Best Places to Visit in Surrey
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Surrey are The Optohedron, Reigate Caves, Stepping Stones Walk, The Frensham Beach, Tillingbourne Waterfall, Waverley Abbey, Mother Ludlam's Cave and The Deepdene Trail.
Surrey packs chalk downs, sandy heaths and old ruins into the country south of London. The great walk is the line of stepping stones across the River Mole at the foot of Box Hill, dropping down through National Trust woodland from the hilltop, while the Deepdene Trail loops a restored historic garden near Dorking and the Serpent-like paths of the North Downs Way pass the Optohedron sculpture near Newlands Corner.
Underground there are the man-made Reigate Caves, cut for silver sand beneath the town, and the grotto of Mother Ludlam's Cave by the Wey near Farnham. Water and stone tell their own story at the ruined Waverley Abbey, the first Cistercian house in England, the sandy beach of Frensham Great Pond, and the gentle Tillingbourne Waterfall below Leith Hill.
Some are grand set pieces, others quiet corners. Here are eight places to visit across Surrey.
The Optohedron
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
The Optohedron is an outdoor sculpture that doubles as a seat, standing on the North Downs near Newlands Corner in the Surrey Hills. Made by the artist Will Nash of rusted steel formed into a row of curved cells and packed with hazel logs, it hides kaleidoscopes inside that you look through to see the surrounding countryside repeated in symmetrical patterns, its shape drawn from the compound eye of an insect.
It is reached on a short walk from a car park, on the North Downs Way, and the gaps in the logs double as homes for insects and other small wildlife.
Reigate Caves
Photo: Ian Capper via Geograph.org.uk
Reigate Caves are a set of man-made tunnels and chambers cut into the soft sandstone beneath the Surrey town of Reigate, opening off the sides of an old road tunnel under the town. They are not natural caves but old sand mines, where fine silver sand was dug out, and over the years they served as cellars, wine stores and, in the Second World War, air-raid shelters.
A volunteer society opens them to visitors on set days through the year, leading people through the sand-floored chambers by torchlight. The road tunnel above them was cut in the 1820s.
Stepping Stones Walk
Photo: Kurseong Carl via Geograph.org.uk
The Stepping Stones are a line of hexagonal stones crossing the River Mole at the foot of Box Hill, the chalk hill in the Surrey Hills cared for by the National Trust. A well-loved circular walk from the hilltop visitor centre drops down through woodland to cross the river on the stones, with a footbridge alongside for when the water is high, then climbs back up to the viewpoints over the Weald.
The stones were taken out during the Second World War, to hinder any invasion, and put back in 1946, reopened by the prime minister of the day. They can be underwater after heavy rain.
The Frensham Beach
Photo: David Martin via Geograph.org.uk
Frensham Great Pond is a large, shallow lake on heathland near Farnham in Surrey, with a broad sandy beach along one shore, an unexpected stretch of sand far from the sea. The pond was dug in the Middle Ages to supply fish to the bishops of Winchester, and now, owned by the National Trust and part of a protected common, it is a spot for a swim in a marked area, for sailing and for walking the heath around it.
A boardwalk leads to the sandy beach, with a car park nearby. In warm spells the water is sometimes closed to swimmers when blue-green algae bloom.
Tillingbourne Waterfall
Photo: Oliver White via Geograph.org.uk
Tillingbourne Waterfall is a small cascade on a stream running down through wooded ground below Leith Hill, in the Surrey Hills near the hamlet of Friday Street, a few miles from Dorking. The water drops in a modest fall in a quiet, shady ravine, sometimes called the tallest waterfall in Surrey, though it is a gentle one rather than a great cascade.
It stands on private estate land and is seen from a public footpath rather than visited close up, reached on a walk through the woods from a nearby car park. It is a quiet beauty spot in a well-loved walking area.
Waverley Abbey
Photo: Richard Croft via Geograph.org.uk
Waverley Abbey is the ruin of the first Cistercian monastery founded in England, standing on the banks of the River Wey southeast of Farnham in Surrey. Founded in 1128, it was left to fall into ruin after Henry VIII closed it in 1536.
The standing remains include the vaulted undercroft of the lay brothers' quarters, the tall walls of the monks' dormitory and parts of the chapter house, set in open meadow. English Heritage looks after it, and it is free to visit.
It sits apart from the later Waverley Abbey House next door.
Mother Ludlam's Cave
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Mother Ludlam's Cave is a small grotto cut into a sandstone bank beside the River Wey at Moor Park, near Farnham in Surrey. It began as a natural spring that once supplied nearby Waverley Abbey, and it was later enlarged and given a Victorian arched entrance, now closed by an iron gate, so it is seen from outside.
It takes its name from a local legend of Mother Ludlam, a white witch said to lend out household items, whose borrowed cauldron ended up in Frensham church. A footpath passes it, opposite a small nature reserve.
The Deepdene Trail
Photo: P Harris via Geograph.org.uk
The Deepdene Trail is a waymarked walk around a restored historic landscape garden on the edge of Dorking in Surrey, a short walk from the town. The old Deepdene estate was laid out over centuries, with an Italian garden begun in the seventeenth century and later shaped by the collector Thomas Hope, though the great house is long gone.
The trail leads through woodland and terraces past a restored hilltop mausoleum, a grotto, a viewpoint, Bronze Age burial mounds and the nearby ruins of Betchworth Castle. It reopened in 2016 after a restoration, with interpretation boards and a phone app to tell its story, and is free to walk.
FAQs
What is the best walk in Surrey?
The circular walk over the Box Hill stepping stones is the classic Surrey walk, dropping from the National Trust hilltop through woodland to cross the River Mole on the stones, then climbing back to viewpoints over the Weald. The Deepdene Trail near Dorking and the North Downs Way near Newlands Corner also make fine, easy walks.
Which caves can you visit in Surrey?
The Reigate Caves, old silver-sand mines beneath the town later used as air-raid shelters, are opened by a volunteer society on set days for torchlit visits. Mother Ludlam's Cave, a grotto by the Wey near Farnham with a Victorian arched entrance, is now gated and seen only from outside.
Can you swim at Frensham Great Pond in Surrey?
Yes. Frensham Great Pond, a large shallow lake on heathland near Farnham, has a broad sandy beach and a marked swimming area, though it is sometimes closed when blue-green algae bloom in warm spells. It is owned by the National Trust and also used for sailing and heath walks.
Conclusion
Surrey packs chalk downs, sandy heaths and old ruins into the country south of London. The stepping stones cross the Mole at the foot of Box Hill, the Deepdene Trail loops its restored garden near Dorking, and the North Downs Way passes the Optohedron sculpture near Newlands Corner.
Underground lie the man-made Reigate Caves and the grotto of Mother Ludlam's Cave by the Wey. Water and stone tell their story at the ruined Waverley Abbey, the sandy beach of Frensham Great Pond and the gentle Tillingbourne Waterfall below Leith Hill.
From chalk hill to heathland pond, these are the places to seek out across Surrey.
