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 Pakistani 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.

I used to watch them when Clive Walker played, saw them in the FA Vase final at Wembley once

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.

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 !!!