Photo: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham is a market town below its castle on the Hampshire border, with the Farnham Maltings arts centre, the Museum of Farnham, and Frensham Great Pond and Waverley Abbey close by.
Farnham is a market town on the Surrey and Hampshire border, overlooked by a castle founded in 1138 by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. The castle keep, cared for by English Heritage, is closed to the public for now, but Farnham Castle Trust runs guided tours of the Bishop's Palace on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm, at £5 for adults and free for under 18s, with no need to book, and its exhibition room is free on the same afternoons. In the town, Farnham Maltings is an arts centre with shows, places to meet for lunch and a monthly market, and it runs the Museum of Farnham in a Grade I listed Georgian townhouse. English Heritage notes that the remains of Waverley Abbey, the first Cistercian abbey in England, are a couple of miles away.
Farnham station is managed by South Western Railway and has step free access to all platforms, some by ramps, with 558 parking spaces. Waverley Borough Council runs pay and display car parks around the town centre, among them Central, South Street, Upper Hart, Lower Hart and the three Riverside car parks. Farnham Park car park, beside the castle, is free, although the council says a four hour weekday limit is due to start. English Heritage advises parking there or in the town, about half a mile away, because only Blue Badge holders can park at the castle. The council also runs a pay and display car park at Frensham Great Pond.
Photo: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0A riverside arts centre in a former maltings in central Farnham, with shows, exhibitions, a café and craft shops. Its monthly market, held inside and out, is one of the oldest and largest in Surrey.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0For more than 900 years the home of the Bishops of Winchester, at the top of Farnham's Georgian Castle Street, with a shell keep begun in the 12th century. Volunteer guides from the Farnham Castle Charity lead tours of the Bishop's Palace, including the medieval Great Hall.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham's town museum on West Street in the centre of town, free for everyone and run alongside Farnham Maltings. The building is part of an ongoing restoration project.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0A medieval deer park of 320 acres right next to Farnham town centre, its boundary unchanged for more than 600 years, with avenues, dells, ponds and veteran trees. It is a Local Nature Reserve, a listed historic park and a Green Flag site.
Photo: Martinvl, CC BY-SA 3.0A Victorian country pottery founded in 1873 by Absalom Harris and run by five generations of his family until 2000, now a creative hub with a café, shop, exhibitions and clay classes. Workshops are open to all ages and abilities.
Photo: Mills77, CC BY-SA 3.0The ruins of the first Cistercian monastery in Britain, founded by monks from France in 1128 beside the River Wey south-east of Farnham. The vaulted 13th-century lay brothers' refectory survives, and an ancient yew grows in the grounds.
Photo: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0A Forestry England wood above a large heathland clearing south of Farnham, with views over the surrounding pine forest. It is one of the UK film industry's busiest locations and has been used for films, adverts and television since 1999.
Photo: Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 3.0An open-air museum in the countryside near Tilford with historic rural buildings and a large collection of farm machinery, tools, cycles and fire engines from country life. It runs toddler mornings, activity days and courses through the year.
Photo: Mertbiol, CC0An independent brewery in Tongham, below the Hog's Back, which grows its own hops. Guided tours take in its brew house and the solar-powered One Planet Brewing Co next door, and there is a brewery shop and a Tap serving pizza and fresh beer.
Photo: Peter S, CC BY-SA 2.0A 13th-century fish pond set in heathland between Farnham and Hindhead, owned by the National Trust and part of the Wealden Heaths National Nature Reserve. A level walk circles the water, with the Tern Café looking over it.
Photo: Peter S, CC BY-SA 2.0A large medieval pond with sandy beaches on Frensham Common, about 1,000 acres of heathland owned by the National Trust and mostly managed by Waverley Borough Council. The ponds were dug in the Middle Ages to supply fish to the Bishop of Winchester.
Photo: Alan Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.0An extensive common of heathland, woodland and ponds in the Surrey Hills, part of the Wealden Heaths National Nature Reserve, with views and purple heather in late summer. Three waymarked trails start from the car parks, one climbing to the ancient Hillbury hill fort.
Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 4.0One of the largest surviving pieces of Surrey heathland, 325 hectares of dry heath, peat bog, ponds and woodland managed by Natural England as part of the Wealden Heaths National Nature Reserve. It is one of the best places in England to see dragonflies.
