Guildford

Guildford's compact centre means that where you choose to stay changes the character of a visit more than the distance in miles might suggest. Basing yourself on or just off the High Street puts the castle, cathedral approach, theatre and river within a short walk, and suits anyone who wants to explore on foot without worrying about parking in the town's narrow historic streets. Properties around the railway station and London Road are the practical choice for visitors arriving by train or planning day trips into London or along the south coast, with the added benefit of being close to the A3 for anyone driving in from further afield. A little further out, hotels towards Merrow, the University of Surrey campus or the villages on the edge of town trade a few minutes' walk for more space, quieter surroundings and, in some cases, gardens or spa facilities that the town centre cannot offer.

The choice of accommodation in and around Guildford spans a genuine range, from boutique and spa hotels making the most of riverside or historic buildings, through dependable business and leisure hotels geared towards both weekday commerce and weekend breaks, to smaller guest houses and B&Bs offering a more personal welcome at a lower price. Business travellers connected to the University of Surrey, Surrey Research Park or the town's professional and legal firms tend to favour the London Road and station corridor, while weekend visitors more often gravitate towards the town centre or the quieter, greener edges. Whichever area suits, Guildford's small size means that nowhere in town is really more than a twenty-minute walk from anywhere else, so the decision comes down more to the style of stay wanted than to strict practicality.

The town rewards a mix of wandering and specific sights, with most of the following within walking distance of the High Street.

• Guildford Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey fortress whose surviving keep and formal gardens sit just off the High Street, with views over the town from the top of the tower.
• Guildford Cathedral, consecrated in 1961, is one of only a handful of Church of England cathedrals built after the Reformation, and its plain brick exterior gives way to a striking, light-filled interior.
• The River Wey Navigations, cared for by the National Trust, offer towpath walks and, in summer, boat trips from Guildford Boathouse or the historic wharf at Dapdune, where restored Wey barges are on display.
• Guildford House Gallery, in a seventeenth-century townhouse on the High Street, hosts changing exhibitions of art and craft and is free to enter.
• Loseley Park, an Elizabethan manor house just outside town, opens its gardens, farm shop and walled kitchen garden to visitors through the summer months.
• Watts Gallery – Artists' Village at Compton, a short drive away, is devoted to the Victorian painter and sculptor G. F. Watts and includes his Arts and Crafts mortuary chapel.
• Newlands Corner, on the North Downs above the town, is a popular viewpoint and starting point for walks along the North Downs Way, with sweeping views across the Surrey Weald.
• The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, on the riverbank, stages touring drama, comedy and musicals and often previews West End productions before their London opening.

Guildford's dining scene mixes long-standing pubs with a growing number of independent restaurants around the Tunsgate and Chapel Street area. A farmers' market sets up on North Street on the first Tuesday of the month, bringing Surrey producers into the town centre for cheese, meat, bread and seasonal vegetables. Riverside pubs along the Wey towpath are popular for a pint after a walk, while the cathedral's café and the tearoom at Guildford Castle's gardens suit a quieter stop. Loseley Park, just outside town, is well known locally for its dairy ice cream and farm shop, both drawing on produce from the surrounding estate, and make a natural stop when combining a visit to the house and gardens with lunch.

Guildford itself, being a dense historic town centre, has no campsites within its built-up area, but the countryside around it more than compensates. The North Downs rise immediately to the north and east of the town, offering chalk grassland and beech woodland, while the sandy heaths and pine woods around Farnham and the Hampshire border a few miles to the west give a noticeably different, drier terrain that suits camping well even after wet spells. Sites within a short drive of Guildford range from small, simple fields with basic facilities to larger club-run campsites with full amenities, and several make use of parkland estates and working farms rather than purpose-built holiday parks.

Wild camping without the landowner's permission is not legally permitted anywhere in England, Surrey included, so campers should stick to established, licensed sites; the Surrey Hills' popularity with day visitors and its network of private estates and farmland make it an area where landowners are particularly likely to move on unauthorised camping. The terrain around Guildford is generally well-drained on the chalk downs and sandy heaths, though low-lying meadows near the River Wey can become waterlogged after heavy rain, so it's worth checking ground conditions with a site directly during wetter months. The best camping weather runs from late April through to September, with May and June often the driest combination of the year locally, and the Surrey Hills' beech woods add a strong case for a shoulder-season stay in October when the autumn colour is at its peak, provided a site with reasonable weatherproofing is chosen.