West Norwood Cemetery was the second of London's great Victorian cemeteries, and its catacombs, Gothic chapels and grand tombs, including those of Henry Tate and Mrs Beeton, sit on a hillside above the Norwood Road. The neighbourhood below it is a mix of Victorian terraces, family homes and a growing high street, with a monthly street market that draws people from across south London. Minibus hire West Norwood customers book is mostly weddings and family events, school runs and trips, and airport runs.
West Norwood sits in the south of Lambeth, between Tulse Hill, Herne Hill, Streatham and Crystal Palace, with Norwood Road and Knights Hill running through it. From our base in SE1, it's about thirty to forty minutes outside the rush hour, through Brixton.
Minibus hire West Norwood for weddings
St Luke's, the large church at the junction of Norwood High Street and Knights Hill, hosts weddings, and so do churches across Norwood, Tulse Hill and Streatham, including many Caribbean and West African congregations. Receptions take place at halls, restaurants and venues across south London, and some at country venues in Surrey.
Guests are collected from their homes or hotels, taken to the ceremony and on to the reception, and dropped back late in the evening. Big weddings with long receptions are common here, and we'll plan the driver's hours to match. Some couples hold the reception at a hall nearby and the evening party at a venue elsewhere in south London, and the minibus covers both runs. Minibus hire West Norwood couples book for a church wedding on Knights Hill usually needs a drop-off point agreed in advance, because the junction outside is busy.
Regular school runs and outings
West Norwood's primary and secondary schools, and the schools in Tulse Hill and Gipsy Hill nearby, book us for regular runs as well as trips. Weekly swimming at the local pools, sports fixtures and transport for pupils who travel to specialist schools all suit a minibus.
For a regular run, the stops, the times and the seats stay the same each week. For pupils with additional needs, the seating and the escort are agreed with the school before the first run. For trips, the Horniman Museum is about fifteen minutes away, the South Kensington museums about forty-five and the Science Museum about forty-five.
The cemetery and the Feast
The Friends of West Norwood Cemetery run guided tours on set days, including the catacombs on special occasions, and history societies and school groups book us for visits. The cemetery is on a hillside with steep paths, so older visitors should allow plenty of time. The South London Theatre, in the handsome old fire station on Norwood High Street, stages plays and musicals through the year.
West Norwood Feast, a street market held on the first Sunday of most months, fills the Norwood Road with food stalls, crafts and music, and the road is closed to traffic for the day. For a group visiting the Feast, we'll drop at the edge of the market area. If your booking falls on a Feast Sunday and has nothing to do with it, tell us and we'll plan around the closure.
Brockwell Park, the lido and family days
Brockwell Park, between Herne Hill and Tulse Hill, has the Brockwell Lido, a 1930s outdoor pool, a walled garden, a miniature railway and summer events, and it's a favourite for school sports days and family outings. Norwood Park, on the hill to the south, has views across London and a playground for younger children.
Families and community groups book us for birthday outings, christenings and days out to the coast, with guests picked up across Norwood and Streatham. On big festival weekends in Brockwell Park, including the Lambeth Country Show each summer, the roads around it are closed or busy.
Gatwick via Streatham and Croydon
Gatwick is about forty to fifty minutes from West Norwood outside the rush hour, via Streatham and Croydon and the M23. Heathrow is about fifty minutes to an hour, London City about forty minutes and Stansted about an hour and a quarter. For families flying out with luggage, a minibus from the door avoids the Thameslink and a change at London Bridge. On the way home, the driver meets the group inside the arrivals hall.
Norwood Road and Knights Hill
Norwood Road, the A215, is the main route through West Norwood and it's busy with buses at most times, with limited stopping. The junction around St Luke's, where Norwood High Street, Knights Hill and Norwood Road meet, is slow at peak times. Some residential roads climb steeply towards Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill. For pickups, we'll agree a point on a side street, and for homes on the hills we'll check the approach.
For minibus hire in West Norwood, call 020 7183 0567.