Moving to Surrey - advice needed please!

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Juliana

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I hope Forum members in Surrey might be able to give me some advice about where would be the best place within 30mins (rush-hour time) drive of centre of Leatherhead. I'm from Suffolk and have no idea where to even start looking. I am hoping to find a horse-friendly (of course!) and dog-friendly medium-sized village with nice pub with proper beer and a shop, with a real sense of community. Lots of lovely hacking country a must, as I don't compete any more and just want to enjoy the view from between a horse's ears. Now I've written my wish-list, it sounds like I'm asking for too much but maybe you know just such a place! Some suggestions most welcome so we can start looking, otherwise it'll just be a matter of luck if we happen to stumble on somewhere nice. I'm not bringing my horse with me but am hoping to find a happy hacker to share locally. Thank you so much in advance, people!
 
Have a look at Ripley, it's a lovely village with a great pub, village green, a few shops, it's got a lovely community feel, oh and it has a Michelin starred restaurant! Otherwise there's Effingham or Bookham. To The Horsleys, hope that is a start for you.
 
You could also check out Shere. Fantastic hacking on the downs and a picturesque village to boot. I used to keep my old horse nearby and could spend hours exploring the countryside.
 
Are you aiming to buy/rent? I live in Shere and used to commute to Leatherhead - 15-20mins on average. I would also recommend Albury, Chilworth, Gomshall. If you're looking to rent, give me a shout. I might also have a horse you can share ;).
 
I live in Ewhurst, which is nice and it's close to all amenities in Cranleigh, depending on budget its that bit cheaper than shere, albury!
 
Brockham, quintessential English village complete with lovely green, 2 pubs, doctor, pharmacy, delicatessen, great Spar for general stuff and popular butcher. Has its own website and hosts the largest firework display in Surrey on bonfire night. Hacking..my old yard where my mare is retired. Right on the downs in Dorking, no roadwork, great people, dog friendly and think one of my friends will be looking for a share for one of her mares.
 
Horlicks said:
Are you aiming to buy/rent? I live in Shere and used to commute to Leatherhead - 15-20mins on average. I would also recommend Albury, Chilworth, Gomshall. If you're looking to rent, give me a shout. I might also have a horse you can share ;).
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Very helpful, thanks, and we're going to rent. Mention of possible horse also very interesting!
 
sue_nf said:
Have a look at Ripley, it's a lovely village with a great pub, village green, a few shops, it's got a lovely community feel, oh and it has a Michelin starred restaurant! Otherwise there's Effingham or Bookham. To The Horsleys, hope that is a start for you.
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Thanks very much, we'll definitely have a look at Ripley. Sounds lovely!
 
Luci07 said:
Brockham, quintessential English village complete with lovely green, 2 pubs, doctor, pharmacy, delicatessen, great Spar for general stuff and popular butcher. Has its own website and hosts the largest firework display in Surrey on bonfire night. Hacking..my old yard where my mare is retired. Right on the downs in Dorking, no roadwork, great people, dog friendly and think one of my friends will be looking for a share for one of her mares.
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Another village which sounds pretty near perfect! Will check out website and go and have a look. The possibility of a horse also another attraction to add to the list! Thank you :)
 
Ella19 said:
I live in Ewhurst, which is nice and it's close to all amenities in Cranleigh, depending on budget its that bit cheaper than shere, albury!
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That's really helpful - cheaper sounds good! Another one to add to our list of possible places to roost. Thank you :-)
 
GG2B said:
You could also check out Shere. Fantastic hacking on the downs and a picturesque village to boot. I used to keep my old horse nearby and could spend hours exploring the countryside.
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Shere seems to be getting quite a few mentions, so must be up there at the top of the list for desirable locations to settle for a while. Thanks :-)
 
Fransurrey said:
Agreed and depending on your budget, you would do FAR worse than check out Coldharbour, on Leith Hill. Outstanding hacking and it just so happens I know of an Andalusian up for share. ;)
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Hmmm... Andalusian? That could definitely tip the balance into Coldharbour's favour! :) :)
 
Another vote for Shere, also Effingham/Ranmore/Coldharbour - the riding/dog walking is fab. :) Anywhere along the Downs between Guildford, Dorking and beyond is great and within striking distance of Leatherhead.
 
Thank you so much, everyone! So many helpful suggestions.

We'll be coming down for a recce in a couple of weeks, and planning to move early September. We're planning to rent and need a 1/2 bed place. Will mostly only be there Monday to Friday as we'll head back to Suffolk most weekends - or that's the plan at mo. If anyone happens to know of a nice place to rent, please let me know!

