Moving to Guildford

[zoesaurus]

Hi everyone! I am currently living in Wimbledon with my two sons and by DH. We all want to move somewhere greener and outside of london. We have previously looked at places like Cobham and Esher but have now started thinking about Guildford. DH needs a good commute to London Waterloo for work (thinking 40-50 mins max) and there needs to be good primary and secondary schools nearby. Please let me know if Guildford is a nice and safe place to live. I'm open to other places too.

Thank you,
Zoe x

The Farmers market in Guildford is once a month on a Tuesday, in the High Street and it it is for Farmers (and others) to sell to the public. There is a regular market in North street on Fridays and Saturdays.
I'm not sure there is a good Deli. There are butchers in North Guildford, or a fab one in East Horsley and I think the one in Farncombe is quite good too - but both are a drive.
There is plenty of countryside, it is even walkable from the town centre, in fact most area can access a bit of countryside. There is even a nature reserve next to the A3 near the river.

Thanks Bekabeech, we didn't know know about the weekend market in North Street. The EA told me Ray Rowley is quite good, is that the same one that you had in mind? Thanks for the butcher information in East Horsley, I found them hah :-D I did the walk along the river (near the park and lots of pubs along the river), very lovely indeed.

If you go either to the Spectrum or Clay Lane (the bit of Road beyond big Sainsbury's and turn off just after you've crossed the A3. There are paths which lead to Riverside Park, which is the nature reserve, there is a lake and some board walks. You can see Grebes, Cormorants etc. I have seen Deer, and a Kingfisher and once am sure I saw an Otter.

Huge changes are planned for Central Guildford over the next decade(s) - google Guildford local plan - as well as many transport changes including new stations at Guildford West (Royal Surrey hospital and university) and Guildford East (Merrow).

I live in Merrow, just off the downs, and love the area and Boxgrove school. It's about a 25 minute walk into town but there are frequent buses on Epsom Road. Onslow Village (south of Farnham Road) is more convenient for trains from Guildford main line station. www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/9-things-you-need-know-11175326

Oops - for central Guildford regeneration google town centre master plan or Guildford Vision Group. The local plan addresses housebuilding and transport for the local area

Guildford Vision group is no way an official plan, its basically what a group of architects dreamt in their spare time.
I say this as I know some people have been extremely anxious as those plans would blight their homes.

And to get perspective. When I moved here 20+ years ago there were plans to redevelop the Friary and North street that were "just" about to start, still hasn't happened yet.

I agree GVG has been dreaming up some very big plans that I can't see being accepted but the council make take up some of their ideas. As North Street is very uninspiring, the bus station is decrepit and the buildings on Commercial Street are already demolished I think they will have to regenerate the area soon.

Thanks for all the recommendation. I dont know Guildford that well, but I think the town centre is nice, won't need regeneration to avoid over-crowded. I do think the traffic needs to be tackle though.

Any recommendation for swimming activities, yoga class, badminton etc. - with kids and without kids? I would also love to know about good local GP, dentist, hospital etc. Thanks

There is one butcher in the Friday/Saturday fruit market, the only fishmonger is Waitrose (that's where you park), there are very few independents, lots of derelict shops and houses by the Friary Shopping Centre awaiting a massive development which is still in planning stages, the bus station is really dirty nobody knows who is supposed to clean it☺️

Love Guildford. Know all my neighbours. Made lots of friends through the nursery/ schools that my DCs have attended. Better to commute to London from Woking - Guildford station is on a branch so a lesser service but good none the less. I live in Burpham so it's the same distance to drive to Woking station as it is to Guildford. Good luck!

SW London - Guildford is a typical move. I know 2 separate people who have recently moved Wimbledon - Shalford. Most mums at baby groups have moved from London. :)

Also I'd argue it's better to commute to London from further away, not from nearer to London e.g. Woking. DH always gets a seat without fail getting on at Godalming station, train gets packed at Guildford. We purposely moved this side of Guildford for that reason!

