Photo: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0Staines-upon-Thames is a riverside town on the Thames Path, a few miles from Runnymede and from Thorpe Park in Chertsey.
Photo of Staines-upon-Thames: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0A volunteer-run museum of Spelthorne's archaeology and history, now in the Library Hub in the Elmsleigh Centre by Staines bus station. Finds range from a mammoth tusk and Roman pots to a replica of Neolithic Shepperton Woman.
Photo of Staines-upon-Thames: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0A family park on the Thames in Staines with two play areas, a summer splash park, mini golf and a riverside cafe run by The Little Green Boat Company. There is also a free skate and BMX area and three free tennis courts.
Photo: Irid Escent, CC BY-SA 2.0Common land since 1065 and never ploughed, this 289-acre moor north of Staines is a Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by Spelthorne Council with local moormasters. It is known for wintering wildfowl, birds of prey and what are thought to be Britain's oldest anthills.
Photo of Egham: David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0A small volunteer-run community museum on Egham High Street, founded in 1968, covering Egham, Englefield Green, Thorpe and Virginia Water from the earliest settlers to today. Displays explain why King John came to Runnymede and how Thomas Holloway founded his college.
Photo: Alan Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.0A council-run riverside park on the Thames between Egham and Old Windsor, with play equipment, a chlorinated paddling pool in summer and long river frontage. It sits next to the National Trust meadows at Runnymede, so it works well as the start of a longer walk.
A big theme park on former gravel pits beside the M25 near Chertsey, with more than 25 rides including the Hyperia, Stealth, Colossus and Nemesis Inferno coasters and water rides such as Tidal Wave. It suits teenagers and thrill seekers most, though there are gentler family rides too, and the Thorpe Shark Cabins offer overnight stays.
A Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial on the crest of Cooper's Hill, naming more than 20,000 airmen and women of the Commonwealth air forces lost in the Second World War who have no known grave. Unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, it looks down over the Runnymede meadows.
Photo: Alan Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.0A large riverside park beside the Thames at Laleham, run by Spelthorne Council, with a playground, open grass and the Thames Path along its edge. It also has a campsite and space for horse riding.
Photo: Irid Escent, CC BY-SA 2.0The Thames-side meadows where King John sealed Magna Carta in 1215, now cared for by the National Trust as open countryside with memorials and modern artworks. Across the river, Ankerwycke has priory ruins and a yew thought to be around 2,500 years old.
The borough museum for Runnymede, in an 1810 town house in the centre of Chertsey, open since 1965. Six display spaces cover local archaeology, Chertsey Abbey, art and social history, and the museum cares for the Olive Matthews Collection of Dress and Textiles.
A wooded hilltop park on the edge of Chertsey, opened to the public in 1928 and once the site of a prehistoric hill fort. Two viewpoints look north towards Thorpe Park and Heathrow and west towards Windsor, and the ancient woodland of Monk's Grove fills with bluebells in spring.
About 180 acres of council-run meadow, wetland and woodland bordered by the Thames and the River Bourne. It is popular with families and dog walkers, with a play area built around a boat called the Maid of the Meads.
A volunteer-run 7¼ inch gauge miniature railway in the green belt near Chertsey, with steam and instant-start locomotives and a fully working signalling system. Two routes run through a jungle area and Greywood Tunnel.
A hand-built adventure playground in the woods beside The Savill Garden, with treehouses, walkways, slides and giant acorns for children aged 2 to 12. Adults go in with the children, at least one for every four.
Photo: Daderot, CC0A 35-acre garden in Windsor Great Park, created by Eric Savill from 1932 and open to paying visitors since 1953. Themed areas change through the year, from the winter beds and spring magnolias to summer roses and autumn colour in the woodland.
Photo of Staines-upon-Thames: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0Staines Hockey Club opens its ground to everyone for a family fireworks night with funfair rides and food. The 7pm display keeps it an early evening.
Thorpe Park's Halloween scare event marks its 25th year in 2026 with a new maze, Tenement, alongside returning mazes, scare zones and shows. The rides keep running after dark, including the Hyperia and SAW coasters.
Chertsey Museum runs two Halloween craft sessions in half-term. Children make a 3D flapping bat on the Tuesday and turn a small box into a Frankenstein head on the Thursday.
Chertsey's High Street hosts its Christmas Goose Fair with a procession, festive music, stalls, free crafts and face painting, a funfair and snow.
Photo of Staines-upon-Thames: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0A volunteer-run museum of Spelthorne's archaeology and history, now in the Library Hub in the Elmsleigh Centre by Staines bus station. Finds range from a mammoth tusk and Roman pots to a replica of Neolithic Shepperton Woman.
Photo of Egham: David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0A small volunteer-run community museum on Egham High Street, founded in 1968, covering Egham, Englefield Green, Thorpe and Virginia Water from the earliest settlers to today. Displays explain why King John came to Runnymede and how Thomas Holloway founded his college.
A Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial on the crest of Cooper's Hill, naming more than 20,000 airmen and women of the Commonwealth air forces lost in the Second World War who have no known grave. Unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, it looks down over the Runnymede meadows.
The borough museum for Runnymede, in an 1810 town house in the centre of Chertsey, open since 1965. Six display spaces cover local archaeology, Chertsey Abbey, art and social history, and the museum cares for the Olive Matthews Collection of Dress and Textiles.
Photo of Staines-upon-Thames: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0A volunteer-run museum of Spelthorne's archaeology and history, now in the Library Hub in the Elmsleigh Centre by Staines bus station. Finds range from a mammoth tusk and Roman pots to a replica of Neolithic Shepperton Woman.
Photo of Staines-upon-Thames: Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0A family park on the Thames in Staines with two play areas, a summer splash park, mini golf and a riverside cafe run by The Little Green Boat Company. There is also a free skate and BMX area and three free tennis courts.
Photo: Irid Escent, CC BY-SA 2.0Common land since 1065 and never ploughed, this 289-acre moor north of Staines is a Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by Spelthorne Council with local moormasters. It is known for wintering wildfowl, birds of prey and what are thought to be Britain's oldest anthills.
Photo of Egham: David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0A small volunteer-run community museum on Egham High Street, founded in 1968, covering Egham, Englefield Green, Thorpe and Virginia Water from the earliest settlers to today. Displays explain why King John came to Runnymede and how Thomas Holloway founded his college.
Photo: Alan Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.0A council-run riverside park on the Thames between Egham and Old Windsor, with play equipment, a chlorinated paddling pool in summer and long river frontage. It sits next to the National Trust meadows at Runnymede, so it works well as the start of a longer walk.
A Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial on the crest of Cooper's Hill, naming more than 20,000 airmen and women of the Commonwealth air forces lost in the Second World War who have no known grave. Unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, it looks down over the Runnymede meadows.
