Located an equal distance from London to the north east and Portsmouth to the south west, Guildford – Surrey’s county town – offers residents the best of both worlds when it comes to the appeal of the countryside whilst still offering an easy commute into the capital. Indeed, if a move to the south east is on the cards you can do a lot worse than consider Guildford.
You can be in central London in around 35 minutes via a train from Guildford station to London Waterloo, or head in the opposite direction via the A3 and you can be on the south coast within the hour via scenic Hankley Common, the South Downs National Park and more National Trust sites and nature reserves than you can shake a stick at. Locally, there are 3 other train stations in Guildford plus a large number of bus and coach services. For travelling further afield, Heathrow and Gatwick airports are both within easy reach as well.
When it comes to Guildford itself, the town has been highly rated as one of the top 15 places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times on more than one occasion in recent years. With its attractive architecture, adjacency to the countryside, plethora of amenities, excellent travel links, great schools and focus on Net Zero it isn’t hard to see why. Dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era, “Guilden Ford” was established thanks to its location on the road between the major settlements of Canterbury and Winchester, later flourishing as a popular market town in its own right. The quaint cobbles of the high street remain today, as do some stunning reminders of the past such as the 11th century Guildford Castle, Guildford Cathedral and Guildford Museum and regular produce, craft and farmer’s markets. However, Guildford is now also home to plenty of modern conveniences and a great range of independent retailers and eateries too.
Community spirit rates highly amongst Guildford locals as well, with regular festivals and events to suit all tastes and interests year round and live music, theatre and entertainment on offer at the Electric Theatre, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and G Live. There is also a burgeoning software and video game industry locally and the town even has its own official App! Guildford has also been awarded a purple flag for its safe and varied night life continuously since 2014. A definite plus for the towns 16,000 or so students at the well regarded University of Surrey.
For families, the high quality educational settings on offer are a huge draw. Places at highly rated state schools Merrow Church of England Infant School, Burpham Foundation Primary School and comprehensive The Guildford County School are sought after. Local private schools Guildford High Junior School, Guildford High School for girls and the Royal Grammar School for boys are also very popular, tempting Londoners out of the city once the pitter patter of tiny feet arrive. With plenty of sports clubs, facilities like the Spectrum Leisure Complex and Surrey Sports Park, plus a range of clubs and activities for all ages, it isn’t hard to see the appeal.
But what of property prices then?
Considering its location in the most pricey home county, Guildford’s average property price of £633,699 makes it a much more affordable proposition for homebuyers priced out of neighbouring towns and villages like Wentworth (£3,016,750), Virginia Water (£2,171,534) and Oxshott (£2,004,444). Indeed, whilst never the most affordable region of the UK, the average property prices in these Surrey hotspots have shot up an incredible 33%, 25% and 10% respectively since 2019.
Popular areas in and around Guildford include Pewley Hill, Merrow, Burpham, and Boxgrove and villages such as Wonersh, Shalford, Cranleigh, Shamley Green, Holmbury St Mary, Albury and Chiddingfold.