The smallest of the home counties punches well above its weight when it comes to glorious countryside, golf clubs, and ex west Londoners making a new life in the country.
But despite its reputation for affluence Surrey isn’t just for the gin and jags set.
Within its 642 square miles Surrey has some exemplary market towns, beautiful villages, and surprisingly affordable corners.
To help you choose, Homes & Property has curated a guide to the highlights of Surrey, with up to the minute price data from estate agent Hamptons.
Value for money: Earlswood
You have probably heard of Redhill and Reigate, the adjoining commuter towns just south of the Surrey Hills.
Earlswood, a mile-or-so south, is a lower profile option.
This quality residential suburb has its own station (trains to London Bridge take 38 minutes, making it a good call for City workers, and since you are a stop down the line from Redhill you might even get a seat).
Earlswood also has a good stock of Victorian and Edwardian homes and is a bit cheaper than its neighbours too with average prices of £552,000 for a house and £264,000 for a flat. Prices have dropped slightly – one per cent – during the past, difficult year, but are up 44 per cent over the past decade.
Families rate the good local primary schools, and the Ofsted outstanding Reigate School is up the road for seniors. Redhill Common and Earlswood Ring cricket ground provide green space.
The compromise is that Earlswood has a couple of convenience stores, pubs, and some local restaurants, but it’s a real blink and you’ll miss it affair. Redhill is a mile up the road for everyday shopping, and Reigate (two miles) is where you go for café culture and a bit of nightlife.
Most like London: Guildford
This market town has been luring exiles from the capital for generations. Little wonder it has acquired such an affluent London village vibe.
Walking along the high street, Londoners will feel perfectly at home because all the chains we rely on (Pret, Cote, Bills) are there. There is also an outpost of The Ivy Asia. You can also eat Italian at Positano or Blue Sardinia, have a great curry at Raviz or head out to explore lovely village pubs, like the Red Lion Inn at Shamley Green.
Café culture is alive and kicking — Unplug and Play is a favourite for its combination of coffee plus board games.
Tunsgate Quarter is the place to go for a bit of indoor shopping (Bobbi Brown, Loaf, OKA, Gail’s Bakery), and Guildford’s mass of tiny streets is full of gems like Secret Garden, a gorgeous florist, and Cry for the Moon, for vintage and contemporary jewellery.
Guildford also has plenty of options for Pilates and yoga buffs, tennis courts at Stoke Park, cricket and football clubs, plus golf courses (this is Surrey after all).
For culture there are several public and commercial art galleries, a cinema, an annual summer fringe festival, and a theatre. And you are nestled in one of the most beautiful swathes of countryside in England, the Surrey Hills.
When you do need to get into London trains to Waterloo take from 36 minutes (although you will need to get timetable savvy or you might get stuck on a chugger service, which does the same journey in an hour and a quarter).
The only thing we don’t love about Guildford is that it is very hilly. Not only does this require strong calf muscles but it also means that a lot of the houses are on steeply sloping plots which means wonderful views but terraced or angled gardens.
Average prices stand at £724,000 (house) and £309,000 (flat) and prices have grown five per cent in the past year and a resounding 62 per cent since 2013.
Least like London: Mickleham
Historic church? Check? Ancient village inn? Check. Sweet village school? Check.
Mickleham is one of those villages so pretty and perfectly proportioned you almost feel someone made it up.
Set right within the Surrey Hills, at the foot of Box Hill, which Jane Austen made famous in her novel Emma, Mickleham is surrounded by the most glorious countryside (and, since it is highly protected, you won’t suddenly find yourself encircled by cul de sacs full of boxy modern homes).
Mickleham’s homes are a very charming mix of part timbered cottages and traditional Surrey arts and crafts era houses. An average house in the village will cost you £1m, and there are almost no flats in the area. Prices have inched up by one per cent in the past year, and by 51 per cent in the past decade.
The village pub, The Running Horses, was named pub of the year earlier this year because of its great food, drink, and atmosphere.
And it is popular with families because the local infant school has a “good” Ofsted report and senior school options include the outstanding St Andrew’s Catholic School in Leatherhead.
This is the kind of place you move to if you want to spend your days growing vegetables, walking along the River Mole and Mickleham Downs, making use of your National Trust membership, and joining the local choir.
The nearest town is the dreary but serviceable Leatherhead (two miles away) but for a vibrant town with good shops, cafes, and restaurants, its worth travelling an extra mile to get to the lovely Dorking.
The nearest station is in Leatherhead and services to Waterloo take 45 minutes. Alternatively, you could head for Victoria (54 minutes). If there is a problem with the trains, you can even hop a bus – services run to Kingston or Surbiton.
Best connected: Walton-on-Thames
Walton is so close to London that if you stood on your tiptoes you could probably see it.
Being right on the border of the home counties and the capital has huge advantages when it comes to getting around, but without compromising on a countryfied lifestyle of rounds of golf, swimming in the Thames at Desborough Island, fun at the annual Walton Reach Regatta, and plentiful riverside walks with optional stops at one of Walton’s pubs.
Trains to Waterloo take from 25 minutes, which is faster than getting in from Zone 3 or 4. There are four trains an hour too, with the final service leaving London at 12.09am.
You can also hop on a bus — there are services to Kingston and Heathrow Airport.
For motorists the M3 is about two miles away, and its 18 miles to central London so you might be able to persuade an Uber driver to take you home after a night out (we can’t take responsibility for the bill, however).
Walton’s high street is lined with useful chain stores, there’s a burgeoning coffee culture (try the all day brunch at the Surrey Coffee Company), and there is an Everyman Cinema plus the Riverside Barn Arts Centre (live music, film screenings, comedy, art exhibitions).
Two out of Walton’s three primary schools have “good” Ofsted reports but the third (Ashley Church of England Primary School) “requires improvement” according to the schools’ watchdog, so parents with young children will need to be cautious about catchment areas. For older students there will be a short school run to Sunbury-on-Thames or Shepperton, but standards are high.
An average house in Walton will cost you £693,000, down one per cent year on year. And buyers should budge £295,000 for a flat, down six per cent in the same period.
Over the last ten years prices have grown by 50 per cent.
Family friendly: Cranleigh
Perched on the south side of the Surrey Hills Cranleigh romps through the green space test.
Fee paying parents swarm to the area because of the high performing Cranleigh School, particularly good for sporty kids who want lots of opportunity to run around. But Cranleigh is no slouch in the state school department either. Two of its three primary schools have good Ofsted reports, and there is also a secondary school in the village, also rated good, so no daily drive to and from school is required.
Cranleigh is a very charming village with lots to do, for all age groups. Its got a good selection of essentials like a village hospital, and supermarkets, but it also has an arts centre with a theatre, live music, yoga and ballet classes, a youth theatre, and a community choir. There is a library, a leisure centre, masses of kids’ clubs, cafes, and some good pubs and wine bars for the grown-ups.
Community spirit runs strong in Cranleigh. Locals organise a strong calendar of events from park runs to Halloween trails, Christmas lights, and artisan markets, so although you’ll be in the proper countryside you won’t have a chance to get bored.
The average price of a house in Cranleigh has increased three per cent in the past year, to £765,000. An average flat will set you back £255,000, down four per cent between 2022 and 2023. And Cranleigh has enjoyed the best price growth of any of our Surrey picks, up 67 per cent since 2013.
