driver will collect from homes across Sidcup, Blackfen and Lamorbey, and drop everyone back at the end.
Gatwick, the A20 and Frognal Corner
Gatwick is about forty to fifty minutes from Sidcup outside the rush hour, via the A20 to junction 3 of the M25 and round to the M23. Stansted takes about an hour, over the Dartford Crossing, whose charge we add to the quote. London City is about thirty-five minutes. Heathrow is more than an hour.
The A20 through Sidcup is quick outside peak times, but Frognal Corner, where it meets the A222, and the approach to the M25 at Swanley both queue in the rush hour. The High Street is narrow, with buses and parking on both sides, so pickups happen on a side road. For an early flight, we'll allow a margin for the A20.
For minibus hire in Sidcup, call 020 7183 0567.