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Sands Home Search are independent buying consultants specialising in finding and acquiring prime country houses & estates, farm & equestrian property and waterside homes for retained private & corporate clients.

For further information about our service use the menu at the top of this page.

About the County of Surrey
(For a list of all the prime country estate properties sold in Surrey recently, scroll down to the bottom of this page)

Guildford, Woking, Epsom and the North & South Downs areas of the beautiful county of Surrey.

Surrey is a diverse county; from the typically English country towns of Farnham and Haslemere in the west, to the more sophisticated and culturally mixed areas such as Esher and Cobham.

There are four main areas of Surrey, each with quite different characteristics. Inside the M25 are the private estates that make up the areas around Cobham, Esher and Weybridge, which contain a mix of Edwardian and newer houses. Many people move to these areas for access to the international schools, both international airports, security and the choice of new or recently built large houses. There are many golf courses in the area and the pinnacle for a few people are the private gated estates of St George?s Hill and Wentworth, both set amidst championship golf courses.

Outside the M25, there is an equally accessible area around Woking. There are areas with a remarkably rural feel, such as the villages of Chobham, Ripley and Worplesdon. By the same token, there are some less good spots, particularly around Woking, which are best avoided. On the edge of Woking is a private estate called The Hockering where one can walk to Woking station and be in Waterloo in approximately 20 minutes – one of the best fast train services outside London. With these areas, care should be taken avoiding hazards such as Pirbright Military Ranges. For the avid golfer, there are plenty of good courses. Many choose to live in the area around Worplesdon Golf Course where houses back on to the course.

If you head a little further down the A3 (10 minutes from the M25 junction), Guildford is the shopping and cultural centre. A good house in the surrounding villages generally attracts a premium. In particular, Peaslake and Shere make you feel as though you are an hour west of Basingstoke, yet the reality is you are only a 20-minute drive from the M25. The most popular villages around Guildford – Shamley Green, Bramley and Shalford – are a few minutes? drive from Guildford station and 30-40 minutes from Waterloo. The Surrey Hills, as they are known, can provide great views (particularly on Hascombe Ridge) and good walking through the Hurtwood Forest.

Further down the A3 takes you to the Haslemere and Farnham areas which are even more rural. The villages on the Surrey/Hampshire and Surrey/Sussex borders, such as Chiddingfold, Dunsfold, Frensham and Milford take a bit longer to get to and are less easily commutable. Watch out for Dunsfold Aerodrome, the Gatwick flight path, RAF Odiham and the future of the A3 crossroads at Hindhead.

East of Guildford are the towns of Dorking, Reigate and Redhill where prices tend to be lower. However, this can be just as easily commutable, although the countryside is flatter and the Gatwick flight path affects large swathes.

There are many good schools in Surrey, such as the Danish School in West Byfleet, the American Community Schools and Charterhouse.

As Surrey became increasingly popular from the second-half of the 19th-century, it attracted leading architects of the time, such as Lutyens, who designed many of the county's late-Victorian and Edwardian country houses.

Of all the Home Counties, Surrey has the best access to London. As a result, it is densely populated, but often appears surprisingly rural: the rolling, wooded landscape is ideal for tucking houses away.

It has often been said that Surrey is not 'real country', but there are some sweeping landscapes and spectacular views, and wildernesses such as Box Hill. The intervention of the National Trust, together with the designation of green-belt tracts and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has saved much of the countryside from over-development.

The county was important in medieval times and had a thriving wool trade. Today, the principal industry is agriculture; the low rainfall and relatively flat land is ideally suited to arable farming.

Surrey was poor in the 18th century, largely because of the agricultural poverty of its sandy soil. As a result, there are few Georgian houses, and those that do exist command substantial premiums; there is also a scattering of earlier houses.

It was only in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century that the county's popularity took off: there are many substantial and well-built late-Victorian and Edwardian houses. The most famous were designed by Lutyens, who combined local materials and vernacular forms with a feeling for drama and geometry.

There are many beautiful and well-tended gardens, most notably at Wisley, where the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens are open to the public. All of Surrey is popular ; the most sought-after areas include the Surrey Hills, between Guildford and Dorking, and the villages round Guildford.

Major towns

Guildford, Cobham, Cranleigh, Dorking, Epsom, Esher, Farnham, Godalming, Oxted, Redhill, Reigate.

Transport links

Train: Waterloo to Guildford 35min; Waterloo to Reigate 50min; Waterloo to Godalming 45min.

Car: Guildford is 31 miles from central London via the A3; Reigate, 23 miles, via the A217; Godalming, 35 miles, via the A3.

Public schools

Aldro School, Shacklefield (01483 810266). Boys only, age range 7-13, day and boarding. www.aldro.org/

ACS Cobham, Cobham (01932 867251). Co-educational, age range 3-18, day and boarding. www.acs-england.co.uk/schools/cobham/

City of London Freemen's School, Ashtead (01372 277933). Co-educational, age range 7-18, day and boarding. www.clfs.surrey.sch.uk/

Claremont Fan Court School, Esher (01372 467841). Co-educational, age range 3-18, day and boarding. www.claremont-school.co.uk/

Cranleigh School (01483 273666). Co-educational, age range 13-18 (boys only, 7-13), day and boarding. Associated preparatory school. www.cranleigh.org/pages/cranleighschool/

Guildford High School (01483 561440). Girls only, age range 4-18, day.

Royal Grammar School, Guildford (01483 880600). Boys only, age range 11-18, day.

St Catherine's School, Bramley (01483 893363). Girls only, age range 4-18, day and boarding. www.st-catherines.surrey.sch.uk/

Leisure

Golf courses: Wentworth, Virginia Water (01344 842201); Sunningdale (01344 21681); St George's Hill, Weybridge (01932 847758).

Hunts: the Old Surrey and Burstow; the Surrey Union.

Yachting clubs: London River Yacht Club; Frensham Pond Sailing Club.

Fishing: rivers Mole and Wey, Enton Lakes and Tri Lakes.

THE BEST SURREY COUNTRY HOUSES FOR SALE IN 2004
(A breakdown of what was for sale & purchase prices)

Parkstone, St George's Hill, Esher (new mansion): £8m

Horseshoe House, Sunningdale (new mansion): £3.95m

Brompton Court, Kings Warren, Oxshott (7 bed mansion, spa complex): £2.95m

Pick House, Chiddingford (Grade II*, 131 acre estate): £4.5m

Logmore Place, Westcott (Stabling, 98 acres): £4.5m

Old House, Pyrford (Queen Anne, 4.5 acres): £4m

Munstead Oaks, Godalming (Arts and Crafts): £3m

Broadford, Chobham (Palladian House, 56 acres parkland): £2.8m

Tugley, Chiddingford (Grade II farmhouse, 38 acres): £2.5m


Source: Country Life

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on 01425 462 549.