By Carole Barclay
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| Guildford castle |
Guildford
is in the heart of the ‘stockbroker belt’ that houses the wealthy commuters who
work the money markets of the City of London. Visitors may assume that the
University of Surrey and the impressive modernist cathedral on the hill gives
Guildford ‘county town’ status. In fact Surrey’s administration centre is
Kingston-on-Thames, which left Surrey to join Greater London back in 1965. But
you could easily be forgiven for thinking that this is the real capital of
Surrey when you walk down the high street of this prosperous market town in the
heart of southern Toryland.
Though somewhat off the tourist radar,
there’s plenty to see in the heart of what was the old medieval centre. The Guildhall
in the High Street goes back to Tudor days. Guildford museum is housed in what
was once the gatehouse of Guildford Castle and the art gallery is in a 17th
century town house. Both are well worth visiting along, with the nearby castle
that has been recently repaired for the benefit of tourists.
The
Norman keep was re-roofed in 2004 to provide for an interpretative display and
small shop. For a very modest fee you can even walk up safely to the roof for
spectacular views across the Wey valley. In the summer you can see an amazing
display of flowers in the castle gardens as well as a life-size statue of Alice
of Looking Glass fame, a reminder
of the fact that Lewis Carroll stayed nearby in his sisters' house, from 1868
until his death in 1898.
Guildford is easily reached by road and is
just 35 minutes away from London Waterloo by train. It’s well worth a day-trip
and it’s also an ideal base for longer visits to other attractions in the
county.
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