Godalming is supremely popular with families for its excellent education, convenient transport links, and many recreational activities. For those that want to travel to London, Godalming strikes a perfect balance between a peaceful country village and a happening market town. As a spectacularly lush village in the famous Surrey countryside, Godalming is surrounded by other equally beautiful villages in between the endless green fields, resulting in a highly desirable place to relocate to.
Godalming's claim to fame is that the operator of the RMS Titanic's radio, Jack Phillips, was born and lived there. Jack is famous for staying at his post while the ship was sinking, sending repeated calls for help while he stared death in the face until he sank with the ship. He is remembered in many ways around the town, including a section of the Godalming Museum, a monument, a garden walk near the resident church, and a public house named after him.
To illustrate Godalming's traditional aesthetic as well as its charm, the town contains 138 listed buildings, 82 in the town centre, 18 of which are monuments. These include Tudor buildings and 17th-century brick buildings. One of the most famous landmarks is The Pepperpot, Godalming's town hall, which is as cute in appearance as it is in name is the centre of this typical English market town, with markets every Friday.
It also has a healthy selection of chain and independent retailers that sell all the standard goods you would expect, from clothing to jewellery, fine art, gifts and computers. Aside from
the local market, there is a fresh greengrocer, fishmonger, local butcher and bakery.
At Whereshome, we understand the enormity and complexity of deciding where amongst the many standout places in the UK to set up shop. With this guide, we hope to give you a real in-depth account of what it is like to live in Godalming, written by a local.
Living in Godalming - Sites of Interest
The classic market town is located on the beautiful River Wey, notable tributary of the River Thames, where to this day, cattle graze on riverside pastures and canal boats rest along the bank. This wonderful river is the heart of the town and provides a multitude of opportunities for long walks to nearby towns, including Guildford with its bountiful high street. There's nothing better than renting a riverboat with the family on a warm summer's day.
The National Trust Winkworth Arboretum is a great family day out for the whole family, allowing you to rekindle your relationship with nature and explore the beautiful Surrey countryside. Stop by the Tree Adventure park and let the children run wild before taking an extended wander through the woods and finishing with a sugary treat at the tearoom.
Located just off of the high street by the river, Philips Memorial Park is a Green Flag Award-winning hub for locals covering 11 acres of prime Godalming real estate. The revered bandstand sits in the centre of the park and is run by Godalming's town council, who do an excellent job of running universally loved events and live music throughout the summer months. Every Godalming resident patiently waits for the day they can take their picnic blanket out again and relax in front of the brass band on a summer day, pretending they've been transported back to the 1950s.
Living in Godalmings' Lifestyle
Godalming is popular with white British middle-class families for the most part, who have either grown up in the area or have relocated from London or larger Surrey towns for a slower pace. This family-friendly town has a warm community feel with welcoming people who absolutely love the place they live and will be happy to tell you why. Known for its independent shops, residents often spend hours perusing the healthy variety while having a good chat with the owners about the goings-on in the town. The big national chains are few and far between, with Boots, WHSmith, and Waterstones making up the silent minority. To offset the beloved high street mainstays is a great selection of independent shops. Wattle & Daub gets a special mention for their curious, yet charming selection of wares, including ceramics, textiles, and one-off vintage finds. They also host a variety of entertaining workshops for groups that should undoubtedly be on new residents to-do list.
For a small town, the dining scene is impressive and true to the area. Residents frequent the wide range of charming gastropubs and independent restaurants. Notable mentions go to Acorn (Spanish fusion), Bada (Asian), and Primal Roost (Cafe). Gastropubs are a big part of the Surrey lifestyle, and this is very much true in Godalming, with The Inn on the Lake and Stag on the river, both offering high-quality grub in elegant, waterside locations.
The quintessential English country village is filled with small-town charm, a smattering of excellent pubs, fantastic scenery, and a pocket-sized high street. While Godalming is quaint and provides an unparalleled small village lifestyle, there's no getting around the fact that it is small with limited lifestyle offerings. For entertainment activities, leisure facilities, larger shopping venues and significant sites of interest, most residents will make the small, seamless (15-minutes) journey to Guildford .
Guildford's cobbled high street is lined with well-known chains, fashion boutiques, with the wider area offering a more eclectic dining scene than Godalming. Paired with the grand
Friary shopping centre, locals can spend their day exploring brands including The White Company, H&M, Loaf, Jigsaw, Bobbi Brown, Anthropology, and Cath Kidston.
Schooling
Godalming is home to nine primary schools and two high schools, all rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. Broadwater School and Rodborough Technology College are two of the favourite state schools in the area. As you would expect from the affluent Surrey, there is a good selection of independent schools: Charterhouse, Prior's Field School , and St Hilary's School . Charterhouse is a private independent school founded in 1611 and is one of the first seven English schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868.
For further education, Godalming College on the Godalming Grammar School campus caters to 16- to 19-year-olds and is state-run. Awarded Beacon Status in 2006, it became the best performing public school at AS / A Levels in the Surrey area in 2004. Its 2005 report of Ofsted made the college stand out in six of the seven key areas and performed well in 7.
Transport
Godalming lies almost an equal distance (30 miles) away from the UK's two largest international airports, London Heathrow and London Gatwick. Godalming train station is located on the Portsmouth railway line, between London Waterloo and Portsmouth. The very long platforms serve an abundance of commuters taking the 45-minute journey up to the capital in the morning. Surrey's county town, Guildford, is under a 10-minute train journey as well. Godalming is also well-connected to the A3, which joins London to Portsmouth and provides easy access to the M25 and beyond.
Property