The visitor centre for the Basingstoke Canal, run by Surrey County Council beside the towpath at Mytchett. It is a starting point for canal walks and cycle rides, with a play area, picnic spots, a cafe and, in normal water conditions, boat trips and boat hire.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham starts its festive season with an afternoon in Gostrey Meadow of performances from local schools, theatre groups and dance companies. There are food and gift stalls, children's rides, face painting and Santa in his grotto.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham Town Council fills the town centre with more than 100 stalls of handmade gifts, food and drink, along with live music. A free hoppa bus links north and south Farnham to the market.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham Maltings' half-term programme mixes Halloween crafts with drama and art workshops for different ages. Options include beaded Halloween jewellery, screen-printed trick or treat bags, stage make-up and a trick or treat silent disco.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0The Maltings' long-running Christmas fair fills the arts centre with more than 130 independent stalls of handmade gifts, crafts, food and drink. It is one of the biggest Christmas shopping events in Surrey.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham Maltings produces its own Christmas show, a new musical version of Beatrix Potter's The Tailor of Gloucester. It uses live rock and pop music, puppetry and a family of ambitious mice to tell a story about courage and community.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham Round Table has run the town's bonfire night since 1976. Hundreds of torch bearers follow a pipe band from Waggon Yard up Castle Street to Farnham Park, where the guys are judged, the bonfire is lit and a professional display ends the evening.
A steam-hauled train takes families from Reeds Road Station through the trees to the North Pole Station, a short walk from Santa's woodland grotto. Children get a named gift, and the museum's historic buildings are dressed with period decorations.
The open-air museum near Farnham opens after dark with its historic buildings decorated and lit for Christmas. There is live music, mince pies, mulled wine and a campfire for toasting marshmallows.
Photo: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0A riverside arts centre in a former maltings in central Farnham, with shows, exhibitions, a café and craft shops. Its monthly market, held inside and out, is one of the oldest and largest in Surrey.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0For more than 900 years the home of the Bishops of Winchester, at the top of Farnham's Georgian Castle Street, with a shell keep begun in the 12th century. Volunteer guides from the Farnham Castle Charity lead tours of the Bishop's Palace, including the medieval Great Hall.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham's town museum on West Street in the centre of town, free for everyone and run alongside Farnham Maltings. The building is part of an ongoing restoration project.
Photo: Martinvl, CC BY-SA 3.0A Victorian country pottery founded in 1873 by Absalom Harris and run by five generations of his family until 2000, now a creative hub with a café, shop, exhibitions and clay classes. Workshops are open to all ages and abilities.
Photo: Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 3.0An open-air museum in the countryside near Tilford with historic rural buildings and a large collection of farm machinery, tools, cycles and fire engines from country life. It runs toddler mornings, activity days and courses through the year.
Photo: Mertbiol, CC0An independent brewery in Tongham, below the Hog's Back, which grows its own hops. Guided tours take in its brew house and the solar-powered One Planet Brewing Co next door, and there is a brewery shop and a Tap serving pizza and fresh beer.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0Farnham's town museum on West Street in the centre of town, free for everyone and run alongside Farnham Maltings. The building is part of an ongoing restoration project.
Photo of Farnham: Pjposullivan, CC BY-SA 3.0A medieval deer park of 320 acres right next to Farnham town centre, its boundary unchanged for more than 600 years, with avenues, dells, ponds and veteran trees. It is a Local Nature Reserve, a listed historic park and a Green Flag site.
Photo: Martinvl, CC BY-SA 3.0A Victorian country pottery founded in 1873 by Absalom Harris and run by five generations of his family until 2000, now a creative hub with a café, shop, exhibitions and clay classes. Workshops are open to all ages and abilities.
Photo: Mills77, CC BY-SA 3.0The ruins of the first Cistercian monastery in Britain, founded by monks from France in 1128 beside the River Wey south-east of Farnham. The vaulted 13th-century lay brothers' refectory survives, and an ancient yew grows in the grounds.
Photo: BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0A Forestry England wood above a large heathland clearing south of Farnham, with views over the surrounding pine forest. It is one of the UK film industry's busiest locations and has been used for films, adverts and television since 1999.
Photo: Peter S, CC BY-SA 2.0A 13th-century fish pond set in heathland between Farnham and Hindhead, owned by the National Trust and part of the Wealden Heaths National Nature Reserve. A level walk circles the water, with the Tern Café looking over it.
