[Closed] Commuting to London from the Surrey Hills

I live a couple of miles from Leatherhead. You need to go online to check season ticket prices, but in answer to your other questions:

ALL trains get rammed at peak periods, although you can normally get a seat at L'head on most trains. Its the rat race man.....its shite, but a lot of people do it and they just get used to it.

In terms of where to live, well it varys dramatically, so best to plug into Rightmove what you can afford and see what comes up. North L'head will be the cheapest, but for obvious reasons. 😕

Look at the Woking - Guildford line. Better trains IMO

Get yourself a car and drive up the A3 - it's dead quiet in the mornings 🙂

- How much is a season ticket going to set me back?

Google "National rail season ticket calculator" - and prepare to feel far more poor.

Also, prepare not to like anywhere for food and drinks as Islington is pretty bloody good.

Woking has 14 trains an hour in peak, but they are getting busier by the week. Some services worse than others, I get the 6.55 to work. Coming back just get on a train with 10 minutes to go until it leaves.

But if you get to waterloo and there isn't a train back to Woking within 11 minutes then you tend to feel annoyed.

Season tickets something above 3k depending on whether you need tube or not. Ticket is London Terminals so you can actually overground to London Bridge normally, although you are also covered for the Jubilee line to London Bridge at the moment.

Just about to start commuting to Waterloo on the Alton line, deep joy 🙂

Woking is a good spot for the train commute. 30 mins into London, loads of fast trains. 20 to 30 mins drive to Surrey Hills. 30 mins to Swinley, 15 to Tunnel Hill etc. All technically rideable too (I've done it on many occasions). Nearer to M4 than Leatherhead to do the drive to Wales (Cwmcarn 2.5 hrs, BPW 3, Afan 3+ etc).

Trains into London though from anywhere are going to be crammed. Problem with the satellite towns is they're along the last stops, so they're full up by the time the train gets there. Pompey trains to Waterloo via Woking for example are standing room only for me.

Peak train tickets are expensive also. Though depending where you work, if it's central, I'd walk or bike in London rather than use the tube.

Woking/Guildford housing though aint cheap! (though compared to London, maybe they seem far better deal as you'll probably get a bigger property, garden and/or off-road parking or garage if lucky).

Property actually in the Surrey Hills is generally nicer. Pretty towns and villages. Though outside of a big town it's getting a bit remote for commuting (but very close to the hills). Chilworth has often been on my radar as there's been some reasonable prices and nice property there, but there's nothing there. There is a train but it's an arse of a line. Really is ride out the door and hit the hills though.

An ex Guildford - Waterloo commuter here (20 years) .. thats a very good line (relatively) fast trains and plenty of them. Woking is where Portsmouth/Southampton lines join so even more trains. At peak times its standing only and not uncommon to not even be able to get on a train to stand coming home. You might look at villages around the slow line (Guildford via Cobham to Waterloo) but I'd guess as you're a FTB that you'd be looking at flats in a town.

I had NDW from my door, 45+ mins to Peaslake on bike or 20 mins in car.

If you work in London and like the outdoors its a fabulous area to live.

http://commutefrom.com/ gives lots of handy info on train frequency, cost, etc.

I used to live in Epsom, it was OK on the train but then there were some trains that started there so easy enough to get a seat. Trains home from Waterloo were always rammed. Was a pretty pleasant 1hr20 ride into London so I was doing that a few times a week at one point. Probably adds another 15-20mins from Leatherhead.

Nice ride from Leatherhead. I try and drive there (from near Horsham) and ride a couple of times a week. 23ish miles each way.

Train's fine. It's a bit shit, but it is what it is. It's time to yourself to work/sleep/read/browse STW. Woking is a superb service, but you have to live in Woking. I'd look at Epsom/Dorking too for sure. You can commute direct to Waterloo or Victoria from any of Dorking/Leatherhead/Epsom, which gives you more trains and more options when trains are screwed up.

I used to commute clapham to basingstoke . Cost thousands and it was the worst yet of my life 🙂

You're commuting one way or the other. There's a lot of research that says your quality of life goes down rapidly once your commute gets over an hour. An hour door to door from the satellite towns is tough unless you're walking distance (or a short bike ride) from the station. Which gets expensive.

For me it's always been live in London, ride to work, commute to the hills at the weekend. I can see the attraction of the opposite but I'd definitely try it renting before you commit to buying somewhere.

