Photo: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Dorking is a market town between Box Hill and Leith Hill, with Denbies Wine Estate on its edge and a local museum that runs tours of the caves under South Street.
Dorking is a market town in the Surrey Hills with Box Hill and Leith Hill close by. The National Trust looks after Box Hill, which has waymarked walks, a family trail through a natural play area, a café and wide views, and cyclists ride the Zig Zag road to the top. Leith Hill has trails through woodland, heathland and farmland, a tower with a tea kiosk at its base, and parking from £2 for an hour to £9 for the day, free for members. Denbies Wine Estate, on the edge of the town, offers cellar tastings, a vineyard train tour and restaurants, and runs a Santa Express at Christmas. In the town, Dorking Museum tells the local story from chalk fossils to the Mayflower, and its guided tours of the 17th century South Street Caves run from late March to October.
Dorking has three railway stations. Dorking (Main), managed by Southern, has step free access to all platforms, lifts and 345 parking spaces, while Dorking Deepdene, managed by Great Western Railway, has no step free access. Mole Valley District Council's town car parks include St Martin's Walk, Reigate Road and Southside. Charges apply from 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, from £1.50 for an hour to £4.70 for four hours, payable by RingGo, and parking is free on Sundays and bank holidays. The National Trust says Leith Hill is about 5.5 miles from Dorking station, and Holmwood station is nearer, at about 2.5 miles.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0A volunteer-run local history museum telling the story of Dorking from the Cretaceous period to the present. Displays include local chalk fossils with a large dinosaur tail, Wedgwood pottery from Leith Hill Place and the six Dorking people who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0An Art Deco arts centre built in 1931 at the top of Dorking High Street, with a Grand Hall for music, comedy and pantomime, three cinema screens and a café bar. It is reopening in December 2026 after a second phase of works to its systems and stage.
Photo: Cjc13, CC BY-SA 3.0A large single-estate vineyard on the slopes of the North Downs outside Dorking, with a visitor centre, wine shop, restaurants and an art gallery. Visitors can take a guided cellar tasting or a vineyard train tour, or walk the 7 miles of public footpaths through the vines.
Photo: Victor Ochieng, CC BY-SA 2.0A chalk hill on the North Downs with wide views over the Mole Valley and the Weald, ancient box woodland and chalk grassland. It is a popular start for waymarked walks, the North Downs Way and the Zig Zag Road cycle climb used in the 2012 Olympic road race.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0A chalk escarpment above Dorking with views towards Leith Hill, named after John Denby, a 17th-century farmer. The North Downs Way runs along the top past Second World War pill boxes, and Ranmore Common's woods lie across the road.
Photo: ChrisParkinson, CC BY-SA 3.0The Edwardian country retreat of the society hostess Margaret Greville, set in a 1,600-acre estate of downland and ancient woodland with views across to Ranmore Common. The ground-floor rooms hold her collection of paintings, ceramics and French furniture, and the gardens include a walled rose garden and long herbaceous borders.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0An ancient common just off the A24 south of Dorking, once owned by King Harold and then William the Conqueror. It is fairly flat, with woodland, sunny glades and ponds, which makes it easy going for families, though it can be wet underfoot.
Photo: Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0Grassland and mixed woodland above Abinger Hammer, with oak trees more than 300 years old and clearly marked, fairly flat paths. Charles Darwin walked here in the 1870s, and a short trail covers the history from the Stone Age to his visits.
Photo of Leatherhead: DimiTalen, CC0A large estate of woodland, farmland and chalk grassland between Leatherhead and Dorking, bought by Surrey County Council in 1931 to save it from development. Colour-coded self-guided trails start from the car parks, with views towards Box Hill and the River Mole below.
Photo of Leatherhead: DimiTalen, CC0A family-run working farm on the A246 between Leatherhead and Fetcham, with animals to feed, racing pigs, tractor rides and large play areas indoors and out. Much of it is undercover, so it works in most weather.
Photo: Peter S, CC BY-SA 2.0Open heathland, chalk downland slopes and mixed woodland with a wide network of tracks for walking, cycling and riding. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with heather, gorse, deer and heathland birds such as stonechats and woodlarks.
Photo: Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0A lowland heath on the western edge of Reigate with heather and acid grassland, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve. Bronze Age burial mounds, between 3,000 and 5,000 years old, survive on the heath as scheduled monuments.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0A small local history museum run by volunteers of the Leatherhead and District Local History Society in Hampton Cottage, a timbered 17th-century house on Church Street. It covers Leatherhead, Ashtead, the Bookhams and Fetcham.
Photo of Leatherhead: DimiTalen, CC0A 530-seat theatre and cinema opened in 1969 in a former 1930s cinema, reached by a short corridor off Church Street. The auditorium keeps its original concrete balconies and brick-tile walls, and hosts films, live shows and screenings of opera and theatre.
Ancient commons recorded in the Domesday Book, with grassland plains, old oak woods and ponds. The London Natural History Society has surveyed its wildlife since 1941, making it one of the most closely studied sites in the country.
Woodland, heathland and farmland around the highest point in south-east England, topped by a tower with views towards London and the Channel. Trails lead through ancient woods, the Rhododendron Wood planted by Caroline Wedgwood and the open heath of Duke's Warren.
