Guildford is set amidst beautiful countryside dotted with typical English villages with their traditional pubs, garden attractions and stately homes, village greens and rural hotels.

These rural locations offer havens of tranquility if you need a break from the buzz of life in the town. The Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers a large percentage of the countryside surrounding Guildford. Its exapanse of rolling hills and woodlands even has its own brand of produce, which can be bought in the local shops.

Many villages offer their own special relaxed brand of shopping. Ripley a former coaching village of half-timbered house and inns, and Gomshall, where a selection of fine pubs and restaurants offer refreshment after a mornings spending spree in the antique shops. Comptons cultural connections are revealed at the Watts Gallery, which features paintings and sculptures by the famous Victorian artist GF Watts, Watts Memorial Chapel, an extraordinary circular building covered in Celtic and Art Nouveau decoration built by Watts wife, Mary and a Norman church described as the best of its style in England. Close by is the Elizabethan mansion Loseley Park with its acres of parkland and delightful walled garden.

The quiet village of Chilworth belies its history of gunpowder production. The actress Yvonne Arnaud (after whom Guildford's theatre is named) is buried at the historic hilltop church of St Martha Albury, on the river, Tillingbourne boasts a fine Victorian country mansion by Pugin and some of the best fly-fishing in the country. Newlands Corner is close by, offering magnificent views and country walks.

The North Downs Way follows the chalk scarp of the North Downs from Farnham in Surrey to the coast in Kent. A short walk along this long distance footpath can be combined with visits to several local attractions, including the River Wey, taking in Dapdune Wharf, a trip on a narrow boat from Guildford Boat House, Clandon Park and Loseley Park