The mid point is to look at somewhere like Kingston. A decent length ride into the centre/shorter ride or commute out to the hills. I've a few friends down there and can see the advantages now.

Trains coming back from Waterloo are all fine as long as you pick a train that has ten minutes before it leaves...

Any less than that and you are likely to be standing, and def standing if only a couple of minutes to go.

FYI when I lived on the North side of Guildford I drove to Woking for the train (more trains, cheaper parking, 8 min shorter train ride)

Wow, those trains from Woking really are fast: 30+ miles in 27 minutes seems lightning quick when compared to TFL.

At £3,080, the season pass is almost £750 more expensive than the one from Leatherhead though.

An hour door to door

Using a folding bike has the advantage of making the commute a lot less taxing, the only problem is the air quality in London is getting really rank.

You would need an early train (640, 6.50, 6.55) to be safe though, in contract to a few years ago where most where fine up to 7.40 - I used to use a folding mtb then.

Yeah, I was thinking of a folding bike, or just permanently keeping a cheap bike at Waterloo.

I live very near Leatherhead and commute a few days a week into London. In the mornings you always get a seat but obviously it's harder to get a seat on the way back. My commute is to Camden and by train I take the Brompton to the station and ride from Waterloo. Now the summer is here I also ride to Camden 1hr35mins to 1hr40mins door to door.

Leatherhead has some very good mountain biking. Either on our stretch of the north downs or anything over to Leith/Peaslake/Winterfold/Pitch. You can bike a different route every day.

Tony - we ought To meet up, as i also ride to Camden from Leatherhead (as mentioned once/twice a week when diary allows).

Which way do you go? I go Maldon Rushet/Chessington/Kingston/Richmond Park/Putney Bridge/Kings Road. Much nicer than Epsom/Merton/CS7

Epsom/Merton/CS7 which is far from the nicest ride ever. The alternative you ride sound much nicer! Riding up together would be good. We can swap mails!

Yep definitely. Having done CS7 for a couple of years the northern route is much nicer. Mail in profile if you want to compare notes.

Apologies for the hijack. As you were.

There's a lot of research that says your quality of life goes down rapidly once your commute gets over an hour.

That's not a very useful bit of research, though. Big difference between an hour in heavy traffic and an hour on open roads. Bigger difference between an hour on the central or district line and an hour on a fast train in a comfy seat with countryside views and wifi.

And there are advantages to a longer commute. Mine's an hour and 20 door to desk from Haslemere. 2 mins bike ride to the station, 55 mins train journey, always get a seat. Outside the cycle restrictions so can take a full size bike on the train (that is getting trickier, more people doing it and less space) 15 mins over to Fenchurch St the other end.

Same money would get a smaller house in Guildford, and/or further from the station, so journey times might be about the same, and less chance of getting a seat in the morning.

And same money would get me said crappy London flat, possibly with a 55 min commute, and no mtb rides from the door.

Get yourself a car and drive up the A3 - it's dead quiet in the mornings

I rode in on the motorbike this morning, 1hr10 door to door. only spent a couple of minutes in queues. Left at 5:45. Left at 6:20 last week, took me half and hour longer.

Strangely enough another Leatherhead to Camden commuter here! Like the others I ride in a couple of days a week now. Am lucky enough to have bike storage in the office so dont always have to ride both ways.

Njee20 I'm interested in your route too as I currently do the MertonCS7 route. Would be worth an extra couple of miles for a nicer ride.

As others have said getting a seat on the train on the wsy in is fine from Leatherhead or Ashtead most times, but coming back is about getting to the train early before it gets rammed.

Great riding all around Leatherhead, and a quick trip over to Peaslake, Swinley, Rogate, Hindhead etc etc etc.

I live in the village near Leatherhead famous(?!) for it's squareabout. Wanted a village around the Surrey Hills but with town facilities nearby and reasonable train line into London for when I need it. I'm 100 metres or so from bridleways that take me to the Surrey Hills so love that but not the best spot for the train as has less trains than Leatherhead and Effingham Junction either side of it. Effingham Junction/East Horsley good for train commuting but less cheap houses than Leatherhead.

Used to live in Guildford and commute to Weybridge (well Addlestone really, but had to change at Weybridge). Then moved to Putney and commuted out to Weybridge/Addlestone.

