Dorking

History:

Dorking appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as the Manor of Dorchinges. It was held by William the Conqueror, who had assumed the lordship in 1075 on the death of Edith of Wessex, widow of Edward the Confessor. A market at Dorking is first recorded in 1240. The town flourished in Tudor times and, in the 1590s, a market house was built between what is now St Martin's Walk and the White Horse Hotel.

In late 1914, Dorking became a garrison town. Empty houses were requisitioned and from January 1915 around 4000 troops were accommodated. Empty houses in the town also provided billets for soldiers during World War II and over 3000 school children were evacuated to the Dorking area in September 1939. Over the course of the war, 77 high-explosive bombs and 60 incendiaries were dropped by the Luftwaffe, however only one incident (in October 1940) resulted in fatalities in the town.

By car:

Dorking is at the junction of the A24 (London to Worthing) and the A25 (Maidstone to Guildford) roads.

By train:

Dorking has three railway stations near the town centre:

1 Dorking train station. Served by South Western Railway services to London Waterloo and Southern Railway to London Victoria. (updated Dec 2023)

2 Dorking Deepdene. Served by Great Western Railway services between Gatwick Airport and Reading. (updated Dec 2023)

3 Dorking West. Served by the same Great Western Railway services as Dorking Deepdene, but with fewer trains stopping here. (updated Dec 2023)

4 Box Hill & Westhumble. Nearby Westhumble has its own station served by Southern rail which as you might guess is convenient for getting to Box Hill. (updated Dec 2023)

By bus:

As of Dec 2020:

Route 32. From Dorking to Guildford via Shere and to Redhill via Earlswood is run by Compass Bus. (updated Dec 2023)

Route 93. From Dorking to Horsham via Goodwyns and Holmwood Park is run by Metrobus on behalf of Surrey County Council. (updated Dec 2023)

Route 465. From Dorking to Kingston upon Thames via Leatherhead is run by London United. (updated Dec 2023)

Route 21. The (Epsom – Dorking – Crawley) route is run by Metrobus. (updated Dec 2023)

Route 22. The (Shere – Dorking – Crawley) route is run by Metrobus. (updated Dec 2023)

By bicycle:

National Cycle Route 22 passes through the town centre, and the Surrey Cycleway runs to the east.

On foot:

The Greensand Way, a 108-mi (174-km) long-distance footpath from Haslemere, Surrey to Hamstreet, Kent, passes through the south of Dorking. The route approaches the town centre from the east, passing over The Nower, then crossing the junction between South Street and Horsham Road. It climbs through the Glory Wood, before crossing Deepdene Terrace.

The North Downs Way, between Farnham and Dover, passes approximately 1,000 yd (1 km) to the north of Dorking. Dorking station is the southern terminus of the Mole Gap Trail, which starts at Leatherhead station.