Getting Around Barnet
Barnet, also called Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, is a market town just over 10 miles north of Charing Cross, on the northern edge of the capital. It was a Hertfordshire town until 1965, the year the London Borough of Barnet was created around it. King John granted its market charter in 1199, and the town centre stands on a ridge about 130 metres above sea level.
High Barnet station is the northern terminus of its own Northern line branch, and New Barnet station is on the East Coast Main Line. Add the train and its arrival time to the booking, and the car is scheduled for that arrival. The A1 passes west of the town on the Barnet Bypass.
About 1 mile from the High Street, 10–15 minutes by car, is Barnet Hospital, an NHS hospital that serves the north of the borough. Wood Street has listed cottages and Barnet Museum. For a ward visit or an outpatient appointment, send the full address with your booking; the confirmation then tells you where the car will stop.
A day of house viewings in Barnet, Hadley Wood and Arkley can be booked by the hour; one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve.
Airport Transfers in Barnet
Luton Airport is the quickest from Barnet: 23 miles north, 40–55 minutes by car; everything runs from one terminal building, and the driverless DART reaches Luton Airport Parkway station in under 4 minutes. Heathrow is the same 23 miles but slower, 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes. City Airport is 21 miles, 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes, and Stansted Airport 37 miles, again 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes. Southend Airport is 49 miles, 1 hour 25 minutes to 2 hours. The right one depends on your airline and route.
Book with your flight number. For an arrival, your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pick-up to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. For a departure from Barnet, what counts is the length of the drive, not the time on the clock: Heathrow, City Airport and Stansted Airport all sit in the same band of drive times from the town, so choose the flight first and the pick-up time after it. Journey times vary with traffic and weather. You set the pick-up time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Day-Trip Travel from Barnet
Whetstone, down the hill on the Great North Road, is 2 miles, 10–15 minutes. Potters Bar, over the Hertfordshire border, is 4 miles, 15–20 minutes, with trains to King's Cross and Moorgate.
St Albans is 11 miles, 30–40 minutes. Barnet's parish church of St John the Baptist was built around 1400 by an abbot of St Albans, which makes the abbey city a natural day out. Cambridge is 48 miles, 1 hour 25 minutes to 2 hours. Brighton, on the Sussex coast, is 95 miles, 2 hours to 2 hours 35 minutes.
Coming back on the same day? Book by the hour, and the car is yours until you reach home. If you are staying in Brighton or Cambridge, the one-way journey gets you there, and the trip back is a booking of its own.
Groups & Event Travel in Barnet
History brings groups to Barnet: the Battle of Barnet, fought in 1471 at nearby Monken Hadley, was one of the key battles of the Wars of the Roses, when Edward IV defeated Warwick the Kingmaker. Barnet Fair, a horse fair whose charter dates from 1588, is held in September. Barnet FC no longer plays in the town; its home since 2013 is The Hive in Stanmore.
For a history society on a battlefield walk or a supporters' group heading to The Hive, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats; the vehicle is matched to the load. When you book for other people, all their transfers can be kept in one account, each with its own booking and confirmation. If speakers for a society event come in on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own.
Local vehicles and drivers are booked up early in fair week and the school holidays. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