There always used to be a Waterloo train that started at Guildford bang on 8am, which was ace. Think it was a service that was put on for school kids to get to schools in West Byfleet, Weybridge etc. (and presumably mummy couldn't drive them in their Range Rover).

Did mean you always got a seat, since they're not rammed with pompey/soton commuters.

Would rather live in GF than Woking (which iirc is A Town Called Malice), even if Woking has more trains.

I'm sure the Leatherhead area is just as nice.

Fancy a nice maisonette in the centre of Leatherhead? I'm selling...

There's a lot of research that says your quality of life goes down rapidly once your commute gets over an hour.

[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/580854238 ]Strava link for the Leatherhead-Camden commuter massive[/url]

Should arrange a 3-up! I recall one of you now works in GLH, as do I.

I'm not so sure about that. Yes getting up at anything from 5:40 to 6:30 I always struggled with but I used to read the paper on the train, work emails or snooze.

Agreed, mine is 1:50-2:00 door to desk, which is a bit on the long side, but personally I think my quality of life is still vastly better than if I lived in London, and not markedly worse (marginally perhaps; less time, more money) than when I worked 10 miles away.

When I worked in the City, I lived in Westcott and used to speed over the downs to Effingham Junc in 15mins and catch the 6.12am train.

It always felt a bit weird being in the square mile at 5pm and sometimes an hour and a half later going for a run through the wonderful area around Westcott. I always felt it was worth the commute to have that at the end of every BST day.

Woking may be quick, but that's ALL its got going for it. Sounds like you should check out Mr Woppit's pad!

Coolbeanz...what you got to spend and what are you ideally looking for? Our local knowledge will give you some helpful do's and don'ts if you like?

Haslemere, although further out, may be worth a look. Still only about 50 mins from Waterloo, and some properly steep hills right on your doorstep.

And still in Surrey Hills AONB, depending which side of the road you are.

Woking may be quick, but that's ALL its got going for i

It's got Horsell Common, which was good enough for the Martians, it's got a theatre that has a lot of stuff coming down from London, and Physic Sally in a few days !

Guildford may be a bit nicer, but I am not sure about Leatherhead being so.

Always seemed like a bit of a funny town, in a Horley sense.

Leatherhead is a better base for riding though, unless you want Tunnel Hill or a drive to Swinley, which is unlikely (tunnel hill is nice though).

I will need to check with the bank, but I should have a smidge over 300k to play with. Ideally, I'd like 2 beds with a small garden.

I know you said Surrey Hills, but have you thought about The Chilterns?

We lived in Aylesbury for +10 years, piles of mtbing and as long as you get on before Amersham (Aylesbury line) you'll get a seat. And Marylebone is a pleasant terminal.

Plus I'd have thought cheaper for housing.

Ashtead is another option.

Guildford may be a bit nicer, but I am not sure about Leatherhead being so.

Always seemed like a bit of a funny town, in a Horley sense.

Agreed TG, Leatherhead has an awful Town Centre and some quite frightful parts, but its the areas/villages around it that make it a good spot if you can find a nice house/flat. Will check out some ideas for you Coolbeanz, but sadly £300k won't get you much.

Quick search has found ONE property but a bit higher than suggested.

[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41904306.html ]Here[/url]

I like this and its in a good spot.....nothing else remotely fits the bill.

Suppossedly house prices have peaked according to stories in the paper, plus Brexit might knock prices...

Would rather live in GF than Woking (which iirc is A Town Called Malice), even if Woking has more trains.

I grew up in Woking (well, a satellite village of).

It was a violent hole for most of the 80s & 90s, not been back much since I left uni in 1998.

I doubt much has improved, apart from some fancy flats where the old rail aggregates yard was and maybe some sprucing up of the Peacocks Centre.

Woking F.C. (only reason I go back really, about once a season) are still rubbish.

I'm in Dorking and did a stint of commuting up to Camden until I decided I couldn't live with the 3 hours a day travel time.
The line that goes through Leatherhead and up is a slow line. It's 58 mins from Dorking to Waterloo so a little less from Leatherhead, but still a sizeable chunk of your day.
Redhill is another option. Fast trains up into town (not sure about Waterloo though) and it's currently in the middle of some quite major regeneration.
It's a bit of a drive to the hills, 30 mins to Peaslake, probably slightly less to Coldharbour.

