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Woking
Town and borough in Surrey, England

Woking

Woking is a town and borough in north-west Surrey, England, around 23 mi (36 km) from central London.

Plan a trip to Woking→From Luton, Luton

It appears in Domesday Book as Wochinges, and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Palaeolithic, but the low fertility of the sandy local soils meant that the area was the least populated part of the county in 1086. Between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries, new transport links were constructed, including the Wey Navigation, Basingstoke Canal and London to Southampton railway line. The modern town was established in the mid-1860s, as the London Necropolis Company began to sell surplus land surrounding the railway station for development.

See

Worth seeing

Underpass Mural. Why not visit the underpass which has a mural detailing the alien invasion of H G Wells' The War of the Worlds?

  1. 01
    Henry VIII's Royal Palace
  2. 02
    The Shah Jehan II Mosque

    It was the first mosque to be constructed in the UK.

  3. 03
    The Lightbox

    Has permanent 'History of Woking' exhibition (free) and changing exhibitions, mostly free.

  4. 04
    North Cemetery
  5. 05
    South Cemetery
  6. 06
    Brookwood Military Cemetery

    Dawney Hill, Pirbright, GU24 0JD (By car: from A324 in Pirbright.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    New Victoria Theatre and The Ambassadors Cinemas

    If you want to take in a movie, try to do so on a Monday when all tickets are £5 (any other day you can expect to pay £7 upwards).

  2. 02
    Woking FC

    Kingfield Stadium, Kingfield Road, GU22 9AA,.

  3. 03
    Basingstoke Canal

    The 32-mile-long (52 km) canal goes the heart of Woking and as well as the obvious option of boat rides activities such as cycling, camping and fishing are well practiced.

  4. 04
    Horsell Common

    The most popular local walking destination.

  5. 05
    Surrey History Centre

    A 'library' of Surrey history with many historical documents.

Eat

Where to eat

Woking is not a fine dining destination. More gastronomic choice can be found in Guildford, or by fast train to central London. The predominant local cuisines are Indian and Italian, and numerous examples of these can be found in the town centre.

How locals move

Getting around Woking the local way

  • Get inThe South's major ferry ports are (clockwise from the east) Dover (ferries from Calais and Dunkirk in France), Newhaven (ferries from Dieppe in France) and Portsmouth (ferries from the Channel Islands, Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre and St.
  • Get inPoole (which shares ferries from the Channel Islands, Cherbourg and St.
  • Go nextLondon - The capital is practically on your doorstep when you're in South East England, so it is an obvious choice for a day trip or longer.
  • Go nextGo Abroad - The South East is the closest part of the UK to the European mainland (the English Channel is just 20 miles (32 km) across at its narrowest), and with Channel Tunnel journey times from Kent to Calais as short as 35 minutes, day trips to northern France, Belgium and beyond are highly feasible and attractive.

From Wikivoyage: South East England, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.