In 2019, Waltham Forest became the first ever London Borough of Culture, and the title suited it. William Morris grew up in Walthamstow, and his family home is now a gallery of his work. The borough has one of the longest street markets in Europe, a neon-filled warehouse of old signs called God's Own Junkyard, and Europe's largest urban wetland reserve. Minibus hire Waltham Forest customers book is mostly nights out in Walthamstow, school trips and sport, weddings and family events, and runs to Stansted up the M11.
The borough stretches from Leyton and Leytonstone in the south through Walthamstow to Chingford and Epping Forest in the north, in north-east London. From our base in SE1, Walthamstow is about forty-five minutes to an hour outside the rush hour, through Hackney or along the A12.
Minibus hire Waltham Forest for Walthamstow nights out
Walthamstow's Hoe Street, the village around Orford Road and the bars along the High Street have pubs, cocktail bars, breweries and restaurants, and the area is one of north-east London's most popular spots for a night out. Groups also book us for evenings at God's Own Junkyard's café and bar, and for craft beer tours of the breweries in the industrial estates around Blackhorse Road. Walthamstow Village has some of the area's oldest pubs and the Ancient House, a fifteenth-century timber-framed hall house.
For a birthday, a hen night or a leaving do, the driver collects from homes or a meeting point, drops at the first venue and comes back when the group is ready. At the end of the night, we'll route the drop-offs across Walthamstow, Leyton and Chingford. Minibus hire Waltham Forest groups book for a Saturday night often heads into Shoreditch or the West End afterwards, and the driver can make that run too.
The market, the gallery and the wetlands
Walthamstow Market runs along the High Street for about a kilometre, with hundreds of stalls, and it's busy from Tuesday to Saturday. The William Morris Gallery, in Lloyd Park, shows Morris's designs, wallpapers and textiles in the house where he grew up, and entry is free. Walthamstow Wetlands, on the reservoirs along the Lee Valley, has walking trails, bird hides and a visitor centre in an old engine house.
Schools, art societies and walking groups book us for visits to all three. The driver drops at the gallery or the wetlands entrance, both on Forest Road, and returns at the agreed time. The gallery has a café, and Lloyd Park has a playground and a moat, which makes it a good lunch stop.
School sport and Leyton Orient
Waltham Forest's schools play fixtures across the borough and into Essex and Redbridge, and its clubs use the Lee Valley Ice Centre, the hockey and tennis centre and the VeloPark nearby. Leyton Orient, at Brisbane Road, is the borough's professional football club, and supporters' groups and junior clubs book us for match days.
Teams travel with their kit and coaches, and the driver waits for the final whistle. The borough's pools, including the Feel Good Centre in Walthamstow, host swimming galas, and clubs book us for those too. Our Leyton page covers Orient match days in more detail.
Epping Forest and Chingford
Epping Forest reaches into the north of the borough at Chingford, with Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, Chingford Plain and Connaught Water, and its southern fingers include Hollow Ponds and Wanstead Flats. Walking groups, school nature trips and family days out book us to drop at one point and collect at another. Our Chingford page has more on forest days. The forest roads are narrow in places, so we'll pick drop-off points at the main car parks.
Town hall weddings and big families
Waltham Forest is home to Pakistani, Caribbean, Polish, Turkish, Lithuanian and many other communities, and weddings, christenings and family celebrations fill halls and restaurants across the borough. Couples marry at Walthamstow Town Hall, with its Art Deco council chamber and reflecting pool, at churches and mosques, and at venues across east London and Essex.
Guests are collected from homes across the borough, taken to the ceremony and the reception, and brought home at the end. Larger gatherings can have a second vehicle.
Stansted, the M11 and the North Circular
Stansted is about thirty-five to forty-five minutes from Walthamstow outside the rush hour, via the North Circular and the M11, and a little quicker from Chingford. Luton is about fifty minutes, London City about twenty-five and Heathrow about an hour or more. The North Circular through the borough, and the Crooked Billet and Waterworks Corner junctions, are slow at peak times, and the borough's low traffic neighbourhoods mean some residential streets are reached by longer routes. Give us the address and we'll plan the approach.
For minibus hire in Waltham Forest, call 020 7183 0567.