Swiss Cottage takes its name from a pub built in the style of an Alpine chalet in the 1840s, and the chalet is still there, now marooned in the middle of a busy one-way system. Around it are a theatre, a drama school, a library designed by Basil Spence, a leisure centre and several schools, along with the shops and cinema of the Finchley Road. Minibus hire Swiss Cottage customers book is mostly school groups, drama and theatre outings, family celebrations and runs to Heathrow and Luton.
Swiss Cottage sits between Hampstead, St John's Wood, Belsize Park and West Hampstead, where the Finchley Road and Avenue Road meet. From our base in SE1, it's about thirty to forty minutes outside the rush hour, through Marylebone and up the Finchley Road.
Minibus hire Swiss Cottage for school groups
Swiss Cottage and the streets around it have primary and secondary schools, including a special school, and several independent schools in Hampstead and Belsize Park nearby. They book us for museum visits, theatre trips, swimming, sports fixtures and residential trips.
The South Kensington museums are about thirty minutes away outside the rush hour, the British Museum about twenty-five and the Regent's Park sports pitches about ten. For pupils with additional needs, tell us about any support they need, and we'll agree the seating and the pickup arrangements with the school. Weekly swimming lessons at the leisure centre can run as a fixed slot through a term.
Drama students and Hampstead Theatre
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, on Eton Avenue, trains actors, designers and theatre makers, and its students and staff book us for theatre trips, festivals and productions off site, sometimes with costumes and props. For a small company heading to a festival such as the Edinburgh Fringe, a minibus can carry the cast and a modest set together. Hampstead Theatre, next door, stages new writing and draws audiences and school groups from across London.
For a theatre night, the driver drops at the theatre and comes back for the end of the show. Swiss Cottage Library and the open space beside it host community events, and the Odeon in the O2 Centre on the Finchley Road suits a birthday cinema trip for younger children.
Heathrow and the A41
Heathrow is about forty to fifty minutes from Swiss Cottage outside the rush hour, via the Westway and the A40 or the North Circular and the M4. Luton is about forty to fifty minutes up the Finchley Road and the M1. Gatwick is about an hour and a quarter, and Stansted about an hour.
Families flying from Heathrow often travel with grandparents and a lot of luggage, and the Jubilee line and a change of trains is hard work with cases. A minibus collects everyone from the door or the mansion block forecourt and drops at the terminal. For arrivals, send us the flight number and the driver will be in arrivals when you land.
Family celebrations and community groups
Swiss Cottage and the neighbouring streets have synagogues, churches, community centres and restaurants with private rooms. Families book us for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthdays and anniversary dinners, with guests collected from across north-west London.
Community groups and senior clubs book us for outings to the coast, gardens and theatres. The Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre suits a swimming session or a sports club meet, and we'll drop at the entrance on Adelaide Road, which is easier than the main road.
West Hampstead and Belsize Park
West Hampstead, a short drive west, has a busy high street of restaurants and bars, and Belsize Park, to the east, has cafés and quieter streets. West End Lane, West Hampstead's main street, is narrow with a lot of buses, so pickups there use the side roads. Groups book us for nights out across both, with pickups at homes and a drop back at the end.
For a group spread across West Hampstead, Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, we'll plan the pickups in a sensible order, starting with whoever lives furthest from the destination. Minibus hire Swiss Cottage families book for an evening event usually ends with two or three drop-offs rather than one.
The Finchley Road gyratory
The Finchley Road, the A41, is one of the main routes north out of central London, and at Swiss Cottage it runs round a large one-way gyratory with Avenue Road and College Crescent. It's busy most of the day, with bus lanes and limited stopping, and it slows badly at peak times. For pickups, we'll agree a point on a side street such as Eton Avenue or Adelaide Road. Swiss Cottage is outside the Congestion Charge zone, so trips heading north and west avoid the charge.
For minibus hire in Swiss Cottage, call 020 7183 0567.