How to spend a good weekend in Surrey

Last updated on 24 Nov 2022 by Thierry

Are you nature lovers and love walking a lot?
So this is for you: the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) will provide you with stunning views, charming cottages, Tudor architecture, Norman churches, lots of paths and ways between hills, fields, vineyards and woods with many old massive trees!

It is a great location to spend a good day outside of the capital city about a 1-hour drive South West of London,

Last weekend, we decided to visit the village of Shere in Surrey and explore the surrounding area more in detail. The Surrey Hills were already familiar to us from a previous walk we made some time ago. We caught a train to Gomshall and walked through woodlands and on the chalky slopes of Box Hill and Leith Hill – Leith Hill is the highest point of the Surrey Hills, towering at 294m/ 965ft. We were amazed by the tiny hamlet of Friday Street before finishing the day in the nice town of Dorking.

When we found in the local library a guide “Walks in the Country Near London” and read about the village of Shere, we immediately decided to plan our next trip back to the hills.

Is the area pushchair friendly? Let’s be clear, it is not. But it is still possible to go with your little one in a pushchair, as we did. Just be prepared for a good workout session passing the pushchair through and above lots of narrow kissing gates.

How big is the Surrey Hills AONB?

The Surrey Hills Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty is one the oldest of 37 nationally protected landscapes in England. The area is protected since 1958 and covers a surface of 422 km2 (163 sq mi) – 25% of the county of Surrey -, stretching from Farnham in the west to Oxted in the east and from Leatherhead in the north to Haslemere in the south.

The Surrey Hills AONB includes part of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge.

What to do and where to go in the Surrey Hills?

The village of Shere

Shere is known as one of the prettiest villages in Surrey county and we could not disagree. Beautifully located between the North Downs Way and the Greensand Ridge and surrounded by green hills, this little village has 34 listed buildings that pre-date 1830. You will find lovely charming cottages and gardens, arty-crafty shops, cute tea houses, pubs, and great restaurants. The river of Tilingbourne runs through the centre of Shere and gives the name to the valley.

This should not come as a surprise that this picturesque location and the architecture have been used for many film productions such as “Bridgette Jones, The Edge Of Reason” (2004), “The Mummy” (2017), The Disney live-action “Beauty and the Beast” (2017) and going back to 1899! You can find a detailed list here, together with an impressive list of celebrities that have visited the village. More recently, in 2021, the Irish singer Orla Gartland used the scenery for her music video Zombie!

Walking around Shere

With many trails starting from and running through Shere, it is a perfect place for nature and walking lovers to explore the Surrey Hills Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty. We have hiked some of them and we are sharing in this post our favourite spots. We have recorded our walk on the map at the bottom of this post.

How to get to Shere and where to park

The easiest way to reach Shere is by car. The village lies in the middle between Guildford and Dorking bypassing the A25. There is a free car park on London Lane (GU5 9JF), just in front of the Shere Recreation ground.

Church of St-Martha-on-the-Hill

On top of a 175m high hill, the church is the only one in Surrey on the Pilgrims Way – an ancient route of 119 miles from Winchester in Hampshire to Canterbury in Kent. The original Norman church from the 12th century fell into ruin. It had to be rebuilt in the 19th century and is listed as a Grade II building.

The church is accessible on foot only. If you follow our way, you need to pass the second World War pillar box and bunker. It will then get steeper and sandy but gives you a very good view of the countryside. On a sunny day, you should be able to see 8 counties from this viewpoint!

As indicated on the map below we have taken quite a detour on our walk to get to St Martha’s church. The walk itself was worth it. We have chosen to walk around Waterloo Pond instead of following the Pilgrims’ Way and going uphill through the woods. It was not an easy one, climbing up, especially with the pushchair but were very happy in the end to have taken this steep path.

Where to park to visit St Martha on the Hill

St Martha church is located South-East of Guildford (4.3km/2.7 mi) and the village Chilworth (2.6km/1.6 mi). The nearest postcode is GU5 9BQ. Car parks off Guildford Lane (East) and Halfpenny Lane (West) are free.

The village of Albury

Albury is a charming little village with lots of Tudor chimneys, 2 pubs and 4 churches (!), a vineyard and a distillery making quite a lot for such a small place. You can visit the Albury Vineyard and buy some local organic wine or the Silent Pool Gin Distillery for locally produced Gin.

The old Saxon church of Albury

The old St Peter and St Paul Saxon church is a Grade I listed building located in Albury Park. It appears in the movie “4 Weddings and a Funeral” (1994). Definitely one of the best places we have seen on this trip. Henry Drummond (1786-1860), an MP, religious leader and partner in the London bank Messrs Drummond (NatWest group) moved the original village which was close to the Old Saxon church. Henry Drummond was the main landowner in the area and was disturbed by the villagers. Once the new St Peter and St Paul church was completed, he ordered a tastefully decorated mortuary chapel in the old church.

Chilworth Gunpowder Mills

Black gunpowder used for military, sporting powder and blasting in mines was manufactured in Chilworth from 1626 when the East India Company opened the factory along the River Tillingbourne. The site was operating for nearly 300 years and closed shortly after WWI in 1920. Today you can walk through this industrial heritage located between the river Tilingbourne and the original gunpowder mill canals. They were used to move material and powder on the site. There is over 2km of paths around the ruins of the mills with water management systems, remains of a bridge and a tramway.

You can also see several quite well-preserved buildings from the 19th century.

Want to visit the Surry Hills?

We hope we gave you the desire to put on your shoes and visit the area. On our side, we will definitely visit the Surrey Hills again, there is so much more to see!

Looking for other walks in the UK?

What do you think about walking around the villages of Shere and Albury?
Do you have a favourite spot in the Surrey Hills you would recommend?

Please let us know in the comments so that we can add them to our to-do list!