It was a violent hole for most of the 80s & 90

violent where ?

I would think Guildford on a Saturday night is worse, not noticed much violence.

http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-making-of-woking-1985/

Woking isn't violent from what i've seen. The town centre is a bit manky, tho being spruced up at the moment. Outside of the town centre it's pretty nice (but expensive).

I used to live in Maybury (which is meant to be the worse bit, but i thought it was quite nice - I come from Farnborough tho, which is probably a rung down!). The commute was ok, although I rarely got a seat (getting the 650 ish train) on the way out - normally did get one on the way back but I was normally catching a 6-7pm train rather than a 5:30 one. One thing I did like doing was getting the train back and then running around horsel common up to Mclaren and back - lovely bit of country side and a 2 minute run from my front door.

I now live in Brookwood which is the stop one before woking - much nicer and surrounded by MOD land which you can (sort of - see TAG website) ride on. Out of my door I can be on the canal tow path in 30 seconds, and then no proper off road stuff in about 5 minutes. From there I can ride offroad all the way up to swinley. The ride to the surrey hills is doable as well - i'm not fit enough for that any more tho! As it's one before woking, you can generally get a seat as well (same train as I got from woking - 644 from brookwood). 35 mins into waterloo, and 3 or 4 back every hour. Easy taxi ride to guildford if you want to go out there instead of woking.

The downside is that houses that come on the market go in about 30 seconds. They are building a few flats near the village centre, i'd imagine you'd get one of those for 300k.

violent where ?

Anywhere, it was random.

There was some nightclub violence every weekend, spilling out into the streets. The Firkin was known for scraps.

When I was at college, there were a few gang rivalries - mostly based on ethnicity, e.g. the ****stani kids didn't get on with the Indian kids. Those erupted into mini-riots in the town centre a couple of times.

Edit: Bear in mind this was nearly 20 years ago. Places change, but I won't be going back.

I've been commuting into the city for 33 years by car, train and lately bicycle from Epsom. The secret is to stay chilled. Don't get upset, arsey or angry with other people, train staff etc.

- Do the trains get rammed at peak hours, or are things reasonably civilised?

Yes they get rammed but getting on at Leatherhead it's quiet and you are more than likely to get a seat. Up to you if you want to give it up to a lady/OAP etc. or pretend to be asleep in the corner. The main thing is that you don't need to change trains anyway e.g. Clapham Junction is chaos in the morning and you can avoid the underground which is where your problems start

- How much is a season ticket going to set me back? Google is your friend

- Any particular areas that you would recommend for a first time buyer?

As above, lots of great areas around there, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Boxhill, Dorking proper etc. etc.

The riding is of course awesome, welcome to the Surrey Hills trail centre.

The question you need to be asking yourself is why aren't I cycle commuting?

It's only 19 miles. I do 18 from Epsom to Canary Wharf and there's loads of guys I know/encounter on the roads/Strava flyby that are doing a similar route.

why aren't I cycle commuting?

air quality is becoming an increasing factor. Maybe an e-bike so you don't have to breath so hard?

19 miles each way everyday come rain or shine is heavy going. I'd be knackered

I notice my legs being tired on a 10 mile each way commute into Central London. But I love it, though have the option of tube, train, cycle or motorbike

My acceptabe commute time is 1 hour. I'd go to more for an unbelievable job

Would you rather save 30 minutes or more per day during the week, for an extra 30 minutes or more to get to your leisure activity at the weekend

Woking F.C. (only reason I go back really, about once a season) are still rubbish.

Woking, its ok some nicer parts with well maintained 30's houses and outlying villages. Theatre and cinema complex are good with convenient parking. Its not as nice as Guildford but isn't as pricey either.

air quality is becoming an increasing factor. Maybe an e-bike so you don't have to breath so hard

I guess some people are more susceptible to this sort of thing, but I certainly don't notice it at all.

Woking is nowhere near as violent as it used to be (not hard admittedly) but it's still a dull commuter town.
The plus side, once on the canal, you can ride off road to tunnel hill, then on, still off road, to swinley. And Waterloo is 30 minutes away.

[quote=Ewan ] you can generally get a seat as well (same train as I got from woking - 644 from brookwood).