Photo: Dr Neil Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0A park of historic interest off Bell Street in Reigate, with lakes, a sunken garden and plenty of wildlife. Families come for the playground with sensory and splash areas, the skatepark and the café in the pavilion.
A 270-acre Local Nature Reserve of woodland and chalk grassland on the North Downs above the Horsleys, bought by Surrey County Council in 1936. It is known for its orchids and butterflies, and the Millennium viewpoint looks out to the London skyline.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Dorking pedestrianises its main streets for a festive day with a Festive Forest theme, stalls from Surrey Hills Enterprises, two music stages and roving entertainers. There is a giant snow globe, a grotto, free face painting and a funfair.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Enchanted Entertainment's family pantomime for Dorking Halls stars JJ Hamblett of Union J as Robin Hood and Michael Praed, from Robin of Sherwood, as the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show promises 3D effects and live music.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Dorking Halls runs a Santa's grotto over the last weekend of November in Pippbrook House, the Victorian house beside the halls in Dorking.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0Denbies runs a short Halloween programme for families over half-term. The outdoor train tour of the vineyard becomes a Spooky Train with creepy crawlies to spot, and Zoolab brings unusual animals for a hands-on workshop.
Held on the Saturday nearest 5 November, Brockham's village bonfire is built by hundreds of volunteers over many weekends and raises more than £20,000 a year for local causes. The day builds from a charities fair to a torch procession, the lighting of the bonfire and fireworks on the green.
An autumn family trail round the garden inspired by Moominvalley, with characters from the Moomin stories to meet along the way. It is presented by Bakehouse Factory, which makes interactive theatrical events.
Polesden Lacey's prized pumpkin has gone missing, and children help Detective Grizwald work out who took it by solving puzzles round the grounds. It runs through both weeks of half-term.
The ground-floor rooms of the Edwardian house are dressed with displays inspired by each verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Outside, families can follow a trail around the grounds and collect a small gift at the end.
The first week of Bocketts' Halloween season is aimed at younger children, with a spooky stamp trail, Halloween crafts and a Pumpkin Village for photos. The usual farm activities and play areas carry on alongside.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0A volunteer-run local history museum telling the story of Dorking from the Cretaceous period to the present. Displays include local chalk fossils with a large dinosaur tail, Wedgwood pottery from Leith Hill Place and the six Dorking people who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0An Art Deco arts centre built in 1931 at the top of Dorking High Street, with a Grand Hall for music, comedy and pantomime, three cinema screens and a café bar. It is reopening in December 2026 after a second phase of works to its systems and stage.
Photo: Cjc13, CC BY-SA 3.0A large single-estate vineyard on the slopes of the North Downs outside Dorking, with a visitor centre, wine shop, restaurants and an art gallery. Visitors can take a guided cellar tasting or a vineyard train tour, or walk the 7 miles of public footpaths through the vines.
Photo: ChrisParkinson, CC BY-SA 3.0The Edwardian country retreat of the society hostess Margaret Greville, set in a 1,600-acre estate of downland and ancient woodland with views across to Ranmore Common. The ground-floor rooms hold her collection of paintings, ceramics and French furniture, and the gardens include a walled rose garden and long herbaceous borders.
Photo of Leatherhead: DimiTalen, CC0A family-run working farm on the A246 between Leatherhead and Fetcham, with animals to feed, racing pigs, tractor rides and large play areas indoors and out. Much of it is undercover, so it works in most weather.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0A small local history museum run by volunteers of the Leatherhead and District Local History Society in Hampton Cottage, a timbered 17th-century house on Church Street. It covers Leatherhead, Ashtead, the Bookhams and Fetcham.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0A volunteer-run local history museum telling the story of Dorking from the Cretaceous period to the present. Displays include local chalk fossils with a large dinosaur tail, Wedgwood pottery from Leith Hill Place and the six Dorking people who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620.
Photo: Victor Ochieng, CC BY-SA 2.0A chalk hill on the North Downs with wide views over the Mole Valley and the Weald, ancient box woodland and chalk grassland. It is a popular start for waymarked walks, the North Downs Way and the Zig Zag Road cycle climb used in the 2012 Olympic road race.
Photo of Dorking: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0A chalk escarpment above Dorking with views towards Leith Hill, named after John Denby, a 17th-century farmer. The North Downs Way runs along the top past Second World War pill boxes, and Ranmore Common's woods lie across the road.
Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0An ancient common just off the A24 south of Dorking, once owned by King Harold and then William the Conqueror. It is fairly flat, with woodland, sunny glades and ponds, which makes it easy going for families, though it can be wet underfoot.
Photo: Michael Garlick, CC BY-SA 2.0Grassland and mixed woodland above Abinger Hammer, with oak trees more than 300 years old and clearly marked, fairly flat paths. Charles Darwin walked here in the 1870s, and a short trail covers the history from the Stone Age to his visits.
Photo of Leatherhead: DimiTalen, CC0A large estate of woodland, farmland and chalk grassland between Leatherhead and Dorking, bought by Surrey County Council in 1931 to save it from development. Colour-coded self-guided trails start from the car parks, with views towards Box Hill and the River Mole below.
The rest of the 21 places we list within 10 km, closest first.
