Epsom

The compact borough of Epsom and Ewell is mainly residential. Some office space and light industry form a corridor between Epsom town centre and the village of Ewell. East Street in Epsom runs through the heart of this commercial district. The town centre is dominated by the Ashley Centre shopping mall, which contains typical chain outlets such as Boots, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Monsoon, Next, Waitrose and WH Smith.

Epsom borders Reigate and Banstead at Epsom Downs. The Downs are an upland chalk ridge marked by steep slopes rising from the south. This rural enclave takes up a quarter of the borough's land area and is home to the famous Epsom Downs racecourse and grandstand, the venue of the annual Epsom Derby horseracing event in June.

Epsom Council website

By road:

Epsom lies just to the southwest of London Metropolitan Area, but inside the M25 orbital motorway. The shortest main road between central London and Epsom is the A3, starting at London Bridge, switching to the A24 at Clapham Common, through to Epsom town centre. The A24 makes barely any diversion from the SSW compass point.

Between London and Epsom this Roman route (built c. 100 AD) cannot be widened because of 19th and later 20th century urbanisation and it hasn't been bypassed except for two short sections around Merton High Street and Ewell village centre. The distance is only 15 miles, but during the daytime and the morning and evening rush hours can take an hour or more to drive.

A faster journey from central London follows the A3 after Clapham Common and turns off onto the A240 spur road at Tolworth junction, to approach Epsom from the northwest. This route follows a two- or three-lane dual carriageway most of the way. The A3 is easily accessible from central London.

The M25 serves Epsom from all other parts of the UK. Leave the motorway at Junction 9 and road signs for Epsom direct you onto the A24 from the south. The distance from the motorway junction is miles.

By train:

Trains from London to 1 Epsom station are slow but are still quicker than the road journey. The average journey time of 36 minutes is unimpressive for an 18-mile (29-km) journey, but at least trains depart frequently. Two timetables combined provide eight trains an hour between London and Epsom from Monday to Saturday, and four an hour on Sundays and Bank Holidays. The fastest times are 33 minutes from London Victoria station (operated by Southern Railway) and 35 minutes from London Waterloo station (operated by South Western Railway). An additional hourly service to Epsom, from London Victoria, takes passengers on a 51-minute circuitous route via West Croydon. Southern Railway also operates a handful of peak-hour commuter trains to London Bridge, which also take 50–55 minutes.