Surroundings

Clandon Park (3mi/5km east of Guildford) is the Jacobean seat of the Onslow family, with a mansion which was redesigned in the Palladian style in 1713-1729 by Giacomo Leoni. There are richly decorated carpets and stucco ceilings, elaborately crafted furniture and tapestries, and a notable collection of Chinese porcelain birds (17th/18th century). In the gardens, which were laid out by "Capability" Brown around 1770, there is an Ionian temple (1833) and the "Maori House", which was brought home from New Zealand by a member of the Onslow family who was once a governor there.

One of the most impressive viewpoints on the North Downs can be reached by taking the Leatherhead road (A 246) as far as Merrow and then bearing right to Newlands Corner, from where there is a superb view across the flat saddle of the Weald.

Beyond Newlands Corner is Albury in the valley of the River Tillingbourne (4mi/6km south-east), with Albury Park, a seat of the Dukes of Northumberland. The house, rebuilt by Augustus Welby Pugin, contains a valuable collection of paintings, clocks and 64 different mantelpieces, which were in part the work of Robert Adam. Following the best Italian models, the park has a Roman bath and a cave inspired by the Grotto of Posilippo in Naples.

Further on to the east of Albury Park is Abinger Hammer. The "hammer" is a clock with the figure of a blacksmith, recalling the craftsmen of previous times. The hammers of the clock were once driven by water from the river.

From Abinger Hammer a beautiful road runs over the downs to Leith Hill (965ft/295m), from the top of which it is possible to see as far as London on a good day.Leith Hill is the highest point in southeast England. A Gothic tower offers magnificent views from the top.

The attractive Regency mansion of Polesden Lacey is situated just off the A 246, a little way south of Great Bookham. The treasures belonging to the estate include the Grenville art collection with paintings by Reynolds, Lawrence, Raeburn and Italian masters of the 14th to 16th century, Flemish tapestries, porcelain from Meissen, Chelsea and Zürich, and valuable Renaissance furniture.The grounds at Polesden Lacey offer a beautiful stroll through cultivated lawns and informal gardens. Visitors are often taken with the wooden pergolas, tree-lined walkways and walled rose garden.

Dorking (pop. 21,654) is a popular town with visitors, situated on the banks of the River Mole.Dorking is well-known throughout the world for its antique dealers, its modern leisure centre and shopping on the three main streets.

Part of the North Downs area belongs to the National Trust, including Flint Cottage (Castle), near Mickleham, in which the novelist George Meredith (1828-1909) lived for over 30 years until his death.

To the south of Mickleham is Juniper Hall, which at the end of the 18th century provided a place of refuge for French refugees fleeing the Revolution, including Duke Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838), who was Foreign Minister of France and represented France at the Congress of Vienna, and the writer Germaine de Staël-Holstein (1766-1817), known as Madame de Staël, whose main work "De l'Allemagne" (1810-13) offered French people the long-standing Romantic idealized picture of the "German poet and thinker".

The main attractions today in Royal Tunbridge Wells are the "Pantiles", colonnaded cobbled promenades with shops, which have the distinction of being England's first pedestrian zone, and the columned passageways at the spa buildings where people could stroll while drinking the waters.

Tonbridge is located 25mi/40km southeast of London on the Medway. Tonbridge Castle was completed in the 13th century and features landscaped gardens overlooking the River Medway. Boat trips from Tonbridge are also available.

Westerham is on the River Darent, which flows through the town. It is the birthplace of General Wolfe (1727-59) who routed the French on the Plains of Abraham and completed the British conquest of North America.Westerham also has other points of interest including the remains of a medieval watchtower and a Roman encampment.

Eynsford has a well-preserved castle from 1088 and many buildings from the 16th century.At the Eagle Heights Bird of Prey Centre in Eynsford eagles, hawks, falcons and vultures fly in regular outside displays over the Darent Valley. All aviaries are indoors and there is also an expanding reptile collection.

A reminder of a past age of chivalry is Hever Castle, situated to the west of Chiddingstone, which dates from the 13th-15th century, but was rebuilt in 1810 in Gothic style. This moated sandstone castle was where Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, lived as a young girl. She was beheaded at the Tower of London, both because of her adultery, but also merely because she failed to give the king an heir to the throne. There are very few, if any, reminders of this chapter of history at Hever. In 1903 the dilapidated estate was bought by the American William Waldorf Astor and completely restored for him by Frank L. Pearson in the style of the old masters. At the back of the castle, a Tudor village was recreated, and the park was given an Italian look with elaborate Renaissance sculptures. The hedges, clipped to form the shapes of chess figures, are also worth seeing. The grave of Anne Boleyn's father, Sir Thomas Boleyn (d. 1538), is to be found in the Church of St Peter.The garden also includes as 35-acre lake and fine topiary, including a maze.

Situated to the east of Chiddingstone, the village of Penshurst (5mi/8km from Tunbridge Wells) is dominated by its church, the old Leicester Arms Hotel on the other side of the street, but most of all by Penshurst Place, a Gothic mansion with battlements dating from the middle of the 14th century, which is the seat of the Viscount de L'Isle. Passing its trimmed yew-trees and meticulously planned park, the visitor reaches the gray stone walls of the house, the north and west fronts of which date from 1585, as does the King's Tower. The medieval great hall of 1340 has massive chestnut beams supporting its roof. Its collection of paintings is dominated by pictures of the Sydneys, who once owned the estate. The visitor will also find a farm museum and an adventure playground for children.

Cranbrook (11mi/18km east of Tunbridge Wells; pop. 5,600) is an old weavers' town with one of the largest windmills in England, a church rebuilt in 1430, and a school founded in 1576.Cranbrook is a pretty town with medieval streets lined with lovely old houses. There are six churches, a number of unique shops and a town museum for tourists to visit.

Near Sissinghurst Castle, on the edge of the Weald, is the village of Biddenden, where Siamese twins were born around 1500. In memory of these "maids of Biddenden", cakes stamped with a representation of the twins are still eaten here on Easter Monday. The village street of Biddenden boasts not only the medieval parish church of All Saints, but also two 17th century red-brick houses, Biddenden Palace and Hendon Hall. The half-timbered building Old Cloth Hall (16th/17th centuries) was built for a well-to-do cloth merchant. Catweazel Manor (16th century) with its hipped roof is also worth seeing.

The romantic buildings of Scotney Castle are to be found near Lamberhurst (8mi/12km southeast of Tunbridge Wells). The castle consists of an old 14th C fortress surrounded by water and parts of two dwelling-houses dating from the 17th and 19th C. A special attraction of the well-kept gardens is the large number of rhododendron bushes.The gardens also have a large collection of daffodils, azaleas and wisteria. It has been described as one of England's most romantic landscaped gardens.

Witley near Milford is the spot where the author George Eliot lived until her death in 1880. Witley Common, All Saints Church, Witley Park and the Old Cottage/Step Cottage are notable landmarks.