As you may have guessed, I'm a newbie at this forum thing, so couldn't work out how to reply to your messages individually and resorted to quoting instead. Perhaps someone could tell me the right way to reply? Not very tech-savvy...
 
Juliana said:
Hmmm... Andalusian? That could definitely tip the balance into Coldharbour's favour! :) :)
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lol! She's a lovely temperament, too. I live in Brockham and whilst nice to LIVE in, I don't think it's horse friendly at all. Mostly roadwork until you get to Betchworth or Holmwood and two of the three bridleways in the village are impassable for some parts of the year, through flooding and bad surface (clay). I did keep mine in Betchworth for a little while and wasn't keen. Everyone raved about Reigate Heath, but it has a golf course in the middle and is like the M25 of bridleways! On Leith Hill and Ranmore (access to both from Shere), you can go for hours in beautiful forestry and woodlands without touching roads. I just have a soft spot for Leith Hill, though. I would drive around before you move and go for some walks, get a feel for the different places. Some people love Reigate Heath!
 
Juliana said:
Thank you so much, everyone! So many helpful suggestions.

We'll be coming down for a recce in a couple of weeks, and planning to move early September. We're planning to rent and need a 1/2 bed place. Will mostly only be there Monday to Friday as we'll head back to Suffolk most weekends - or that's the plan at mo. If anyone happens to know of a nice place to rent, please let me know!

As you may have guessed, I'm a newbie at this forum thing, so couldn't work out how to reply to your messages individually and resorted to quoting instead. Perhaps someone could tell me the right way to reply? Not very tech-savvy...
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Bummer, you're about a month too late. My house was up for rent, but we've got new tenants, now! Will keep an eye out, though.
 
Ooh, I think our neighbours are looking to rent their house, in Hascombe. Not sure how many beds though and, knowing how much they paid for it, it might be quite pricey! Not sure whether it would be too far.
 
Headley is really nice, and walton on the hill, anywhere around dorking is beautiful! I live in ashtead which I love but it's not really a village anymore!!
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
I hope you have deep pockets tho as renting (or buying) in most of the villages mentioned is not cheap at all :o
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This is true. You may get a shock, coming from Suffolk. Our house is not even a full 2 bedroom (second bedroom at a push could fit a 2'6" bed without a headboard and maybe a wardrobe with drawers under - nothing else) and yet we paid £250,000 (end terraced) and rental value is £950 per month (we don't get that, but this was the valuation two months ago from an agent). Brockham is notoriously more expensive than other places, though. Dorking itself is cheaper, as are Leatherhead, Ashtead, headley, everywhere... :D

ETA: look on Gumtree for rentals. Tends to be much cheaper than estate agents!
 
Fransurrey said:
Our house is not even a full 2 bedroom (second bedroom at a push could fit a 2'6" bed without a headboard and maybe a wardrobe with drawers under - nothing else) and yet we paid £250,000 (end terraced) and rental value is £950 per month
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Lol, snap - mine's exactly the same (and I'd thought it was unique :o ), though I'm smack bang in the centre of Leatherhead, sadly no cheaper here.
 
I work in Leatherhead, keep my horse in Ashtead/Epsom but live about half an hour away in Wallington. I would say if you want to rent i would look to Dorking or Leatherhead. My sister lives in Dorking and so did my mum when she was a live and its a nice place, somewhere my and my oh are thinking of moving to in time (even with my sister living there :p)
Moving to either of those places means that you can access all the good horsey places as it is fairly cental, Holmwood is a bit cheaper than right in Dorking i've found. It takes about 20 mins to get to Leatherhead i think.
Surrey is a nice part of the world but not cheap unfortunately.
 
I used to live in Surrey in Walton on the hill. The hacking there was excellent, also you could get to Epsom Downs, headley Heath, and also Reigate Heath and Ranmore if you fancied a day ride. There are loads of bridle tracks, but as it is mostly clay on top of the North Downs, it can become horrendous in wet conditions. Hope my info isn't too out of date - I am sure someone will correct me if it is. I also remember it before they built the M25 - it was all a lot more peaceful then!
 
vam said:
It takes about 20 mins to get to Leatherhead i think.
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Dorking to Leatherhead is 10 mins, tops, so not far at all. :)

Someone above said their part of the Downs is clay. Good point. Leith Hill is all sand, but Holmwood common is a mix, mostly clay.
 
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