8 Top Things to Do in Guildford – The English Countryside near London

Guildford is a town in the Surrey County in the Southern part of England. Its a town that is steeped in rich history and is also known to be the focal point of where the Industrial Revolution started with gun powder and paper mills being set up here first. It’s also the town where Alan Turing lived, he was the first person to conceptualise and create a computer of sorts that could decode messages from Nazi Germany, which helped the allies win the war. Now in the present day, it’s just a 40 min train ride from London and serves as a great little weekend getaway especially for the history and architecture buffs. So what can you do on your weekend getaway to Guildford? Well, here are the top things to do in Guildford.

8 Best Things to Do in Guildford

• Visit the Guildford Hatchlands Park
• Visit the Guildford Castle
• Visit the Guildford Cathedral
• Take a ride on the Cathedral Express
• Visit the Watts Chapel
• The Weyside Pub
• Fun times at Wild Wood Adventure
• Spend some quality time at the Guildford Spectrum

1. Visit the Guildford Hatchlands Park:

What used to be once the home of the naval hero, Sir Admiral Boscawen, has over the years seen multiple tenants come and go. What has stood the test of time though is the majestic country house mansion and the beautiful garden grounds with wildflower beds and various trails that one can explore. Just walk the grounds and explore the mighty mansion, as it one of the best things to do in Guildford and close the day with a bit of tea and cake at the cobbled courtyard.

2. Visit the Guildford Castle:

Visit the historic Guildford castle and after all, how can you not visit a castle or see one while you’re out on the English countryside. The Guildford castle was built by William the conqueror to strengthen his hold in the region and prevent rebellions from nearby towns. In the present day though it doesn’t hold any significant military value power-wise, but visiting the castle is one of the best things to do in Guildford. The castle tower gives you a brilliant 360-degree view of the Guildford countryside and is a cool place to explore. There is also a statue of Alice walking through glass referencing the book Alice in Wonderland. The famous author of the book Lewis Carroll regularly visited the town and stayed with his sisters who lived in the town and not only that, he also wrote the book ‘Through the Looking Glass’ in the town while he was living there. 

3. Visit the Guildford Cathedral:

The Guildford Cathedral is a pretty modern cathedral that has an impressive design and beautiful interiors and an interesting story of how it came to be. After WW2 ended funds that were collected before the war for the construction of the cathedral barely remained. So in order for the construction to happen, over 200,000 people donated the value of a brick each to make the construction possible, making it one of the best things to do in Guildford. Another interesting fact is that the cathedral grounds were used to film the horror flick ‘The Omen’. It’s the scene where the demon kid Damien goes into a fit of rage when the car arrives at the cathedral for Sunday service and injures his mother.

4. Take a ride on the Cathedral Express:

Any of you guys like steam trains with the choo choos? Well, I do and the cathedral express lets us relive the golden days. You get to sit in the vintage carriages and see the white smoke go by. Its an awesome experience and one of the best things to do in Guildford. If you think it’s too much hassle and just wanna see the train. Well just hop on over to the train station when it passes by.

5. Visit the Watts Chapel:

The gorgeous Watts Chapel has been listed a Grade I building and has an amazing red exterior that catches your eyes as you get close to it. The real beauty though is revealed when you are up close and you get to see all the intricate work on the exterior that has Celtic, Roman and Egyptian influences. It’s an amazing sight to behold and definitely one of the best things to do in Guildford.

6. The Weyside Pub:

The Weyside pub is just a stone throw away from Guildford’s High Street and the name comes from the fact that it’s literally on the side of the river Wey. It has an outdoor terrace facing the river where one can comfortably sit for a drink and take in the countryside vibes and sights of the various small boats and kayaks that pass through on the river. Visiting the Weyside Pub is definitely one of the best things to do in Guildford.

7. Fun times at Wild Wood Adventure:

Wild Wood Adventure is a one of kind treetop obstacle course and the largest of its kind in the UK. You basically navigate through a bunch of treetop obstacles like climbing walls, wobbling bridges, balancing logs and the course closes with a long zipline at the end. It’s quite adventurous, inexpensive and is definitely one of the most fun things to do in Guildford. The obstacles are designed with safety in mind and are easy enough to scale by anyone but hard enough that they pose a challenge. The entire time you are always attached to a safety wire and there is a separate kids course as well.

8. Spend some quality time at the Guildford Spectrum:

Guildford Spectrum is a leisure centre where you can take up ice skating, bowling, swimming, squash, football and a few other sports as well. It has an Olympic size ice rink which is where the towns ice hockey team the Guild Ford Flames also train. If you are interested in sporting or just want to beat the heat, this is one of the most easy things to do in Guildford to head to the Guildford Spectrum. Also read Maldives Visa for Indians.

So those are the top things to do in Guildford. The food scene here is pretty awesome as well. So, be sure to check out some local restaurants and pubs when you are there. It’s an awesome town that allows you to experience the English countryside very close to London and I would recommend you check it out. If you are planning a London vacation and need more help planning it. Well, do check out various London travel packages offered at Pickyourtrail, the online vacation booking platform that allows you to customise your vacation to your heart’s content and if you need any help along the way, just ask for assistance and one of the destination experts will be there to help out.