Oh. This thread is ancient

I lived in Guildford (near the centre) for 10 years and then slightly south in Bramley for a further 9. I loved both areas. I've commuted from both Guildford and Godalming which are both good (as commuting goes). It's a great town for shopping with lovely surrounding countryside. In Guildford Pewley area and Charlotteville are really nice, walking distance to town but countryside on doorstep. Bramley is a lovely village with a great butchers, local shops, a good primary and girls private school. If you want a more country type of town with all the amenities and a good commute you could consider Haslemere.

Ha just noticed the date of the original thread. I imagine OP is fully settled in by now

Hello again, currently we are looking at these areas in Guildford (mostly driven by areas that are reasonable time to travel to the Guildford station either by bus or changing train & good schools - we focus on secondary and will look into primary since most of them are good or excellent - or the EA told us so). DH few days a week will need to get to London - Waterloo, that's why we focus on the commute, and we don't want to drive in the peak hours & park so focus mainly on be able to bus or change train.
We drove around these areas and really like them, but not sure how practical is the commute, and school runs - preferably be able to walk to the school. Would love to hear honest opinion about these areas, and what we should focus on.

• Burpham, Merrow - will need to get to the station by bus not sure how reliable they are - George Abbot is very appealing.
• Shalford (lovely area, and near a train station, need to change at Guildford to London, I really love it) but secondary school is tricky?
• Milford (haven't visited this area, but we will soon. I'm very interested in the secondary & train station.
• Busbridge, lovely area in Godalming, but will most likely be priced out, and secondary school is also tricky.

Is there any other areas that we should look into? As long as there is parking for cars off-road, nice residential area, reasonable public commute during peak hours, and good school, if being to walk to primary (I'm not a confident driver so the less driving the better) that would be great, we don't mind how big or small the house is, so hopefully can find something within our budget.

Hi everyone,

This post has been great.. thank you. We are moving into Guildford from West Berks. My husband's job is instigating our move and his time will be split between meetings in town, his office in Guildford and we will both be on the road so we need the A3 and the station. Can I ask a few questions of those in the know please?

We have a 4yr old so she will be starting school in September 2018. We're going to miss the standard application time. Has anyone had any experience of this?

What's access onto the a3 like in the mornings? Is there a particular junction that offers an easier commute? It looks like going any further south than the a3/a31 junction would be a nightmare.

Is there anywhere we should be looking at that has it 'all'? We want it to be quiet but friendly and close to a hub of local shops. Is it the time of year that means were not finding much of interest or that the market moves very quickly here?

Zoemelb it sounds like you are in the same boat. Has your search narrowed down since your last post?

A lot depends on what time you're hitting the A3 in the morning, the bit through the middle of Guildford can become exceedingly busy.

As with almost any house search you have the conundrum of:

The house you want
The location you want
The price you want

Pick two!!!

The market is busiest from early Feb through to June, December is about as bad a time as possible to be looking, so don't worry that you weren't seeing much.

Would you like to be close to the town centre, or do you think you would prefer to be in one of the outlying villages?

Hi everyone! I am currently living in Hong Kong with my Daughter(4 years old) and my Husband. I am Brazilian and he is English.
We decided to leave in Guildford or in a village near by! We are struggling to find a Primary School for our Daughter.
Any recommendations will be very helpful! Thank you!

Hello, i am looking to find a place in Guildford, my main concern is to find a good school for my boy and have good accessibility to supplies, food etc. I am not from England so i am not sure if Guildford tick these boxes or if there is a better choice.

Hi all, we in the same boat looking to move to Guildford to London. How big a deal are catchment areas to secondary schools?

Hello,
Jumping on this tread as I'm looking for info about Guilford!
My husband needs to commute to London Victoria and I'm a stay at home mum. My son will start reception in September 2022.
So we are looking at sth not too far from the station but still nice area with green spaces around and good primaries.
We are looking also at Woking but haven't been lucky yet.
Any suggestions or tips about good areas and areas to avoid?
Xxxx