That will be my train into London in a few weeks, I'll be getting on at the previous stop 🙂

Cheapest in the area is probably Aldershot. Right on the edge of the surrey hills but some good riding to be had, and it ain't that bad, really. A slow commute though.

I guess some people are more susceptible to this sort of thing, but I certainly don't notice it at all.

you will probably notice it on your deathbed, thinking why am I here so early 🙁

Woking centre is a bit crap but I've seen far worse (Aldershit for one 😉 ). It does have a good selection of curry houses, and the Weatherspoons is not too bad for cheap beer.

It's more about location. Access to London, easy to get to airports, motorways, and then rideable to a number of trail spots plus there's a large amount of common land and woodlands about. It's leafy green Surrey after all. There's a mix of housing areas, with the poorest rubbing shoulders with multi millionaires. Bit of an odd place.

Though might want to consider the future plans for the centre which involves building loads of skyscrapers. If you're bothered about town centres that is. I rarely go into them these days.

Guildford is nice too, and more traditional town centre, though become generic now like most. It's a bit overrun with students at times. Housing in the centre is more limited for off road parking and there's a lot of permit parking, though Woking centre is permit in many places too now.

I did Dorking to Soho for a while, and adding a Brompton turned it from ballache into bearable.

Can you work from home at least one day a week? Commuting knackeredness tends to accumulate through the week, and a Wednesday at home can make all the difference.

It's better than living in London for sure. I used to live near Dorking which is cycle-commutable to London but moved south to near Horsham (also commutable by bike but it take a bit longer).

What you will find is that unless you are on an express link then most trains to London take 'about an hour'.

From Dorking, it was 25 miles and took about an hour, now I am double the distance and journey is basically the same, from Brighton it's the same too.

Now I have a gig in the Surrey Hills though so it's peachy and I can shred after school - wahey!

good luck - I'm sure you won't regret it, it's great waking up somewhere you want to be and knowing your neighbours

"air quality is becoming an increasing factor"

I think there have been quite a few studies showing that the pollution is worse in a car than on a bike. I think its a combination of the distribution of pollution across a road and the "closed in" nature of a car.

Come join us in redhill, half an hour on the train into town (only 16 miles in on the bike). Loads of good local riding on the north downs and the Surrey hills not far away. For me the hills are 5mins run away, and the big smoke is close enough for access but far enough away to forget!

I think there have been quite a few studies showing that the pollution is worse in a car than on a bike. I think its a combination of the distribution of pollution across a road and the "closed in" nature of a car.

Does that take cyclists' heavy/deep breathing into account?
I used to cycle across London every day, and also drove a similar journey. I don't recall getting black bogies in the car...

I don't know. The net benefit is still better than not cycling. It's easier to avoid bussy roads on a bike too.

Now I have a gig in the Surrey Hills though so it's peachy and I can shred after school

I just lost all respect for you with that one quote 🙂

Mornings like today it's awesome - I rode in from home; 45 miles in the morning sun, great way to start the day. Traffic was awful - looks like the M25 was shut clockwise, as it was devoid of cars, so you can zip past everyone getting stressed! Lovely. Couldn't live in London myself. Definitely a worse quality of life.

it's great waking up somewhere you want to be and knowing your neighbours

You know you can get to know your neighbours in London. It's not the first time I've heard this sort of comment and I just don't get it. I've always known my neighbours to chat to in the street and some have become good friends. Same as anywhere else - introduce yourself to people, say hello, use local businesses, join the residents association if there is one. Get involved in what goes on locally and you'll find London (and this is a cliche) is just a lot of villages.

I used to cycle across London every day, and also drove a similar journey. I don't recall getting black bogies in the car...

I don't seem to get black bogies cycling (I've just been for a 75minute ride and checked. I do when I use the tube (brake dust apparently, carcinogenic but then everything is). In a car the air filters take out some of the larger stuff you see but you still get the particulates and the gases. Car air intakes are very close to the exhaust of the car in front

This looks pretty good in Leatherhead, but it is over your budget.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59618729.html

Just up the road from Brocketts Farm, where the Muddy Moles meet on a Sunday for their ride, and not far from the station.

Link detached so bikes and turbo trainer can go in the garage and hifi can go loud as no adjoining wall.

I am thinking of moving but house not on market yet and bids for this have to be in by the 23rd. Bids are a downer and there is a buyers fee !!!